Did you reach a workout plateau? Is performing the same old routine getting stale? Whatever the case, it’s always motivating to switch things up and see what others are doing to keep in shape. After all, variety is the spice of life! We chatted with experts in the fitness world to find out the top exercises trainers do to stay fit.
Gear up for some major ‘fitspo and lace up those sneakers, because after reading this, you’ll be ready to hit the gym.
Jacquie Smith
If you’re looking for total-body strengthening exercises that’ll enhance your physique, Jacquie Smith, a certified integrative nutrition health coach and fitness instructor specializing in barre, yoga, and pre/postnatal workouts, has your back. She says of her daily top picks, “[They] are incredibly powerful at building upper body strength while simultaneously engaging your belly and lower back. They will elevate any workout.”
Planks
To set up for Smith’s first go-to daily exercise, your hands should be directly under your shoulders and your feet hip-width distance apart. Drive back with your heels, and make sure your hips stay in line with your shoulders. Pull your abs in to really activate your core during this exercise.
Pushups
To properly perform Smith’s next favorite movement, place your hands a bit wider than your shoulder span. Your elbows should be driving out to the sides. Feel free to perform the motion on the tops of your thighs (with your feet together and knees bent), or for an added challenge, with your legs out straight.
Tyler Read, NASM-CPT
Next up, Tyler Read, NASM certified trainer and founder of PTPioneer.com, a website focused on career advice for aspiring personal trainers, shares with us “arguably the best bang-for-your-buck” lower and upper body exercises he loves to do on the regular. He explains that when utilizing your full range of motion for both moves, you’ll get a nice little athleticism and mobility boost.
Squats
Get ready to activate every single muscle in your lower body with one of Read’s go-to exercises, squats. When you include weights in this exercise, you’ll stabilize your entire body including upper body and core contractions.
To perform a squat, start by positioning your feet a bit wider than your hips. Then, hinge your hips back and squat down by bending at your knees. Make sure your torso stays above a 45-degree angle and your knees remain parallel to your toes. Use both feet to drive yourself back up, activating your quads and glutes, to get back to the starting position.
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Pull-ups
Pull-ups are next in our top exercises trainers do every day to stay fit. Read explains this movement targets the big muscles in your upper back by activating your shoulders, biceps, and chest, depending on the grip variation you opt for.
In order to perform this exercise, take hold of a pull-up bar with a neutral (more biceps), overhand (more lats), or underhand (more biceps and rhomboid) grip. Pinch your shoulders back and down while you contract your arms and lats to bring your body up to the bar. Pull up as high as you can, with the goal of bringing your chest to the bar. Then, using control, lower your body back down.
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
Last but certainly not least, Tim Liu, C.S.C.S., an online fitness and nutrition coach, shares two ultra-productive strengthening exercises. One is geared toward stretching out the spine and building up the lats, while the other boosts leg strength and opens up the hips. So without delay, let’s get into the six best exercises trainers do to stay fit.
Chin-ups
Liu reveals this exercise gives his spine a solid stretch and builds up the lats. It’s also a stellar choice to maintain strength and endurance.
To get started, grab the bar a bit outside of your shoulder span; make sure your palms face away from your body. Hang onto the bar, and push your shoulders down. Then, pull your body up to the bar so that your chin reaches above it, squeezing the upper back muscles and lats. Lean back just a bit before lowering your body back to the position you started in.
Dumbbell Walking Lunges
According to Liu, this is a regular exercise he performs “because it helps strengthen your legs, opens up your hips, and when done for higher reps, you’ll get a cardio effect from it.”
To set up, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bring one leg forward, securely planting that food on the ground. Using control, lower your body into a lunge, touching that back knee to the floor. Bring your other leg forward to repeat the motion.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa
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