10 Exercises To Strengthen Full Body

You intend to live a long life and you need to stay fit enough to take care of yourself. You need plans to work on your basic functional fitness as you age. Keep your knees flexible, arms strong, good grip strength, and continued good health. All this is functional fitness.

Knowing why and how this is necessary will certainly help you achieve your functional fitness goals more easily. It can be as complex or simple as you need so that you can rely on your own body to do what you ask of it your entire life.

What Is Functional Fitness?

Work toward your Functional Fitness goals. This means you are improving your ability to do everyday things. The concept is so basic it can often be overlooked. But, from posture to lifting boxes and so much more, all functional fitness is vital to your regular health and wellbeing.

What Happens Without Functional Fitness

Functional Fitness is a whole-body targeting system designed to keep you healthy. It is both less obvious and more serious when you don’t keep up with it. Sadly, health is not quite like riding a bicycle. Your muscles remember how to move. But they will lose the elasticity and ability to do even the most basic physical feats. It doesn’t take long to experience muscle atrophy.

What Are the Benefits of Maintaining Functional Fitness

Better health is its own reward, but there’s a little more to it than that. When you work on your functional fitness it improves other areas of your life. Functional fitness can make your workouts easier. And your body more comfortable doing almost anything.

A happy healthy body is likely to burn more calories with less effort. It could help further your weight loss goals. Use them in conjunction with other diet and exercise changes.

How Do I Start

Talking to your doctor is always a wise choice before you begin any major changes. Some gyms offer their own functional fitness programs, but you can also try other methods. Remember to stay hydrated and avoid overeating before you exercise.

If you’re not feeling well because of a seasonal cold cut back on your exercises until the illness passes. The goal is to make it easier to avoid feeling wiped out after doing normal things.

Stick to a program that helps with balance, strength, coordination, and range of motion. You are not aiming to bulk up muscle mass too much. To achieve your functional fitness goals, all you need to do is work to become better at what you already know how to do.

Keeping up your functional fitness goals doesn’t have to be a chore. You can find plenty of ways to exercise the muscles you use and enjoy yourself at the same time.

Functional fitness can be done without specialized equipment. You don’t use special equipment to live your daily life. There is so much variety available that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

10 Functional Fitness Exercises

— Here are 10 functional exercises to give you a full-body workout.
— Perform exercises that mimic movement that you would do out in the “real world”.
— Target multiple muscle groups and reap full-body benefits in less time.
— After a couple of sessions, you’ll start to improve. endurance, balance, posture, strength, coordination, and agility from head to toe. And because you have to use your brain to do the moves, time goes by faster than regular workouts. Can’t beat that!

1. Medicine Ball Squat with Overhead Lift

1. Stand with your feet wide apart, holding a light medicine ball in front of you with both hands.
2. Squat down, moving your rear back and keeping your knees over your ankles.
3. Lower the medicine ball to the floor, keeping your head up and back straight (don’t hunch).
4. Return to the start position, and lift the medicine ball over your head.
5. Repeat the squat, and lower ball to the ground.
6. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions.

Increase the weight of the ball as you get stronger.

2. Stair Climb with Bicep Curl

1. Stand at the bottom of a flight of stairs, holding a 5- to 8-pound dumbbell in each hand.
2. Climb the stairs while performing bicep curls.
3. Walk or run down the stairs while holding the weights, but don’t do curls.
4. Repeat five to 10 times.

Increase the dumbbell weight as your arms get stronger. Mix up your climbs by taking two steps at a time for a flight or two.

3. Hip Extension with Reverse Fly

1. Stand tall, holding a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand.
2. Extend your right leg back, and place your toe on the floor, keeping your right leg straight.
3. Lean forward slightly at the hips.
4. Lift your right leg behind you as you bring your chest toward the floor.
5. Lifting your arms straight out, forming a T at your shoulders.
6. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your head in line with your neck.
7. Return to the start position.
8. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each leg.

As you get stronger, increase dumbbell weight, and strap 2- to 5-pound weights on your ankles.

4. Diagonal Reach with Medicine Ball

1. Stand tall, holding a medicine ball at your chest with both hands.
2. Lift the medicine ball diagonally overhead to the right.
3. Straighten your arms while extending your left leg to the side.
4. Make a diagonal line from the medicine ball to your toes.
5. Lower to the start position.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each leg.

Increase the weight of the medicine ball, and strap 2- to 5-pound weights on your ankles as you get stronger.

5. Lunge with Back Row

1. Holding an 8-pound weight in each hand, step your right foot forward and your left foot back.
2. Keep both heels on the floor and feet pointing straight ahead. Bend your right knee until it is over your right ankle.
3. Lower your chest toward your thigh, bringing your arms perpendicular to the floor.
4. Keep your back flat (don’t hunch) — this is your start position.
5. Straighten your right leg.
6. Row your elbows back, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
7. Keeping your torso angled slightly forward.
8. Return to the start position.
9. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each leg.

Increase the weight of the dumbbells as you get stronger. This exercise can also be done with a resistance band looped underneath the front foot.

6. Knee Lift with Lateral Raise

1. Stand tall with a 5-pound weight in each hand, arms to your sides.
2. Lift your right knee until it reaches the hip level.
3. Lifting your arms straight out to the side to form a “T” at your shoulders.
4. Hold for two seconds, making sure your belly button is pulled back toward your spine.
5. Lower to the start position.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each leg.

Increase the weight of the dumbbells as you get stronger.

7. Push-Up with Hip Extension

1. On your hands and knees, place your hands wider than shoulder-distance apart.
2. Extend your right leg straight back. Pull your belly button up toward your spine, tightening your core muscles.
3. Keeping your leg lifted, lower your chest to the ground until each of your elbows is at a 90-degree angle, then push up.
4. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each leg.

As you get stronger, increase the angle of your hips. Increase the distance of your knees from your hands. Perform the exercise with straight legs: one leg lifted, the other positioned on your toes.

8. Torso Rotation with Medicine Ball

1. Sit on the ground with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, holding a medicine ball at your chest with both hands.
2. Lean your torso away from your thighs, increasing the angle at your hips.
3. Pull your belly button in toward your spine. Maintain your hip angle. Rotate your torso to the right and move your right elbow toward the floor behind you.
4. Return to center, and rotate to the left.
5. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each side.

As you get stronger, perform the rotations with straighter arms. Or use a heavier medicine ball. Always keep your belly button pulled in.

9. Supine Bridge with Arm Extension

1. Sit on the floor with your hands underneath your shoulders, knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Keep your arms straight. Use your legs to push your hips up toward the ceiling until your torso is flat as a tabletop.
3. Lift your right arm straight up toward the ceiling. Rotate your upper body so that it is supported by your left arm.
4. Keep your hips lifted. Lower your right arm to the start position, and just slightly lower your hips, but don’t let them return to the floor.
5. Continue with your left arm.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 times for each side.

As you get stronger, hold your arm and hips up for two seconds before slightly lowering. You can also lay a weighted ankle strap across your hips to increase the weight your legs must lift.

10. Dynamic Prone Plank

1. Get on your hands and toes, facing the floor.
2. Keep your head, back, and legs in a straight line and your arms straight underneath your shoulders.
3. Lift your rear toward the ceiling, pulling your belly button into your spine.
4. Form a pike or downward dog yoga position, lengthening your arms and legs.
5. Return to plank position. Bend your elbows against your sides, lowering your torso and legs to the floor.
6. Keep your lower body flat on the floor. Use your arms to push your chest and head up toward the ceiling. Like the cobra pose in yoga.
7. Stretch out the front of your body.
8. Lower yourself, and push your body back into plank position.
9. Repeat five to 10 times.

As you get stronger, increase the number of repetitions.

Would You Like To Know More: Functional Strength Training & Power Yoga