Top 5 Exercises for Clients
- Coach Jade
Each trainer has their own favorite exercises to give their clients. Exercises that will help increase strength and endurance with easy progressions (alternative to make the movement harder) and regressions (alternative to make the movement easier). Take a look at my top 5 exercises I give to my clients.
Squats
Reason:
It’s one of the fundamental exercises that everyone should be able to perform. It’s one of the building blocks of exercise.
Benefits:
It strengthens muscles that you use on a daily basis. It also helps to improve balance and stability.
Focus:
To strengthen the legs and core.
Regression:
Wall squats (Squats with your body weight against a wall or stability ball).
Progression:
Jump squats (adding a jump after your squat movement).
Rows
Reason:
It’s an important movement to strengthen the muscles used for pulling the shoulders backward.
Benefits:
Improves posture especially for people that has a sedentary lifestyle or people that has a job which involves the shoulders to push forward most of the day (working on the laptop, excessive driving).
Focus:
To strengthen the mid back (Rhomboids).
Regression:
Seated row using amachine. This will allow for proper support for the body to keep good posture during the exercise.
Progression:
Renegade row (performing a row with a dumbbell while in a press up position).
Lunges
Reason:
There are so many different variations of the lunge that almost everyone can do them. It can be regressed and progressed in a way that it can challenge anyone, no matter where you find yourself on the fitness spectrum.
Benefits:
The benefits of performing lunges include improved mobility (in the hips and knees), increased strength (in the quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves), improved stability and balance.
Focus:
Strengthening the core and the muscles in the lower body.
Regression:
Static lunges. There will be more stability when holding onto something that doesn’t move.
Progression:
Jump lunges. Adding an explosive jump to the lunge will put more stress on the legs and also the cardiovascular system.
Burpees
Reason:
The burpee is an extremely effective exercise that incorporates a few different movements as well as having an impact on the cardiovascular system. Its also a good exercise to add into a circuit or body weighted boot-camps.
Benefit:
It’s an exercise that has a few different movements which means multiple muscles are used.
Focus:
Full body strength as well as putting stress on the cardiovascular system.
Regression:
Step burpee on an incline surface such as a box or bench.
Progression:
Burpee with a knee tuck.
Plank
Reason:
The plank is another exercise that has many different variations to challenge people with different fitness and strength levels. It’s one of the most effective exercises to strengthen the core.
Benefit:
You don’t need any equipment and your progressions are easily measurable.
Focus:
Core strength.
Regressions:
Holding the plank position from the knees.
Progression:
Performing the plank on a stability ball. You can also move the stability ball back and forth with your arms which will challenge you a bit more.
