If You Could Only Do One Exercise What Would It Be?
Good question?
Imagine someone limited you to one exercise and that was it for the rest of you training days, which one would you choose?
How often would you do it?
This question has been asked many times before and in many different ways. When I ask myself this question I always end up choosing about 5 exercises which is obviously not the point.
Many people will choose the barbell squat as it's been dubbed the 'King' of all exercises, for many a good reason too. Great athletes have built there power and careers using this exercise.
Ok, I'm gonna allow myself 2 answers one with free weights and one with kettlebells.
If it were free weights I reckon on the deadlift, for the simple reason it hits all the major muscle groups like the squat does but also trains grip shoulders and arms
to a good extent.
If I was to choose one kettlebell exercise I would definitely go for 'double kettlebell clean and press' as this exercise certainly hits many areas in many different ways. The double kettlebell clean is a very explosive movement which also seems to hit the core a lot harder than power clean with a barbell (mainly due to 'swinging' the KB's out and away from your body slightly before you catch them at shoulder height. Then the pressing motion speaks for it's self, it trains the shoulders and triceps and uses the core to stabilise the weight overhead.
So there you go, what would you do?
If you have any sense you would pick an exercise that would hit all the major muscle groups and one also that will improve athleticism. There are many to choose from. You could even give it a try and see what the results yield. If you're in off season for your sport then whay not. You will certainly become proficient in the chosen exercise which may even carry over to others.
Or even work on an exercise you really hate but make sure it's the only one you would do.
If You Could Only Do One Exercise
Kettlebell Workouts On Tv
2 hours ago
For free weights, I'm pretty much with you on the dead. Not only because it hits all the majors, but because that's the action I find that I do most often that requires strength: picking something up off the floor or some other surface.
So that's a good reason to train that way--purely for function and to prep your body for real life. Even beyond training for sport.
It's also one of the reasons Pavel Tsatsouline had it in his super-basic workout "Power for the People."
For a relatively heavy lift, it's pretty non-technical and safe (note that at competition poundages, it can be considered *quite* technical).
But if I had only one lift or exercise to do forever, it would be to prepare for real life and not for sport.
In that vein--it would be a toss-up between the dead and barbell clean and presses.
Because with clean and presses (or clean and jerk) you can go heavy enough to prepare you for real life with the pull, even though you aren't using quite the same poundage as in the dead. And you still get the bennie of a pushing motion with the press.
Hmmm. Maybe I've changed my answer... :) I've done series of workouts (trainings) where the only exercise was clean and press... but done it for reps using relatively light weights. And that was long before I had kettlebells. Talk about a workout!
And of course, I'm totally on board with the clean and press for kettlebells. For the same reasons. But I would say just clean and press and not count whether it was double or single. I like 'em both...
Cheers,
Bill
Cheers Bill
We think alike my man!
As you say the dead is a very functional lift and related to every day life and one reason why I do it weekly.
As a side point I read an ebook called Bear powered, or something like that. It was for sprinting and could also be used for throwers too. The basic idea was to deadlift 3 to 4 times per week or however much you felt you could tolerate for about 4 sets of 3 reps followed by 6 vertical jumps onto a box. The idea being that the deadlift gave you the most bang for your buck and the plyos complimented it. Throwers could also follow up with some upper body plyos, preceded by a heavy pushing exercise. Apparently the routine has had some good success. One of those athletes being Allyson Felix.
Simple programs are often best especially for technical events were you need to spend time learning the event and honing your skills.
Cheers
Rob
Burpee (York Boxing - Mad Pat styly)
Tuck jump - star jump - tuck jump - squat thrust - clap pressup - situp - squat thrust to groiner
Repeat.
Mad style burpee! Nice. Whats the groiner again?