Fitness
Fitness
Fitness: Beginner or advanced, here are the best exercises
Fitness is great; however, which exercises should you start with? Here's what you need to know to improve your cardio, balance and strength.
Are you ready to change up your fitness routine, burn calories, and sculpt a body that would make any Greek statue jealous? We've put together a list of the best exercises you can do at home or in the gym, whatever your level. Prepare your dumbbells, put on your most stylish outfit, and let yourself be guided to become the best version of yourself. Who knows, maybe you'll take part in the next HYROX competition?
01
Types of fitness exercises and their benefits
Fitness encompasses various types of exercises. You can transition from an intense workout, where sweat and palpitations define your session, to a yoga class where serenity prevails. Yes, fitness has many facets. Here is a Brief overview:
Cardio
Cardio is THE star of the gym: it's what makes your heart beat a little faster, but above all, it helps you burn maximum calories and increase your stamina at the same time. From jogging to HIIT sessions, these exercises will really get you sweating - provided you do them right. Bonus: they're perfect for reducing stress and improving cardiovascular health.
Strength training
It helps to shape the body and gain strength. Besides strengthening your muscles, these exercises increase your metabolism, which helps you burn calories even at rest. Some are even effective for running faster. And yes, it's not all suffering
Flexibility
Flexibility exercises like yoga are essential to improve your posture and prevent injury. Little bonus: You'll finally be able to touch your toes without cheating by bending your knees.
Balance and coordination
In fitness, balance is your best ally. Why? Because it helps you to perform the more complex movements of the discipline better. To work on this, think of planks, single-leg exercises or training sessions with a Swiss ball.
Cricketer Cameron Green performs a balance exercise
© Leo Rosas/Red Bull Content Pool
What are the best fitness exercises?
Let's get practical with a list of some pretty effective exercises you can do in fitness.
02
Push-up (or press-up)
Lying on your stomach, hands flat on the floor slightly wider than your shoulders, push with your arms to raise your body and then lower it again without touching the floor. Keep your body stable throughout the movement. A push-up, a very basic fitness exercise (but not the easiest).
Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnaller leads a fitness session
© Alessandro Dealberto/Red Bull Content Pool
Difficulty: medium
Strong point: strengthens the upper body like never before
Muscles trained: Chest, shoulders, triceps
What to do: Tense your body and maintain perfect alignment
Not to do: Avoid sagging your hips or arching your back. Hands should not be too narrow or too wide apart
Also called the reverse pec deck, the reverse butterfly is a perfect exercise to train the back shoulder. It is performed on a strength machine. Sitting on the bench, grasp the handles with your arms stretched out in front of you and push so that they stretch into a cross shape, then return to the starting position. A variation if you can't go to the gym: Take two weights (or dumbbells) in each hand, stand up straight and raise your arms in a cross shape to head height before lowering them again.
Difficulty: medium
Strong point: mainly trains the rear deltoids, which are sometimes lagging behind and less active
Muscles trained: lower and upper trapezius muscles, front and lateral deltoids, trunk, back extensors, thighs
What to do: Always keep your elbows slightly bent
Not to do: when the arms open, do not tilt the head forwards>Difficulté : moyenne
03
Russian Twist
The Russian Twist with extra weight
© Brett Hemmings / Red Bull Content Pool
Sitting on the floor, feet slightly raised, tilt your upper body backwards and then twist your torso from left to right while holding a weight or ball.
Difficulty: medium, with weight as an additional challenge
Strong point: strengthens the abdominal muscles and improves trunk rotation
Muscles trained: oblique abdominal muscles, abdominal muscles
To do: Keep feet firmly planted and, when you feel confident, slightly raised
Not to do: Perform movement in an uncontrolled manner, otherwise there is a high risk of injuryr un challenge
04
The plank
Position yourself as for push-ups, but lean on your forearms and keep your body straight in a line from head to toe for as long as possible. In addition to muscles, you also need mental steel.
Laura Horváth training her core
© Leo Rosas / Red Bull Content Pool
Difficulty: the longer you hold, the more difficult it gets
Strong point: when planking, you train the whole body
Muscles trained: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abdomen, shoulders
What to do: Keep your back straight. You can take short breaks by turning on your side and leaning on one elbow to rest a little (a false rest)
Not to do: Try not to arch or sag your back
05
Squats
A deep squat is a good test of mobility.
© Ben Longley
A basic exercise in fitness, known to everyone: Squats. Feet parallel, standing position, simply bend your knees and push your buttocks backwards. Bonus: You can do the same with a rubber band or kettlebell. This resistance increases the work of the hamstrings. And by the way, it hurts even more.
Difficulty: easy
Strong point: you'll get a bum that blows everyone away
Muscles trained: Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes
What to do: lower your thighs until they are parallel to the floor
What not to do: push your knees too far forward
06
Mountain Climber
In a push-up position, alternate between bringing your knees quickly to your chest as if you were running horizontally. It's intense, it burns, but it's also very effective for cardio.
Difficulty: difficult
Strong point: Exercise that works both cardio and muscles
Muscles trained: Abs, quadriceps, shoulders
To do: try to bring your knees as close to your chest as possible
What not to do: lose the rhythm. Otherwise, the whole series will be ruined
07
Walking lunges
HYROX pro Jake Dearden puts in work at the gym
© Markus Rohrbacher / Red Bull Content Pool
Take a big step forward with one leg, bend both knees until the back one almost touches the floor, and then walk forward with the other leg. For advanced athletes who want a bit more of a challenge, use a sandbag as they do in Hyrox exercises.
Difficulty: easy
Strong point: improves balance and strengthens the muscles at the same time
Muscles trained: Quadriceps, glutes, calves
What to do: keep your back straight
Not to do: the knee must not extend beyond the toes
08
Hyperextension (back extension exercises)
Lying on your stomach on a bench or on the floor, legs fixed, raise your upper body by tensing your lower back muscles, then slowly lower it again.
Difficulty: easy to medium
Strong point: protects and strengthens the lower back
Muscles trained: Lumbar muscles, glutes
To do: controlled movement without forcing the stretch
Not to do: push back too hard so as not to overload the spine
09
Cross crunches
Strength training can be done at home
© Helge Roeske/Red Bull Content Pool
Lying on your back, knees bent, hands behind your head (or not), lift one shoulder towards the opposite knee while tensing the oblique abdominal muscles, then switch sides.
Difficulty: medium
Strong point: targets the oblique abdominal muscles for a defined abdomen
Muscles trained: Abdominal muscles, oblique abdominal muscles
To do: focus on the contraction, not the speed
Not to do: don't pull the neck, let the abs do the work
10
Shall we start with fitness?
This non-exhaustive list of fitness exercises are the basics of discipline, but also very effective. Today, new fitness trends are emerging, such as the "Pilates Reformer", which is practised on a machine invented by Joseph Pilates himself, or cardio climbing, a HIIT workout on a vertical climbing machine that trains the cardio and all the muscles of the body.
