The Five Basic Exercises

This is the workout my Angel and I did yesterday. Wow; really wow. My legs were like rubber; I couldn’t stand up afterward. My legs are really aching today; and I have delayed onset muscle soreness. Give this workout a shot sometime.

Five Basics

An Oxygen Magazine expert gives the five best exercises you can do using body weight alone in the comfort of my own home. The basics are always best. Here are five exercises that you can do in a circuit to get shockingly fast full-body results without any fancy equipment. Do 8-12 repetitions per exercise. Don’t rest between exercises. Go through the circuit up to three times, resting one minute after each circuit. For a once-a-month challenge, do each exercise to failure in your final round through the circuit.

Summary of Workout

Y-Squats

Perform a normal body weight squat with your arms held up in a Y-position. Brace your abs and keep spine in a neutral position as you

bend your legs and lower yourself so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. This also works the muscles of your upper back and helps

counter-act the negative effects of sitting at a computer all day.

Push-Ups

Kneel down on the floor and place your hands flat on the floor and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. With your shoulders directly over your hands, straighten your arms. Move your feet back, placing your toes on the floor, so that your knees are off the floor and your legs are straight. At this point, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Your body should remain straight throughout this exercise. Keep your head and neck in line with your body so that your are looking down toward the floor. This is the starting position. In a controlled fashion, lower your body down toward the floor, bending your elbows, until your body is nearly touching the floor. Now, push your body up away from the floor, straightening your arms, until you have returned to the starting position. If you need to reduce the intensity of this exercise you can perform the pushup from your knees.

Lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward with your right leg, taking a slightly larger than normal step. Press the front of your left foot into the ground and use it to help keep your balance. The left knee should also be bent. Contract your glutes, brace your abs and keep your spine in a neutral position. Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Keep your upper body upright and your lower back flat. Push up to the upright position, but don’t step back. Stay in a split-squat stance; perform all reps for one leg and then switch.

Mountain Climbers

Start in a pushup position, brace your abs and slowly bring one knee towards your chest. Touch the toe to the ground and then return your foot to the start position. Alternate sides. Keep your abs braced and your hips low. Do not let your hips sag or rotate.

Reverse Lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, and take a large step backward with your right leg. Contract your glutes, brace your abs and keep your spine in a neutral position. Bend both knees and lower yourself into a regular lunge position so that your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Bring right leg back to start position and switch legs. These require less balance than forward lunges but also work the glutes and hamstrings more than forward lunges.