Choosing the best exercises

Volume 2, Number 10 | The Weekly Newspaper of Chelsea | December 14 - 20, 2007

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healthy now

By Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T.

In my last column, I discussed some of the worst exercises I see people performing in gyms across the city. In some cases, the exercises I wrote about are simply ineffective; others are potentially injurious. Today I want to flip the coin and write about the five “best” exercises that anyone seeking physical improvement should be doing regularly—five types of exercise that will benefit anyone seeking a stronger, leaner body that functions well in daily life and athletic competition.

To qualify for the superlative “best,” an exercise should be functional, operate in multiple planes of motion, move through multiple joints and contract multiple muscle groups. These types of exercise will offer the most “bang for your buck” in terms of expected gain in the least amount of time. In short, they are efficient exercises that will improve your body in many ways.

The first type involves most or all of the musculature of the lower body, the best one being the squat, although other forms such as lunges and dead lifts are also excellent choices. All of these move through all lower-body joints and require you to expend a lot of energy (calories burned) as the large muscles—gluteals (butt muscles), hamstrings, quads, calves—work together. As your strength builds with these exercises, almost all movements, from simply standing up and sitting down to running, jumping, returning a tennis ball or driving a golf ball, will become easier and executed at a higher level.

The second type may be categorized as “push” exercises, and include any movement in which you push your arms out in front of you. These movements require movement through the shoulders, elbows and wrists and will strengthen the chest muscles (pectorals), the front of the shoulders (anterior deltoid) and the backs of the arms (triceps). Good examples of these types of movement are chest presses and push-ups.

The third group can be called “pull” exercises, and they work in opposition to the “push” exercises, creating a balance between the muscles of the upper body. These require movement through the same joints as the “push” exercises, but muscular contraction is across the opposite muscle groups—the large muscles of the back (latismus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius), the back of the shoulder (posterior deltoids) and the muscles in the front of the upper arm (biceps). Some good exercises in this category are rows and chin-ups.

Those first three categories of exercise cover everything the body requires to create any movement under the sun. What is notably missing are exercises that are not functional — those that are performed on machines (typically moving through only one plane of motion) and “isolation” exercises like biceps curls and leg extensions (which move through only one joint and operate only one muscle group). Of course, these types of exercises may have a place in a fitness program, but they not the best or most efficient.

For the movements created by the first three categories to take place, the arms and legs need a strong, stable base from which to operate, which brings us to the fourth type of exercise: Core strengthening. The core muscles include those that flex the body forward (rectus abdominus, or the eight-pack), rotate and bend the body to the side (obliques), keep the body stable by acting as an inner “corset” (transversus abdominus) and keep the body erect (the spinal musculature). Building a strong, stable core may be accomplished with many exercises, the best of which are several types of crunches, rotational exercises, stabilization exercises (such as planks) and spinal extension exercises.

Using a good fitness program that includes exercises from the first four categories done with maximum intensity and with progression (increased workload) from one exercise session to the next, you will ensure improvement in your overall muscular system. The one muscle that we have not yet covered is the one that provides the oxygen needed by all of the others: the heart.

This last category of exercise, cardiovascular, strengthens the heart while burning calories and building endurance. To do your cardio most efficiently, it is best to use the “interval training” model, in which (following a slow warm-up) you work near the peak of your capacity for a short interval and then recover for a short interval, repeating this process throughout your workout. This is the most efficient way to strengthen the heart musculature—and it also burns the most fat and even helps you burn more calories in the hour or two following the workout. For more on interval training, read my previous column on the subject at: chelseanow.com/cn_21/makingthemostofyour.html.

By choosing from the categories into which all the “best” exercises fall, and creating a fitness program that includes supportive, healthful eating, you will be on your way to creating a leaner, stronger body that will serve you well daily and improve your athletic prowess on the court or field.

For specifics on planning a sound fitness program that gets results or for tips on the proper form for the exercises mentioned in today’s column, please e-mail me at the address below.

With the holidays upon us and the year winding to an end, my next two columns will offer tips on setting realistic goals for your New Year’s resolutions and advice on how to make those resolutions finally stick in 2008.

Greg Rothman, M.S. P.T., is the owner of emPower Fitness Studios (emPowerFitnessNYC.com). He received his masters degree in physical therapy from Columbia University and has 15 years’ experience in the rehabilitation and fitness fields, most recently as the personal training manager and top-level trainer for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City. SEND YOUR QUESTIONS about nutrition, fitness and sports injuries/rehabilitation to Greg at emPowerFitness@aol.com.