Whether training for sport or for general fitness, you should conduct exercises that are compound and functional in nature. Compound exercises are defined as movements that require more than one joint and one muscle group. Compound exercises help to build muscles. Functional movements integrate all major muscle groups from head to toe, primarily when standing up and engaging in more than one plane of movement. They do not require heavy, expensive machines, and can be performed almost anywhere. "We don't live our lives sitting in leg-press machines or leg-extension machines," reports fitness expert Lori Gross, "and we certainly don't play sports inside guided racks."
Squat Tosses
Squat tosses with a medicine ball are effective for building abdominal and lower-body muscles.
Take a 6 lb. to 8 lb. ball in both hands. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat into a sitting position until the knees are at approximately a 90 degree angle. Extend the ankles, knees, and hips with enough power to lift your feet off the ground without jumping. The drill works the quadriceps, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, abdominals, and hands. That is known as using the kinetic chain, during which the whole body works as a functional unit rather than a group of individual muscles.
Lunge With Arm Curl
Lunges combined with arm curls help develop biceps and forearms, as well as the abdominal muscles, the lower back, quadriceps, the gluteus maximus, and hamstrings.
Stand on a towel, or similar object, on a slick surface such as a wood floor. The exercise requires greater stability throughout the body. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, keep one foot on the towel at all times. Perform a reverse lunge and curl the dumbbells simultaneously. Return to a standing position. Repeat with the same leg eight to ten times. Switch legs and follow the same pattern.
Glute And Hamstring Bridge
Using a "physioball," lie face up, resting the head, neck, and upper back on the ball. The rest of the body forms a bridge, with the knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Lift one leg off the ground. Keep the gluteus maximus high and tight. Hold for 10 seconds per leg, alternating five times each. The hamstring, lower back, and gluteus maximus muscles all contract at once.
Hand Walks
Using only your body weight, bend at the waist, standing in a straight-leg, toe-touching position. Walk your hands out in front as far as possible. Avoid caving in, or hyperextending, the lower back. Follow by walking your feet back to the original position, using your ankles only. Do not bend your knees at all. Repeat for to 10 to 15 yards, two to three times. The exercise works the hamstrings, shoulders, lower back and abdominals. The drill can be incorporated into an active flexibility warmup as well.
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