July 30, 2008

The Best Exercise

Recently I was asked what I thought the best exercise was. Somewhat of a loaded question if you ask me. I always answer with the obvious – the exercise you will actually do on a consistent basis. That answer was not good enough, she wanted specific exercises. Here is the list I gave her (in no particular order):

Squat
Lunge
Push-up
Pull-up
Deadlift

Of course she wanted to know more, what was my rationale for picking those exercises, why not the kickback or the leg curl? Maybe had she given me more time to think I could have added a few more exercises to the list, but one thing’s for sure it would not have included the kickback or the leg curl.

Here’s why – the kickback involves one very small muscle group to do the majority of the work (with a few muscles assisting). The leg curl machine is the exact same thing except this time the machine does the assisting for you. (And when is the last time you sat or laid down to activate your hamstrings in real life situations)?

Every exercise on my list involves multiple muscle groups and the exercises mimic things we do everyday in our daily routine. The more you can make your body work for each exercise the better. You can also combine exercises such as a squat with a bicep curl or a lunge-curl.

I still like my first answer best – just get moving a do what you like to do, but for those of you, like my lady who needed an answer there it is.

Stay Motivated,

Karen