The 3 Most Important Exercises You Need to Master for Life!
Updated: Apr 10
Not everyone is an exerciser or enjoys working out. Not everyone is athletic or coordinated. Regardless of if this is you or not, there are few exercises that need to be a must for everyone in order to get through life.
Believe it or not, there are movements in life that are standard in the gym and if you master them, you will be surprised how much the body can do. Let’s discuss each movement and how you use them in life as well as tips to do them correctly.
The Squat
You may have heard from your old school physician that you shouldn’t squat or when you complain of knee pain they recommend never squatting again. Well, I’ve never heard anything so absurd! Never?? Really? How can we get through life if we never squat? On any given day we probably squat 5-10 times to retrieve an object on the ground or lift something heavy or get down to a child’s level, to name a few.
So how do we perform this movement without hurting ourselves?
The first motion should involve “butt out.” Hinge at your hips and stick your butt out behind you, without dropping your chest forward.
It’s ok if your knees go over your toes, but this shouldn’t be the first movement to occur.
Your weight should be through your heels so you engage your glutes/buttock muscles and decrease the strain at your knees.
Don’t allow your knees to come in towards each other, keep them in line with your hips and ankles.
If you have difficulty or pain performing a squat it can be due to multiple factors such as decreased hip or ankle mobility, glute weakness, decreased core weakness or control, or inability to coordinate the movement correctly. A physical therapist can assess your squat and help you determine where the deficit(s) lie and address them.
The Deadlift
If I got a quarter for every time someone tells me they hurt their back deadlifting or their physician told them deadlifts were the cause for their back pain, I’d be rich! Think about it this way. Is it the deadlift that’s the problem or your lack of core control, technique, or flexibility that causes the deadlift to put strain on your back?
Deadlifts get a bad wrap for sure, but it is a movement that we perform every single day.
Picking up groceries or a case of water
Lifting your son/daughter from the floor
Bending over to look in the lower cabinet
So how do we avoid hurting our back or straining another body part? First, we build up our core muscles, glutes, and hamstrings. Second, we learn how to turn these muscles on when moving. Lastly, we learn the correct technique: keeping back flat, hinging at hips, pushing through the floor, keeping the weight close to engage shoulder blade muscles. It sounds like a lot, and it can be if you don’t train to perform it correctly. Yet, it is so important that we learn so we can perform normal daily activities without straining our bodies.
The Strict/Push Press
Knowing how to lift objects overhead, especially heavy ones, might be the most obvious movement we encounter daily. Reaching overhead and placing items on a shelf or pulling dishes down from a cabinet are easily the most repetitive tasks we do each day. If you learn how to perform overhead activity without straining your body, you will save yourself from future pain and limitations.
Lifting objects overhead may seem like a no-brainer, but how do you perform this activity without straining your shoulders or back?
Shove your shoulder blades back and down, like trying to get them in your back pockets.
Squeeze your core muscles to protect your back.
Bring the object to chin height, keeping it close to you.
Press the object overhead while maintaining shoulder blade position and core control; think, my low back shouldn’t arch or my shoulders round.
If the weight is heavy, slightly bend at your knees and then extend to pop your hips and use your glutes and legs to get the weight overhead.
Now it’s Time to Practice!
The easiest way to get better at these movements is to practice them over and over, slowly, and without weight until your body learns the new pattern correctly, then add resistance or weight. If you aren’t sure you are doing them correctly, well…that’s what I’m for! Give me a ring and we can set up a time for an assessment of your mobility.
You can learn how a PT can be helpful in this situation and others by reading my blog: https://www.onthemovempt.com/post/3-reasons-why-you-need-a-physical-therapist-in-your-life
