4 Exercises That Can Change Your Life (er...Body)

Over the past few years, I’ve been obsessed with discovering the most effective exercises and workouts that yield the best and fastest results. Below is a list of 4 sure-fire ways to boost your health, vitality and fitness level. Oh yeah, your body will dramatically change as a result too; almost left that out.

1. Squat/Lunge combo
When you perform the squat and lunge together, you immediately maximize your results. A 2-legged exercise immediately followed by a 1- leg exercise allows you to efficiently tap into optimal range of motion and balance simultaneously. We can only safely squat so deep without damaging the knee joint. Therefore, doing a lunge will recruit deeper balancing muscles you can’t access while squatting on both legs. The most effective way to perform this exercise is by doing a reverse lunge on each leg in between each squat. This exercise will tone every inch of your legs and maximize calorie burn. Aim for 10-15 total squats, with reverse lunges on each leg between each squat.

2. High Plank to Low Plank
Crunches are good for conditioning your abs, but planks make the entire core rock hard. You can usually tell when someone has a strong core. They have good posture, they look athletic and walk just a little bit taller. Secret: truly great bodies with rock hard abs derive from an awesome core. This exercise additionally works your arms (triceps and shoulders) and revs your heart rate up. Kill 4 birds with one stone! (Lame, I know).

Note: A high plank looks like the beginning position of a push-up. The low plank is that ubiquitous exercise you most likely have seen at the gym, in which you rest on your elbows and hold your body in a stiff position like a…plank. Start in a high plank position and count to 2. Go down to a low plank, without allowing your hips to sway, then count to 2. Do this for a total of 15-20 reps. Warning: This exercise is challenging yet fun and very rewarding.

3. Side Lunge to Curl Press
Wanna work your guns and buns? Tone the glutes (butt) and biceps with this exercise. You’ll need dumbbells for this one. Simply do a side lunge by stepping out sideways with one leg and fully stretching the other. Step back in then perform a bicep curl and overhead shoulder press. You’ll break a sweat with this exercise for sure. Use a weight that’s heavy enough to do the trick. Try 10 reps on each side. Alternate sides to make it more dynamic and cardio intensive.

4. Row to reverse fly combo
Whether you’re a man or woman, your back says a lot about you. It conveys stature as well as sexiness. It reveals poor or perfect posture. Our backs can be talked behind and stabbed…I digress. Anyway, a strong back has always symbolized great inner strength. This is the final combination exercise in this list and it is remarkably effective. Simply perform a row with the palms down and elbows as far away from the body as possible. After each row (in which you’ll do 20-25 reps) do a reverse fly. A reverse fly is performed by opening your arms (straight at the elbow) as if you’re about to give someone a big bear hug. Use resistance tubing (bands) for this exercise and anchor it to something sturdy at chest level.