7 Must-Do Exercises to Include in Your Daily Workout Routine

Incorporating 7 Essential Exercises into Your Daily Routine

Getting consistent, daily exercise is one of the most fundamental pillars of a healthy lifestyle. But with busy schedules, it can be tough to prioritize working out every single day. By focusing on a select list of just 7 must-do exercises that encompass full body strength and cardio training, it becomes much simpler to meet daily fitness goals even during hectic times.

Benefits of Daily Exercise

Before diving into the key exercises, it's valuable to review all the demonstrated benefits of making movement a consistent part of your routine:

• Lower risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes
• Reduced inflammation and related chronic pain
• Higher energy levels and improved sleep quality
• Enhanced mood, focus, and cognitive function
• Slowed muscle loss and increased bone density with age

Reaping these advantages only requires about 30 minutes of moderate activity per day. By centering your workouts around the following list of 7 highly effective exercises, reaching this goal becomes much simpler to sustain.

Movement Pattern Principles

To properly strengthen the entire body and support ideal biomechanical function, the 7 daily exercises specifically focus on covering these major movement patterns:

• Hinge - Posterior chain activation (hamstrings, glutes, back)
• Squat - Quadriceps emphasis plus core stability
• Lunge - Unilateral leg emphasis with balance
• Push - Full body pressing strength
• Pull - Full body pulling strength
• Rotation - Trunk and thoracic spine mobilization
• Cardio - Sustained heart rate elevation

The 7 Exercise Daily Workout

Ensuring your body moves properly through each of these essential patterns forms the foundation of full body health. The following 7 exercises check off all these boxes:

1. Squats

Few exercises rival squats for building total body strength. Activating the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, core and more, squats develop essential mobility for daily life.

Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Send hips back while allowing knees to bend up to 90 degrees. Reach glutes back as if sitting into a chair. Keep chest lifted and weight primarily in heels, then drive back upwards to standing.

Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Push Ups

The quintessential full body pushing exercise, push ups engage the chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs all at once in a simple bodyweight movement.

Start in a high plank position with hands under shoulders and legs extended behind you. Bend elbows and lower chest towards floor while keeping body in straight line. Descend until chest nearly touches floor then press back up.

Build to 3 sets aiming for 8-12 reps each set.

3. Bent Over Rows

The bent over row provides full body pulling to counterbalance all the pressing strength required in daily life. Rows target the lats, upper back, rear shoulder muscles plus biceps.

Holding dumbbells or kettlebells, hinge forward at hips roughly 45 degrees, maintaining flat back. Lead with elbows driving them up and back, squeezing shoulder blades as handles come up to rib cage level.

Work towards 3 sets of 10-12 smooth, controlled reps on each side.

4. Suitcase Deadlift

Hinging properly and building posterior chain strength is key for reducing back pain risk from daily activities. The unilateral suitcase deadlift trains this movement pattern unilaterally with a heavy challenge.

Stand holding dumbbell or kettlebell at your side. Send hips back while allowing slight knee bend until handle nearly touches floor. Keep back flat and weight in the heel of the planted leg. Thrust hips forward powerfully back to standing.

Aim for 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps per side in smooth motion.

5. Reverse Lunge with Rotation

The reverse lunge with a rotation element obstacle challenges balance, leg stability, mobility and core control all at once in this essential unilateral lower body pattern.

From standing, step one leg back lowering into a reverse lunge bending both knees to 90 degrees. As you descend, rotate upper body over front leg opening up chest and shoulders. Drive back up to start and alternate sides.

Perform 2-3 sets on each leg targeting 10-12 controlled reps per side.

6. Plank with Arm/Leg Lift

The plank truly requires no introduction as one of the most effective core strengthening options available. Adding limb lifts increases difficulty for extra endurance benefits.

Start in a forearm plank position balancing on elbows and toes. Draw navel in towards spine bracing core. Lift one hand 2-3 inches off floor, alternate sides. Next lift each foot 2-3 inches off floor alternating sides.

Work towards holding a braced plank position for 45-60 seconds total.

7. Jogging or Brisk Walking

No daily exercise routine would be complete without a flexible cardio option. Jogging or walking briskly sustains an elevated heart providing essential cardiovascular benefits.

Jog lightly or walk at a brisk enough pace to reach 60-70% of max heart rate for 20-30 minutes continuously.

Focus on maintaining proper posture and midfoot striking stride technique.

Putting the 7 Exercises Together

Struggling to envision exactly how these 7 key moves come together into a routine? Follow this sample daily workout template:

Warm Up: 5 minutes

Light cardio and dynamic stretching to prepare body for exercise.

Workout:

• Squats - 3 sets of 12 reps
• Push Ups - 3 sets of 10 reps
• Bent Over Rows - 3 sets of 10 reps per side
• Suitcase Deadlift - 2 sets of 8 reps per side
• Reverse Lunge with Rotation - 2 sets of 10 reps per side
• Plank with Arm/Leg Lift - 45-60 seconds

Cardio:

20-30 minutes of brisk walking or light jogging

This template hits all the major movement patterns, develops whole body strength and mobility, and sustains an elevated heart rate. And at just under 30 minutes plus warm up/cool down, it's efficient enough to make daily exercise totally doable!

The Takeaway

Revolutionizing your fitness level, health, and quality of life genuinely comes down to just committing to exercise every single day in some capacity. Centering your workouts around these 7 highly efficient strength and cardio exercises makes reaching this goal simple, practical and sustainable for the long run.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.