In Feb’s “Hour of Power”, I chatted with Dr. Corey DuPont, PT, DPT about pain, rehab, decreasing injury risk & improving athletic performance. It was a fun & informative chat which you can listen to here. Several attendees asked Dr. Corey what his top do-not-miss, must-do strength & mobility exercises are for time-crunched athletes. Great question! And he had great answers. It got me thinking about what I would recommend. So here goes – here are my top 3 must-do, do-not-miss strength exercises (Part 2 will detail my Top 3 mobility exercises).
Top 3 Strength Exercises
1. Whole Body: Deadlifts – In my opinion, Deadlifts are The Best Exercise Ever. If you’re pressed for time & want to work your whole body…Deads are your go-to! For lower body, the hip functionality developed from glutes, hamstrings, quads, abductors & adductors all working together is critical for injury prevention & athletic performance. But wait, there’s more! Deads also target your low back, middle back (lats, traps, rhomboids), upper back (traps, rhomboids), arms & forearms. And there’s still more!! All the core muscles (the abs, low back & the little muscles that support the spine) work extremely hard to hold your torso straight & solid while you deadlift the weight. Can’t ask for anything more than that! Click here for a video of Deadlift variations.
2. Lower Body Emphasis: Squats – While Squats look a lot like Deadlifts, there are key differences.
- Squats target primarily lower body whereas Deadlifts (because you’re holding the weight) hit upper & lower body.
- Squats are more knee dominant whereas Deads are more hip dominant.
- Squats put more stress directly onto the spine while Deads transfer so of that stress to the low back.
Differences aside, Squats of all kinds (remember that Lunges are simply 1-Leg Squats!) are great for developing lower body power, strength & mass. And since most sports require strong, powerful lower bodies…you just gotta do them! Click here for a video of Lunge variations.
3. Almost Whole Body: Push-Ups – Aaaahhhh…Push-Ups. The exercise some love to hate. But I would encourage you to LOVE this exercise!! Push-Ups are as old as the hills…and there’s good reason they’re still around. Supposedly the modern-day Push-Up was invented in 1905 by an Indian strong man & wrestler named Jerick Revilla. To maintain his undefeated wrestling record, he did 4,000 Hindu Push-Ups & Squats every day!! No matter how many push-ups you deicde to do, you’re guaranteed to get a great almost whole body workout. (About the only muscles not worked in a Push-Up are your lats which are the muscles under your shoulder blades.)
For a great tutorial on how to do Push-Ups correctly, click here.
OK, folks! There you have it! My top 3 must-do, do-not-miss strength exercises! Stay tuned for next week’s Top 3 must-do, do-not-miss mobility exercises. Now get out there & lift!
Happy training!
If you’d like to chat more about how these concepts can help you train more effectively, schedule a 30min Free Zoom Consult. For more info on Coaching, click here.