4 Weekly Exercises That Build Full-Body Fitness Fast, Trainer Says
The endgame for most gym goers is to attain total-body fitness. Sound like a plan? We spoke with Stephen Tryens, B.S., CSCS, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and personal trainer at The Sanctuary Wellness Institute, who shares four essential weekly exercises to build full-body fitness.
Making sure your entire body is strong is the ultimate cheat code to aging well and leading an active, independent lifestyle. In fact, a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that men and women who reported higher levels of fitness and physical activity lowered their risk of death by approximately 20% to 35%.
The key to building a strong, toned body lies in choosing the right exercises. Stephen recommends performing compound movements, which work multiple joints.
“[Compound movements] use the most amount of muscles, which burns more calories (and also saves time in the gym),” explains Stephen. “Our bodies rarely move one joint at a time, so why would you train like that?”
The below exercises highlight all planes of movement: the frontal, sagittal, and transverse planes.
“They cover every joint,” Stephen confirms. “Additionally, the pushup and pull-up allow for a lot of scapular movement. The offset carry and pushup are great for core stability in different planes and the pull-up is great for spine decompression after all of the previous lifts.”
Let’s explore how to perform Stephen’s go-to weekly exercises to build full-body fitness.
Squat to Shoulder Press
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-distance apart.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level with your palms facing inward.
- Keeping your chest tall, descend into a squat.
- Lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Press through your feet to stand back up, pressing the dumbbells overhead as you do so.
- Lower the weights to shoulder level.
Pushups
- Begin in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders, keeping your body straight.
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor.
- Press through your hands to rise back up.
Pull-ups
- Hold onto a pull-up bar with your hands placed wider than shoulder-width.
- Activate your core and shoulders as you pull your chest up to the bar.
- Continue to lift until your chin clears the bar.
- Use control to lower.
Offset Carries
- Hold a heavy kettlebell or dumbbell with one hand by your side.
- In your other hand, hold onto a lighter weight at shoulder level in the rack position.
- Stand tall with a braced core and walk forward.
- Switch sides and repeat.
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