The 5 best exercises for beginners and advanced users

Anyone starting out with strength training or functional fitness will find themselves exposed to a wide variety of exercises. In principle, each exercise has its raison d'être, but this does not mean that it is suitable for beginners or advanced athletes. In this article, we dedicate ourselves to five exercises for functional training that are suitable in their variations for both beginners and advanced athletes and can be easily incorporated into a HIIT workout or circuit training.

The squat is possibly the most widespread exercise there is. While professional athletes and powerlifters sometimes move incredible weights in the squat, the exercise is also perfectly suitable for beginners. The squat is a so-called multi-joint exercise, which trains a variety of different muscles simultaneously and also trains the mobility and stability of the trainee. The squat can be incorporated into a functional workout primarily because of its many possible variations. Beginners can start with the Airsquat. In this variation, the squat is performed without additional weight. This type of squat is ideal for newcomers, as it allows them to learn the movement and improves coordination and stability. But advanced athletes can also benefit from the squat without additional weight in the training plan. Strong athletes can even perform them with one leg. By involving a variety of muscle groups, the squat also trains the cardiovascular system at the same time, making it ideal for a HIIT workout. If athletes want to improve their jumping strength or speed in a circuit workout, the squat can also be performed dynamically with a subsequent jump. In this way, instead of the classic hypertrophy or maximum strength, the quickness ability is improved.

Push-ups are perfect for improving strength in the upper body. In its variants it is suitable for both beginners and absolute professionals. In the push-up, the athlete is in a horizontal position, touching the floor only with his hands and feet. From this position he lowers himself by bending his elbows and pushes himself up again as soon as his chest touches the floor. Push-ups are suitable for training the entire compressive muscles (chest, shoulders and triceps) and the core muscles. Many beginners are not yet able to perform one or more correct push-ups. In this case, there are some variations that make the push-up easier and can be easily incorporated into a circuit workout.

Variation 1) Push-ups on the knees

In this variation, the athlete touches the floor with his knees and hands. Due to the smaller lever, less force is applied to the arms and the push-ups can be performed more easily.

Variation 2) Elevated push-ups

Due to a raised arm position, less gravitational force acts on the athlete and he can perform the push-ups with less effort.

However, advanced athletes can also work with pushup variations. Exercises like the Archer Pushups, where the athlete leans on one side and extends the other arm during the pushup, or one-arm pushups are challenging even for exercisers with years of experience.

Burpees are mainly used in fat burning, weight loss and endurance. The athlete starts the exercise in a standing position and then drops forward onto his stomach. From this lying position he stands up again and performs a jump upwards. Since the entire body is in motion and a variety of muscle groups must work in a short period of time, this exercise is incredibly strenuous for the cardiovascular system. Performing it for more than a minute at a time is not practical and not even possible for most athletes. Therefore, burpees are ideal for a HIIT workout. Burpees are also great for a group workout, as everyone can perform the exercise at their own pace. Beginners can take longer breaks between repetitions or forgo the jump at the end. Those who are really fit and want a greater challenge can make the burpees even more difficult by incorporating a push-up instead of the normal lay down, or by performing several jumps after standing up. There is hardly any exercise where so many muscles are trained at the same time. Burpees therefore have an enormous load potential and should be used in doses in the training plan. Often three to four rounds with a load duration of one minute are sufficient to completely exhaust the athletes with this exercise.

4) Jump Lunges

Hardly any exercise demands as much from an athlete's lower body as the so-called jump lunges or alternating jumps. With the alternating jumps, the athlete goes into a so-called split stance (one leg forward and one leg backward) and changes leg positions with one jump. The exercise sounds easy at first, and it can be made relatively simple. The closer the feet are to each other in the starting position, the easier the exercise is. That is why it is ideal for beginners. Since this exercise does not require any additional weight and can be performed without equipment, it can be easily incorporated into a circuit training program. But also advanced athletes get their money's worth with the alternating jumps. If you want to go really hard, you can perform the split jumps from a lunge. The split stance is so low that the back knee touches the ground. With this variation, compared to a close stance in the starting position, many times the force must be applied to perform the leg change. This advanced variation also has many positive effects on the athlete's athletic ability. Due to the fast high force application and the deep catch at the landing, basic athletic skills for jumping, sprinting and changing direction can be improved.

The most popular and effective exercise for improving trunk stability is the forearm support with its many variations. The forearm support is basically similar to the push-up, but the athlete is not with the hands, but the forearms on the floor. In order to be able to hold this position, a great deal of torso tension is necessary. Beginners are often unable to hold the forearm support for a sufficiently long period of time. Variations can be used to make this easier as well. For example, the athlete can go into the push-up and hold the upper position. By increasing the use of the chest and shoulder muscles, the tension in the torso is reduced. Beginners can also use the variant with knees down for the forearm support. The forearm support is particularly suitable for game and competition forms. To add a bit of fun and rivalry to the exercise, for example, exercisers can go together in pairs and play Schnick Schnack Schnuck in forearm support, with the loser getting an additional task. Another suitable form of game - especially for ball athletes - would be, for example, the so-called Abjagen in the push-up. The original push-up position is assumed and the partner tries to chase a ball away from the trainee. Due to the dynamics and the forced rotations, the lateral and transversal abdominal muscles, which are particularly important in all kinds of duels and changes of direction, are also strengthened in this exercise.