My Favorite Exercises: Top 2

OK, doc.  If you could only do two exercises... what would they be and why?

Why thank you, mystery man talking to me via italics,  I'll tell you!

Requirements For Exercises to Be Awesome - Says Me

#1 They have to be easy to do.  Not easy as in "oh, busting out 30 mindless minutes on this eliptical is easy"-easy, but easy as in simple.  You shouldn't need a gym membership or fancy shoes to do them.

#2 They should be innate to our species.  In other words, it should me a type of movement that the human body seems designed to do.  Sorry, cirque du soleil, you didn't make the cut.

#3 They should provide a heavy bang for your time's buck.  I love, love, love exercises that don't take a lot of time.  Why?  Because... well, human beings are probably more deficient in high intensity, short duration exercises than any other flavor.  (See my elliptical comment above, how many people do you see running sprints as fast as they can?)  AND, we don't have a lot of spare time (usually).

My Top Two

#1 The squat.  One of the easiest, move essential human movements out there.

Even kids know how to do it innately

My daughter naturally squatting to pick something up

The squat is an exercise that easily fits all three, and that I believe that if done more often would alleviate the many problems humanity gets when sitting too long.  Nice butt muscle tone, strong lower back coordination, balance, core tone, and it's the perfect position for taking a deuce and having a baby.  When squatting everything naturally "lines up" with no tail bones in the way to obstruct stuff from coming out.  Plus, you need absolutely no tools to perform this, just your two legs and maybe a door handle to balance on when you begin squats.

#2 The push-up.  Wherein the squat works the lower backside of the butt and the front side of your legs, the push-up works out the opposite muscles on the top side.  The push-up is an amazing simple move that requires many coordinated muscles to pull off.  Want to get abs?  Do push-ups.  Want to help your shoulder stability?  Do push-ups.  Want big ol' arms?  Do push-ups.  See my point?

These exercises are simple, and it is their simplicity that seems to make them unappealing.  Like the warrior in the Old Testament who approached the prophet seeking an answer and being told to merely wash in the river — we want complex.   We want a complicated bench press machine with 3 different kinds of pulleys, resistances, and padding. We want a challenging answer. Well, these two exercises can be challenging, but they are not complex.    Plus, they cross over into many other activities of daily living.  The push-up, of course, crossing over into all pushing activities (Which are a lot! How many pulling movements are you doing a day?  Not many at all.  How many movements with your hands in front of your body?  Driving.  Typing.  Writing.  Almost all of them.).  The squat translates into so many other human functions I can't even name all of them, but jumping, knee stability, ankle and foot strength to name a few.

So try incorporating 20 quick air squats (you don't have to have a barbell over your shoulders to make it a work-out!) during your lunch break and notice the difference.  Or hold a squat in the down position while brushing your teeth.  Congratulations, you just activated a ton of muscles, made your body and mind happy, and helped to sculpt a sexy tush.  Your spandex will thank you.