5 Exercises to Achieve Any Goal
I don’t know about you, but I don’t do well when I just set goals.
I have to have action points associated with those goals so that I know exactly what needs to be done to take me from point A to point B.
I would say that most trainees do a good job with setting goals. You know what you want.
Whether it’s to improve your ability in a specific sport, look better naked, or be pain-free, you have some sort of vision.
In other words, you know Point B.
So why doesn’t everyone achieve their goals?
That’s definitely a loaded question, and one that could get a hundred different answers if you asked a hundred people.
But if you asked me, I would say the main reason people do not achieve their fitness goals is because the OUTCOME is emphasized over the PROCESS.
The outcome (your goal) is Point B. The process is everything that leads to Point B (the action steps).
Figuring out those action steps is hard.
After all, there are many ways to achieve the goal of “looking great for beach season”, for example.
Thousands of exercise choices.
A bajillion different set/rep combos.
It’s overwhelming.
And when you try looking for the answers to your questions on the Internet, you will log off having a hundred more questions.
The frustration and overall lack of understanding of how to develop a roadmap (the process) to achieve a certain outcome is one of the number one reasons people either drop out of a fitness program or just plain fail to reach their Point B.
I want to help you develop a better process.
A process that will grant you a better outcome, no matter what you want that outcome to be.
Taking Action to Point B
The biggest issue with most routines is that they lack logical, organized progression.
Most routines are anything but routine. They are haphazard and go in several different lines that eventually land you back at square one. They use exercises that waste time more than anything.
When I map out anyone’s program, I think with this thought process;
“How can I get this person to their end goal as efficiently and effectively as possible?
To achieve any goal, you need to use multi-joint movements (e.g. deadlifts, squats) that use a lot of muscles.
They burn more calories, build more muscle, and burn more fat than their isolation-style counterparts (e.g. leg extensions, hip innie/outie machine). They train the body in a coordinated fashion, the way it was designed to work. And they save you precious time!
I love the gym, but I can’t stand to train for more than an hour. If you can go for much longer than that, you aren’t working hard enough!
So if the multi-joint, compound exercises are the way to go, which ones do you use?
Regardless of your goal, you should be able to perform the following 5 lifts with perfect form and a certain level of strength (dependent on the individual and their own response to the exercise)
#1: Deadlift
#2: Squat
#3: Pushup/Bench Press
#4: Pullup/Chinup
#5: Overhead Press
These are the building blocks of your process (nutrition and recovery will be comprised in future posts).
If you are able to do these lifts correctly and develop a basic foundation of strength with them, you will achieve whatever goal you are after.
All of my programming is directed at making people better at doing those 5 lifts. That’s my roadmap.
Sure, we do other exercises and their variations, but those 5 are the cornerstones. The amount of sets and reps (and a host of other variables) will determine what effect we are after (fat-loss, power development, etc.)
And like I alluded to, their injury history and own limitations are taken into account (e.g. if someone is flexion-intolerant due to low-back pain, then we won’t be deadlifting right off the bat).
And ladies, I know those exercises seem “manly”, but I have several female clients that have developed proficiency with all of those and they can’t believe how much better they look. Trust me, you won’t be finding anyone with a belly doing pullups!
Remember, more muscle means more fat-loss! They go hand-in-hand.
Look at it this way;
Would you rather do more “feminine” exercises and not get results?
I haven’t seen anyone in my experience get solid with those movements and not look great, have more energy, and just be awesome at life.
So over the course of the next several weeks, I am going to be devoting a post for each of those movements.
These posts will cover everything you would want to know, from how to progress up to actually doing it (a pullup is a scary thought for most), to the cues and technique corrections that I use with my own clients.
You will then be able to use those cornerstone movements to give you a directed process that will give you that outcome you so desire. Your program will no longer be a haphazard mess. It will be logical and organized, because that is what gets results!
Are you at where you are in life because of chance?
No, you got there because that’s what you wanted and you took the steps necessary to get there.
A great-looking, well-performing body isn’t done by accident.
Take-Home Point:
Get your mind off of the outcome and focus on the process. Build your exercise program around the deadlift, squat, pushup/bench press, pullup/chinup, and overhead press to give yourself the best results in the least amount of time.
Next week, be on the lookout for a monster post on the deadlift!
Be your best,
Kasey, CSCS
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