SUCCESS Fitness-Reno : 6 MOVEMENTS THAT YOU SHOULD INCLUDE IN YOUR WORKOUTS

Like the majority of people who begin a weight lifting program, I built my workouts around a typical body part routine. Monday I would focus on my chest, shoulders and triceps, Tuesday was legs, calves and abs, and Wednesday's workout included my back, biceps, and forearms. This is all I knew, which was gleaned from the various bodybuilding magazines in the 1980's. It is a very effective program for those whose primary goal is to compete in a physique contest where the body is judged while standing still. Today, this "split" routine is how most people, regardless of their goals, continue to train. And how most trainers still train their clients.

When I first started studying for my National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Trainer certification, I became fascinated with the structure if the human body. Everything in our body is connected, with muscles running vertically, horizontally, and diagonally to ensure proper movement. Just pick up any anatomy book, or better yet read Thomas Myers' Anatomy Trains, and you'll see what I mean.

As an example, let's look at the latissimus dorsi, commonly known as your "lats". This large back muscle on each side of your spine originates as far down as your last lumbar vertebra, and on its way up to its insertion on your opposite side upper arm bone, it attaches to your thoracic spine and ribs. Now picture pitching a baseball or shooting a layup in basketball. When you release the ball from your right hand, your left leg is planted on the ground. Power is transferred from your left foot to your right arm, with that lat muscle being the conduit from the left hip/glute to the right shoulder.

So what's my point? Unless you're working out solely to look better standing still, there is no reason to ever train your body by isolating your muscles. It simply doesn't make sense. Our body is designed to move as one unit, not a bunch of separate muscles working independently.

With that being said, a complete workout program MUST include these six basic movement patterns, provided you can perform them without pain. These movements all utilize multiple muscles and multiple joints. They will challenge your body in a way you are designed to function, and will burn more body fat than single muscle group exercises. Here are photos of my daughter Emily performing these 6 essential moves:

1. SQUAT (a kettlebell goblet squat)