Two Kick-ass Foundation Exercises

Not only is performing exercise important, but exercise selection is vitally important if you hope to get the results you are looking for.

Improper exercise can completely negate the benefits of minimalist exercise so getting this right is a must.

There are a handful of foundational exercises that should make up your protocol and one of those foundational exercises is the “squat”.

The squat is often referred to as the “king” of lower body movements because this single exercise is going to help strengthen your hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, core, and back providing a very compound and total body workout. You’ll boost your heart rate immensely while performing it giving yourself an excellent cardiovascular boost.

How to perform the perfect squat:

1. Position yourself in a squat rack with the bar placed across the back of the shoulder blades (alternatively you can place it in front of the shoulders as well if you were going to do a front squat exercise).
2. Place feet slightly wider than hip width apart, keeping the abdominal muscles tight.
3. Slowly lower yourself down until your knees are fully bent as you’re as low as you can go.
4. Pause in this position and then press back up, keeping the back upright and straight as you go.

Make a note as you perform your squats to keep the head looking forward or slightly upward, not downward. If you look down, you’ll adopt a forward lean which should be avoided so you aren’t placing excess strain on the lower back joint.

Also bear in mind that the lower you go during this exercise, the more total glute activation you will get so it really is important to push yourself in that regard. When you only go partway down, you’re going to be missing out on many of the key benefits that this exercise provides.

The second foundational exercise we’re going to look at is the “deadlift”.

Called the “king” of total body moves, it involves not just the lower body but the upper body as well.

The dead-lift is going to target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, trapezius muscles, lats, spinal erectors, as well as the abdominal core.

Before performing the dead-lift, make sure you are first perfecting good form without the use of much weight if any at all.

To perform the dead-lift:

Most people perform dead-lifts with a barbell, however you can also use a set of dumbbells if you really prefer.

1. Position a bar down on the round in front of you, standing with feet about or slightly wider than hip width apart.
2. Bend the knees as you lower yourself down toward the ground adopting a sligh forward lean (from the hips) so that you are able to comfortable grasp the barbell beneath you. Elbows should be straight and on eight side of the knee using an overhand grip.
3. Keeping the arms straight, being to straighten up through the knees as you move the barbell just past your knee joint and move into the full standing position.
4. From there, pause and adopt a slight back lean to really push the hips out and fell the total tension in the glutes (your backside muscles).
5. Begin to lower yourself back downward again to complete the repetition.
6. After each repetition the weight should rest on the floor for 1 second before you start your next lift. Re-grip if necessary.
7. Practice makes perfect: Start with light weights, get the form down and eventually progress to heavier weights. As you start adding weight your forearm strength may start to lag behind your back strength. You can use an alternating grip (1 palm facing in, 1 palm facing out) to help compensate.

As you perform the dead-lift, remember to keep your breathing pattern regular the entire way through the lift. If you start holding your breath, you will quickly become very light headed and could start to feel as though you’re going to pass out.

Both squats and dead-lifts are important in the recipe for a strong and fit body and by including both you will have all your bases covered. You can also choose to interchange the squat and the dead-lift doing one move during some workouts and other moves during other workouts.

However, rarely should you do both squats and dead-lifts in one workout as this would be highly taxing for your body and could lead to over-training quite rapidly.

The squat and dead-lift are just of 7 two foundation movements you should be utilizing with your minimalist training.

Most people today who exercise regularly, and who make conscious choices about the quality of the food they eat, are not getting anywhere near the degree of benefits from their actions that they could be getting. If you are one of those, I can help with my new “Minimalist Exercise and Nutrition” program.