What makes a good athlete? Obviously there is no one answer to that question. There are multiple factors that go into creating a championship athlete, much less a championship team. And what does it mean to be fit? For example is a powerlift that can squat 1,000 pounds but can’t run a mile fit? What about a marathon runner than can run twenty six yet cannot pick up his own bodyweight?
Are they fit? What about a bodybuilder that gets winded walking up the stairs? A heavyweight MMA fighter that slams more brews than opponents? And so on and so forth. When we talk about athletic ability we have to define what we mean. Today I want to lay out the five best exercises I believe to help you advance in your given sport, granted that it’s a physical intensive sport. By being athletic, by being fit, essentially I mean just about anything that’d help you survive in primal times.
Being able to run, jump, throw, lift, fight, and more. To shy away from extreme specialization and more towards general fitness but in a true sense of the word. Primal fitness. This doesn’t mean only using bodyweight but using the best tools to maximize your ability to do the above, running, jumping, lifting, throwing, fighting, and things of that nature.
These exercises will help you if you’re a fighter, thrower, sprinter, lifter, endurance athlete, dancer, gymnast, ball athlete, and more.
Let’s dive in.
Best Exercise For Athletic Development #5 – The Pullup
For these exercises I favor moves where you can add to the load and level of difficulty for the most part. To me the pullup is perhaps the best overall back developer that there is. Both from a perspective of strength and aesthetics. Pullups can be done fast, can be done slow, can be done one handed or with both, can be done with towels, can be done with bodyweight or an extra load. They can be performed at home, on a tree branch, bars, or just about anywhere else you can grab onto something.
Start out with bodyweight once you can knock out ten bodyweight then you can start adding weight. I like doing these and having a goal of say hitting 50 reps. And throughout workout, knocking out X amount here and there. I do most my workouts in circuits now or complexes, whatever you want to call it, and I always make sure to have pullups be a part of it. And stop the bodybuilding thoughts of “what muscles do these hit?” they hit a whole hell of a lot of them. The back sure, but also the abs (more than crunches), as well as the hips and legs stabilizing.
Best Exercise For Athletic Development #4 – The Dip
While I’m not a big fan of dividing exercises up into “chest” exercises, “lat” exercises, and things of that nature I do think there’s something to be said for dividing them into pushing/pulling/legs in general. The pullup is one of the best pulling exercises that there is, even compared to the dead lift. However when it comes to the “king” of upper body movements I think the dips wins it. It works the core like crazy, as well as helps to develop strength in the triceps, shoulder girdle, and chest as well.
I think its superior to the bench press for both aesthetics as well as utility. Again start with bodyweight and once you start doing at least ten for a few sets then can start adding weight. Like with the pullup you can do super slow, explosive, hold for tension, and a lot of others things to work up. Getting good at both pullups and dips is also good conditioning for being able to do a muscle-up eventually which is another great exercise. Same with pullups usually have a number I want to hit, say 100, and just bang out as many sets as takes to get there.
Best Exercise For Athletic Development #3 – Sprinting
Forget squats, okay, not really. Squats are actually great but for me sprinting is hard to beat for athletic development. Being able to generate explosive energy and get to where you’re going fast is extremely important in just about any sport that I can think of. Sprints burn fat, building muscle, increase your explosiveness, and train you in a functional movement pattern. Four things that are going to benefit you in any sport. Sprinting can be taxing if done too much but everyone is different.
I’ve been running more and like to add in sprints as I go. For example I’ll run for time or mileage around a hilly area. On the hills I’ll sprint and on the other parts I’ll do my basic jog. That way I work a lot of sprints in while doing basic cardio as well. Again you can sprint on a flat area, up a hill, do it with a sled for extra weight, race someone, do relays, there are many different ways to add sprints into your workout and get the biggest benefits from them.
Best Exercise For Athletic Development #2 – Jumping
This is another one that gets overlooked a lot. Again, many different ways to do this. You have your ‘basic’ broad jump or box jump. You have depth jumps, you have hops, and a whole lot more. Jumping is something we naturally do a lot as kids but then once we start ‘officially working out’ then we no longer do them. But for athletic development they’re crucial. I’ve mixed up what I do with jumps. I’ve done 5 sets of 3 reps for max broad jumps before workouts for awhile. As well as single box jumps for height but I’ve been experiment with throwing them in as part of a workout.
Just like with sprints you can overwork yourself with jumps just learn your body and research the topic. Start small and work up from there. Though they’re fast jumps take lots of work. You’ll develop power, explosive strength, and more when adding in jumps to your workout. Again I like to do them as a ‘primer’ before my main workout as I think explosive work is done best at the start of a workout. Have fun with it. Do long jumps, box jumps, broad jumps, just find a way to start jumping and add it in as a part of your workout.
Best Exercise For Athletic Development #1 – The Overhead Squat
So this might seem trendy or just trying to be different but I assure you adding in the overhead squat is neither. Obviously you could make an argument to put military presses, squats, or deadlifts here and those are three exercises I think everyone should do. However when it comes to full body power and ‘knit-togetherness’ then the overhead squat can’t be beat. I first heard about it from Dan John who has written multiple articles about it. Essentially it’s the best overall exercise for making your entire body work together as one unit.
You won’t use a lot of weight and you won’t build a ton of muscle from it. What you will develop is a strange mix of strength, flexibility, power, and again the ‘knit-togetherness’ that athletes need. Making your body one piece that you have control over. It’s hard to describe what I’m talking about with this without experiencing it yourself. Do this. Do 2 sets of 5 reps on overhead squat every day. Don’t strain just get in good work. Do 6 days a week. Good to use as ‘warmup’ or whatever you want to call it.
Make Relevant To Your Sport
Sets, reps, frequency, and things of that nature are largely going to be determined by the demands of your sport. Me I like doing as many of these as possible in a circuit. For example I set up in backyard. Start doing overhead squats, broad jumps to parallel bars to do dips, sprint to rings to do pullups, repeat as needed. Fun for me, keeps me from getting bored while getting decent fitness and cardio in. As well as sun/wind/fresh air/etc. Do what works for you.
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-Charles Sledge
