Good, all you need to do are four simple exercises, for the rest of your life, and you will be fit and strong for good!
This method is particularly attractive if you’re like me; over 50, always on the move, don’t have enough time in the day, dislike smelly gyms, but you want to stay or get fit and strong.
The Golden 4: Push-Ups – Pull-Ups – Planks – Lunges.
Why these particular movements? Simple; all we need to do is go back to basics. Look at military training around the world. I can assure you those guys don’t hang out in fancy gyms doing fitness classes, such as spinning, yoga, and pilates. No, they get down and dirty in the dirt and do the real hardcore work, no matter if rain or shine. No excuses.
There’s a good reason these four exercises are the staple for nearly every military, fight gym, and boxing gym all over the globe, since forever – they work! Some people don’t fancy the idea of getting down in the dirt, the grass, sand, sidewalk, a hotel room floor, to do the dirty old push-ups and company, but once you do, you’ll start to enjoy this method!
I’ve learned to love this method. For me, it’s the most natural, simple, and rewarding way to exercise, improve my fitness level, and just get fit and strong naturally. I do my routine and mix it up whenever and wherever I like and make it as short, long, hard, or easy as I want. That’s the beauty of this method.
Stressfree Exercise!
Exercising on your terms without having to worry about going to the gym or a training class at a set time every day, or feeling bad if you missed that said workout, that’s stress-relief in itself!
I know the feeling; in my twenties, thirties, and even in my early forties. I added stress to my life by telling myself I wasn’t keeping up with my self-imposed gym, biking, or running regime, so I made myself feel guilty, which leads you nowhere other than feeling crap!
You just don’t need that in your life. Sure, we have to move and workout to stay or become fit and strong, both in body and mind. However, we don’t want to add another stressor to the day! We have to do all we can to avoid extra stress.
The Routine, Movements and Variations.
The workout centers around these four basic movements; however, there’s plenty of room for variation, so you’ll never get bored. If you feel up for it, you can always add on other movements such as:
- Squats
- Headstands
- Handstands
- Feet to Bar
- Leg Raises
- Chest Dips
- Tricep Dips
The Routine.
This routine is precisely how I workout, every second day, sometimes daily, depending on what I did the day before.
- Fast walk for 15 minutes
- 50 Push-Ups / 2 Minute Plank / 8 Pull-Ups on a Tree / 40 Lunges
- Fast Walk for 15 minutes
- 50 Push-Ups / 2 Minute Plank / 8 Pull-Ups on a Tree / 40 Lunges
- Fast Walk for 15 minutes
- 50 Push-Ups / 2 Minute Plank / 8 Pull-Ups on a Tree / 40 Lunges
- Stretch and Relax!
Feel free to start your routine with however many push-ups, planks, pull-ups, and lunges you can comfortably manage, and gradually work your way to new record reps week by week: no pressure. Enjoying the workout is the only thing that matters!
I don’t want to bore you with all the benefits of each exercise, as there are many. In case you want to check, I’ve added a few links below for you to review.
The Variations.
As far as the variations are concerned, there are a ton. You can do the push-ups with a wide or narrow grip. You can do jumping push-ups, where you push yourself off the ground and clap before going down again. Inverted push-ups are also cool. Just put your feet on a chair, bench, or tree (whatever you find), and push-up that way.
For the lunges, you can go fast, or super slow, you can do sideways lunges and so on.
Pull-ups are a little hard to do in the beginning, so you may need to have a friend spot you.
As for the planks, the classic plank is great, then you can add the sideways plank, the push-up plank, inverted plank the reverse plank.
Either way, there’s endless variations to keep this routine simple, yet challenging.
Have a great workout folks, and remember, keeping it simple is King!
Thanks for reading,
Rob
Writer, Former Olympic Athlete & Certified Health Coach
“It is my mission to help people regain control of their health, by building a healthy, strong heart, body, and mind, supporting a longer life.”
rob@robshealthcrunch.com
IG: robhourmontcrunch
IG: robshealthcrunch
