6 Exercises Everyone Should Know

Each of these exercises, when practiced weekly, will lead to a balanced, functional, and strong body that moves well, even as you age. In other words, you could do only these for the rest of your life and be pretty fit.

Here are the primary benefits for each:

Squat

• Benefit: Lower body strength
• Athletic Use: Sprinting, jumping, landing, hill climbing, change of direction, deceleration, hill descending
• Muscles: Glutes, quads
• Joints: Hips, knees, ankles

Deadlift

• Benefit: Total body strength, pulling strength, grip, posture
• Athletic Use: Speed, explosiveness
• Muscles: Glutes, hamstrings, back, forearms
• Joints: Spine, hips, knees

Split Squat

• Benefit: Single-leg strength, balance, core
• Athletic Use: Cutting, acceleration, multidirectional movement
• Muscles: Glutes, quads
• Joints: Hips, knees

Single Leg Deadlift

• Benefit: Single-leg strength, balance, core
• Athletic Use: Sprinting, jumping, acceleration
• Muscles: Glute, hamstrings, back
• Joints: Hips, knees, spine

Bent Over Row

• Benefit: Pulling strength, grip
• Muscles: Back, shoulders, biceps, forearms
• Athletic Use: Throwing, swinging, rotational power
• Joints: Shoulders, spine, elbow

Overhead Press

• Benefit: Pushing strength
• Athletic Use: Throwing, swinging, overhead movements
• Muscles: Shoulders, triceps
• Joints: Shoulders, elbow

How to Train

• Do 3 sets with a weight challenging enough that you can only do 5-12 reps.
• Start with bodyweight versions of the Single Leg Deadlift and Split Squat until you lock down the form.
• Start with lighter weights for any exercise you are not familiar with to see how your body responds post-workout.
• Do any variation of these every week. Ideally, spread them out over 2 to 3 workouts.
• A single lesson with a Strength Coach is enough to learn the basics of each movement.

Note: If I had to choose only one, it would be split squats.

If you want the full program behind these six movements, get it here.