Know Your Needs

What Exercises Should Make Up Your Workout Routine? 

As we’ve discussed before, the best workout routine is one that you will actually be able to do consistently. When you’re just starting out, it’s best to avoid over complicating things with too many exercises or too many target muscles. Instead, try to build a routine which has at least one exercise that targets each of the following muscles.

❖    Fronts of legs (quads);

❖    Muscles for pushing (shoulders, triceps and chest);

❖    Lower back and stomach (core);

❖    Back, biceps and grip (“pull” muscles);

❖    Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).

Factors like your age, goals, free time and geographical location will all come into play when you’re choosing where to work out. There is an endless variety of different programs, exercises, sets and reps to choose from, but it’s important not to over complicate your routine if you want to be able to stick with it. Planning your own workout gives you the freedom to pick absolutely any exercise, so long as you aim to work all of these muscles.

Whether we like it or not, though, we are creatures of habit, so try to pick something you will be able to do regularly.

If you want to create a routine that requires only 4-5 exercises, it’s best to pick compound movements that work out several muscle groups at once. This is the most efficient way to work out. The following is a quick guide of the different exercises that work out each muscle group.

❖    Front of legs: Box jumps, leg press, lunges, one legged squats;

❖    Muscles for pushing: Dips, flat barbell bench press, incline dumbbell press, standing military press, push ups;

❖    Lower back and stomach: Hanging leg raises, kneeling extension, side planks, exercise ball crunches, mountain climbers, jumping knee tucks;

❖    Pull (back, biceps, and forearms): Chin ups, pull ups, bodyweight rows, bent-over rows;

❖    Butt and hamstrings: Deadlifts, hip raises, straight leg deadlifts, good mornings, step ups.

Wherever you’re based, there will be some way for you to boost your daily life with some added fitness and wellbeing. You can greatly improve your health – and your daily life as a whole – if you are able to introduce an exercise regime with a solid routine. You need to get active every day, whether that’s through your Pil Sung Do training or through your self-made workouts.

You’ll be working out almost all of your muscles every day if you add just one exercise from each of the groups above to your daily workout. If you want a great physique or more strength, aim to increase the weight or number of reps on each movement every week. For a simple-but-effective workout you can do in any gym, check out the example below.

❖    Box jumps – 3 sets of 5 reps;

❖    Dips – 3 sets of 8 reps;

❖    Hanging leg raises – 5 sets of 3 reps;

❖    Pull-ups (or inverted rows) – 3 sets of 8 reps;

❖    Barbell deadlifts – 3 sets of 3 reps.