According to Rodney Corn, MS, co-founder of PTA Global in Boulder, Colorado, full-body strength is using your entire body to produce stability, strength, and power. It also refers to your ability to produce strength and control in multiple directions, such as moving back and forth, side to side, and with rotation. There is almost no limit to how many types of full-body strength exercises you can do. You can change an exercise by changing how you stand, where you move, and grip positions.
Squat Press
According to Gray Cook, founder of Functional Movement Systems in Danville, Virginia, the squat press exercise teaches you to transfer strength from your lower body to your upper body. Hold a pair of dumbbells over your shoulders and stand with your legs hip-width apart with your toes pointing forward. Squat down as low as you can while keeping your spine upright. Press the weights above your head as you stand up, using your legs and buttocks to lift. Lower the weights and repeat the movement.
You can change the workout by using one dumbbell, placing on leg in front of the other, or use a different exercise equipment, such as kettlebells, a barbell, or a sandbag.
Sledgehammer
The sledgehammer exercise is a downward chopping movement across your body, using a 10- to 20-pound sledgehammer or a barbell with a weight plate secured on one end only. Use a large, used tire as a target which you can get at any tire center. This exercise requires you to brace your spine and trunk while using your legs and upper body to produce the swinging movement.
Hold the sledgehammer with your right hand in an underhand grip near the weighted side and your left hand in an overhand grip at the opposite end. Stand in front of the tire with your body at an angle with your left foot closest to it. Swing the hammer over your head and down at the tire. Grip the hammer firmly so you do not lose it and hurt yourself. Bend your legs and hips as you swing, but keep your spine in a neutral position at all times.
Work on balance and technique first before progressing to speed and endurance. If one side of your body is weaker or less coordinated than the other side, do an extra set on that side.
Jump, Pull-up, Push-up
This exercise combines three basic calisthenics into one total-power exercise. Do not do this if you are not proficient with the push-up, pull-up, and vertical jump. Use a pull-up bar or any similar bar for this exercise.
Stand beneath a pull-up bar and jump up to grab it. Use the momentum from the jump to do a pull-up. When you land, squat deep and hop into a push-up position. Do one push-up, hop back to a squat position, and jump up to do another pull-up. Work on technique first before progressing to speed and endurance.
You can change the workout by jumping and landing with one leg in front of the other, or turning your body around when you jump up to do a pull-up. Experiment with various body positions to create your own workout sequence.
References
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
- "IDEA Fitness Journal"; Creative Total Body Exercises; Rodney Corn, MS; February 2010
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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