The Two Best Moves in Functional Fitness

There are two primary moves in fitness if someone who is healthy, that they should be doing on a regular basis. 

The first exercise is the pull up. 

How many people do you know that can do 20 pull ups straight?

These days it seems, not many. 

Pull ups are a great exercise that work the upper body. Some workout regiments or fitness programs will have the program broken down by push/pull movements. It is easy to push, think chest press or bench press or push ups, but usually more difficult to pull. 

These muscles are sometimes under developed. 

Pull ups are great especially once you have momentum since it not only works out the upper extremity to a great level but even if you just hang on the bar for a minute or so on a regular basis you can develop amazing grip strength.

This is a trick I learned after reading one of Bruce Lee’s books. 

The stronger the forearm is the harder a person can punch. 

Not that I am advocating violence of course but it behooves a person to be able to protect themselves. 

The second exercise is the handstand much up. 

I used to alternate between these to exercises. In the beginning you might be able to just crank out a few but if done on a regular basis you will soon be surprised how many reps you can do and how much stronger you have become. Now even if you can only get into the handstand position and hold just for a few seconds that’s fine as well. 

Same thing when doing pull ups. If all you can do in the beginning is to hang from the bar for a few seconds, start with that. Then repeat for a few times. Once you can do that no issues then try to pull yourself up even if it’s just an inch or two, then contract the muscles for as long as you can and then release, let it all go. Everything should be done in a controlled manner. Continue this way until you can make it to the top of the bar.

Then for coming down, just let gravity do it’s work. It is one of the universal laws. 

Start today by creating a baseline of where you are and build the platform to success. 

Measure everything you do. 

At one point I was so focused on results I would measure everything in 30 minute intervals. The reason being when focused on completing the task it get done faster in most cases. Sometimes I will extend the time simply because 30 minutes is too short but it helps me stay on point. 

You can apply this principle to any task. 

Whenever I blog I usually time myself and often will extend the time because there is so much more information to add. The key is getting started. 

When training in these two exercises on a regular basis you will be amazed how the fat just shrinks right off of you. 

Put forth the effort and the results come. 

In fitness there is a principle call F.I.T.T

Frequency, how often a person trains. 

Intensity, how hard a person trains.

Time, How long a person trains. 

and Type or mode, What kind of training is being done. 

Whenever someone uses a personal trainer, that trainer if they have any decent knowledge will put together a program using this principle. This is how people get results. They are measuring what they are doing, they plan rest days, they plan everything from top to bottom and they start seeing results. It is just bound to happen. 

I mention this since sometimes i fin a fitness facility you may see people training so slow a turtle could beat em and they wonder why they don’t get results. Something is not firing properly. If they had simply laid out the proper foundations they would see the progress being made. 

Now gong to a gym is not for everyone. 

Some people prefer tennis, while others prefer other activities such as rock climbing. The trick is to find something you like and stick with it. 

One thing I like to do is change up the exercises every season. In the summer I like to swim since I find it a great workout and calms the mind. In the fall and spring I try to get in plenty of hiking and outdoors. I try to get plenty of fresh air and hiking actually can be one of the toughest exercises if done with weight or going up elevation. 

Recently I was hiking in Vermont and New Hampshire with a friend and the elevation hit us pretty quick. We literally hiked straight up a mountain. 

In the winter, I like to do bodyweight exercises that incorporates multiple muscle groups. Hindu Squats are great with some hindu push ups and bridging as well. Sometimes I’ll do iso-metrics and other times iso-tonics. 

This is just a brief sample. 

But, 

As mentioned before even if you just stick to the two best exercises outlined in this blog you will be in amazing shape!

Benfleischman.com