As personal trainers are prone to do I’ve spent way more time thinking about fitness than I really should. It’s really boring... and yes, I probably should get out more! Anyway, several years ago a friend asked me the following question which has since consumed a rather embarrassing amount of my cognitive energy.
If you could only do 3 exercises for the rest of your life, which ones would they be?
There are of course lots of good exercises so my answer has changed over the years depending on what I’m into at the time. But recently I think I’ve come up with a more definitive answer.
Push ups, pull ups and sprints.
Here is why I like this combination so much:
SIMPLICITY
Aside from a bar (or suspension trainer) all you need is your own bodyweight and the downward pull of gravity to perform, progress and master all three exercises. Perfect for the fitness minimalist.
TOTAL FITNESS
Push ups and pull ups will strengthen all the major muscle groups of your upper body including your core when performed correctly. Sprints synergistically strengthen your foot, lower leg, thighs and hips all while providing a great cardiovascular workout. Combine them together and you have total body fitness.
JOINT-FRIENDLY
Unlike many popular exercises the basic versions of push ups, pull ups and sprints respect the natural function of your joints which is great for long-term exercise health. Of course each move still needs to be scaled appropriately and you should always avoid the common pitfall of too much, too often.
LONGEVITY
Anti-ageing is big business yet probably one of the best things you can do to enjoy a long, healthy and active life is get strong. Perhaps more specifically you should aim to improve your strength : weight ratio which is where the combination of push ups, pull ups and sprints come in. Any improvement in your strength : weight ratio (more strength, less weight or both) will see performance in all three moves improve making them great markers of progress and, quite possibly longevity too!
Put simply if you did nothing else but get really good at these three moves you would
1) Be in excellent all-round physical condition
2) Dance rings around 95 % of your friends and colleagues in most athletic pursuits
3) Have a rock solid foundation from which to pursue other fitness ventures
And that is pretty cool.