The 8 Basic Resistance Training Movements

It's amazing how exercise equipment manufacturers have managed to reinvent the same machines over and over again. If you could use your imagination, and while envisioning a favorite exercise machine in motion remove the machine and actually view the movement of the bodyparts involved, you'd see that most of the most popular exercises can be reduced to 6 primary movements.

Let's consider, as an example, a chest press machine. You would either sit or lie down and you push two fixed handles directly out in front of you so you finish with your arms extended, the resistance pressing your hands back toward your chest.

Now visually remove the machine, have the body lie face up on a bench, and mentally place on dumbbell in each hand. You now have a dumbbell bench press. The resistance is being focused in the same manner, pushing the hands back toward the chest when the arms are fully extended. Now take that body, remove the weights, remove the bench, and flip it over so it's lying on the floor face down. Now add motion.

Yup, it's the old standard pushup. In health clubs members argue over which is better, the Hammer Strength Chest Press, the Bodymasters Chest Press, or the old Nautilus Chest Press, and the fact is, those dumbbells sitting over on the dumbbell rack can do very much the same thing as those $3,000 machines. I get no less than one hundred e-mails per week asking me "which is better" and naming machines, and another hundred from people wanting me to design a resistance exercise routine. My programs, TRANSFORM, The ANSWER, and The Best You've Ever Been all include very complete strategically designed programs, but if you're not ready to take that leap, if you just want the basics, I absolutely guarantee that if you incorporate this six movements into a regular resistance exercise routine, challenging the muscles beyond the challenge they're used to, you're going to notice strength increases, muscle tone, and the body beginning to feel more solid. You don't NEED machines. You don't even NEED one of my programs. You just need a basic understanding of how to challenge muscle, and then of course you have to balance the resistance exercise with moderate aerobic exercise and supportive nutrition.

I'll lay out the eight movements below, and then I'll suggest how they can be structured into a routine. The illustrations are simply meant to . . . well . . . to illustrate. They are not intended to be substitutes for exercise instruction. If you are unfamiliar with the movements, it would be in your best interest to either get together with a qualified fitness professional, or perhaps to join eFitness and make use of their virtual trainer feature.

Squat - whether you're performing a leg press where your body is in motion and your feet rest against a platform, or you're performing a leg press where your back is supported and you use your legs to push the resistance away from you, you are moving from the hip and knee joints extending the legs. This calls to action the large frontal thigh muscles named the quadriceps and the powerful gluteus (otherwise known as . . . the butt muscle). One of the most all encompassing resistance training movements is the Squat which has you moving in precisely the same manner as a leg press machine, but calls into play balance and stability muscles used in real world movement.

Leg Curl - the hamstring muscles in the rear of the thigh contract when the knee joint flexes (bends). Whether you're using a standing leg curl machine, seated leg curl machine, or lying leg curl machine, the primary movement is the same. If you have a partner to spot you you can perform this movement (carefully) holding a dumbbell between your feet lying face down on the floor. You can even perform a leg curl by lying on the floor face up with your feet on a stability ball if you press your heels downward into the ball as your knees bend.

Calf Raise - the soleus and gastrocnemius are more commonly known as the calf muscles, and they are called upon to allow you to raise up on your toes, or propel yourself forward when you walk. Whether you are using a standing calf machine, performing calf raises on the leg press machine, or holding a dumbbell as you raise up on your toes, you're efficiently targeting the calf.

Row - There are seated rows, cable rows, bent over barbell rows, and row row row your boats, but although they may have different names, they all ask the biceps and upper back muscles to work together to pull toward the body against resistance. Incorporate a one-arm row with a dumbbell in your routine and you're calling to action those very same muscles. Of course, you'll be sure to work both sides by performing the movement with one arm and then switching the dumbbell to the other.

Chest Press - we've already covered this one. You very simply perform a movement that pushes the resistance away from your body. Dumbbells? Barbells? It's your preference. You can even use elastic tubing attached to a sturdy object behind you to push the ends forward in front of your body. Remember, think not of the machine, but of the anatomical movement.

Overhead Press - This is a great movement for developing, toning, and strengthening the shoulders. Whether you're pushing the handles of the Cybex shoulder press machine, performing a seated dumbbell shoulder press, an overhead barbell press, or standing on your head and pushing your body away from the floor (don't try this one at home), the movement is the same.

Biceps Curl - To work the biceps, you bend the elbow against resistance. There are all sorts of machines, cable units, and hydraulic devices to work the biceps, but a dumbbell in hand can stimulate development quite efficiently.

Tricep Extension - While the biceps bend the elbow, the triceps extend the arm from the elbow joint. They are being called to act in the chest press and shoulder press movements, but if you want to work that "back of the arm" area, incorporate a movement that begins with the elbow bent, and then pushes, against resistance, to extend (straighten) the arm. This can be done with a dumbbell in each hand lying on the floor, with a single dumbbell or a barbell overhead, with one arm at a time in a rear tricep extension, or pushing downward on a high pulley cable machine.

Now, how do you put these together to form a routine? Here's the most basic method:
All of the following routines are based on a three non-consecutive days per week workout schedule (i.e. Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

Beginner - perform one set of each movement selecting a weight that will allow you to get between 15 and 20 repetitions.

Intermediate - perform three sets of each movement beginning with a light weight for 15 repetitions, and then gradually increasing for sets of 8-12 reps.

Advanced - while you might think advanced exercisers are way beyond the simplicity of the 8 basic movements, the reality is, most of them are performing the movements anyway. The stronger the individual, of course the greater the resistance should be which makes for a self-adjusting program that modifies itself to meet invidividual requirements for unique physical challenge.

Will this routine work forever?
Nope, not if you want ongoing improvement, but for experienced exercisers who've hit a plateau, it's a good way to bring things back to the basics, and for beginners it's a great way to start out.

For those who want something more advanced, consider the following using my 1-2-3 method of developing endurance, strength, and power. http://www.philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/8basicexercises.htm

I know many of you have a million questions, but c'mon now. This article was about the basic movements. My TRANSFORM! book is 368 pages, the Best You've Ever Been closer to 400! It just isn't possible to provide everything in a single article (although I defy you to find a website with more honest, usable, real world fitness information than this one).

How do you incorporate abs? Well, that's an article in itself. How do you tie this in with aerobic exercise? Another entire topic to be taken on at a later date. For now, the goal was to get beginners started and to re-introduce experienced exercisers' eyes, eyes that might have been clouded by the wild array of exercise machines, to the simplicity of resistance exercise. I hope I've done my job. Of course, you can find a great deal of information on related topics at my site. And of course . . . you can always consider one of my programs!

By Phil Kaplan. Phil has changed people's lives all over the world with Transform, 17 Day Answer - and his other programs, that you can view at this site: http://www.philkaplan.com