I’m a Human Performance Coach – Here are the Best Exercises for Strength and Mobility

Time is a limited resource. If you’re going to spend it gymChances are you want to optimize your investments by getting the best performance Practice For you suitability Target; strength building, weight management, recovery mobility or otherwise.

The phrase “best” in this context is subjective – everyone is playing different roles depending on factors like their goals, genetics, and the resources at their disposal. But Dr. Andy GalpinParker, a tenured full professor at University and world-renowned human performance coach, says there’s a way to determine which strength training Exercises will be most valuable to you.

Rather than recommending specific exercises for all people, he says people should: “Select exercises that take you through the greatest range of motion that is safe for you”.

This means first being honest with yourself about your current range of motion, what feels comfortable and where your strength levels are; Again, implementing Dr. Galpin’s advice.

How to improve your strength and mobility

“If you can get into a great situation [barbell back] clumsyAppreciation; If you need to take it to a back leg high split squat, great; and if you [are not mobile enough and] She needs to get on a leg extension machine, that’s okay too,” she told me, adding that Healf’s HX25 Wellness Program,

All three of these exercises target the same primary muscle – the quadriceps muscle on the front of the thigh – but each variation requires different degrees of mobility, stability and skill.

“In all of these exercises, we want to try to move the muscles through the greatest range of motion possible while keeping them under control,” Galpin explains. An easy way to measure this is to look at the change in angle at the main active joint during exercise – in the case of the above example, this joint is the knee.

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People should not include an exercise in their training plans simply because of its reputation, or because of its trending on social mediaRather, you should find a variety of exercises that work for your needs and training experience.

If you can’t perform an exercise pain-free or with good technique, transition it back into a similar motion that targets the same muscles while still allowing you to move well – for example, swapping barbells. bench press For elevated press-ups with hands. If you can perform an exercise perfectly with lots of repetitions, take it further by adding weight, adding repetitions or adopting a more challenging movement option.

Dr. Galpin says this knowledge can be empowering for your training, especially if you exercise at home. This means that, whatever equipment you have, you can get results – as long as you use it to put your muscles through a large, controlled range of motion and do a sufficient number of reps to challenge your body.

“If you have a huge gym, you usually have access to everything,” he says. “But even if you only have a medicine ball, you can do some goblet squats, some single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and some medicine ball slams for a good workout.”

The workout below shows how you can recruit muscles throughout your body using just two dumbbells and four exercises.

Best Exercises to Improve Mobility

Despite its name, the benefits of strength training go beyond simply increasing the amount of weight you can lift.

,[It can lead to] “Muscle growth and greater range of motion, especially at the end range,” says Dr. Galpin. The more you stretch, the greater the results, and the more likely you are to see improvements in connective tissue and joint health, greater strength and better mobility.”

This last point is one that most people overlook, he adds, adding that weight lifting may provide greater mobility benefits than exercises traditionally associated with this specialty, such as stretching.

“it [strength training] It’s actually the most evidence-based way to massively improve range of motion, flexibility and mobility, says Dr. Galpin.

“The best way to improve flexibility and range of motion that we know of is to safely load stretch positions. Take your time, progress [the range of motion you use in your lifts] And it will be really effective for him.

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