Best Exercise for Total Fitness

There are so many great movements to train (squats, pullups, swimming, kettlebell swings). There are also so many great conditioning workouts that tax all your metabolic systems and muscle groups (sprints, thrusters, swimming). I'm going to go out on a limb and say there is a number one best movement for total fitness.

The Burpee Pullup

Find a playground, a soccer goal, scaffolding, a tree branch or just about anything taller than your overhead reach. Drop to your stomach and then pull yourself up until your chest hits the bar. Repeat 10, 50, 100 times--whatever you need to do. Every single muscle in your body will get worked and you'll be cashed out much sooner than you'd expect.

This is a great way to modify your body composition, get stronger, develop endurance and become more generally competent with your body.

Difficult movements make for a hard body and strong mind.

Stretch Some Things and Strengthen Others

Some people love to do yoga; they do it all the time. Others love to run; they also do it all the time. Weightlifters love to lift weights; they too do it all the time. All of them think their exercise plan is the best and seldom branch out of it.

Is this a recipe for developing the capacity to do all the physical things that you want to do during a long life? I think not. The two main reasons I think that you must do a variety of activities are that we adapt to stressors quickly (and then plateau or regress) and because no single exercise or training style will hit all the components that contribute to a long, healthy, capable life. We have to mix it up to stay gain and maintain fitness. I also think this is more interesting way to approach movement and will help keep you on your training plan.

Frank has a bunch books worth reading

I'm really enjoying reading Frank Forencich's book Play as if Your Life Depends on It. Among the many gems of wisdom he writes about, he talks about how certain parts of the body weaken with age and other parts tend to shorten over time. A training plan that tries to strengthen everything or one that tries to stretch everything is counter productive. Coupled with the style of life that modern humans live, we have to really focus our physical training time (or movement time or even better, play time) in such a way to unlock the natural mobility we have within each of us.

Frank's view is that we should work to stretch muscles like the hamstrings, pecs, biceps, calves, psoas and forearms since these contract over time. The gluts (butt), abdominals and low back (my addition) tend to weaken with age so we should do exercises to strengthen them. This could seem like a complicated training requirement but it really means that you need to deadlift, squat, pull yourself up and stretch against the sitting posture that we tend to keep through most of the day. Stand up, move around, squat down, pick up something heavy, go for a walk.

Good health advice comes in many flavors

Learn about your body and try new things no matter what your age or current condition. You are your own trainer, physical therapist, orthopedist and nutritionist. Keep picking from a variety of  training styles. You'll find that you stay interested in your exercise time more and you'll also develop skills that will serve you throughout a long & adventurous life.

Mix it up and keep it fresh!

Form Follows Function

"It is the pervading law of all things...that form ever follows function. This is the law."
- Louis Sullivan

From: sixpackfactory.com

It's understandable that you want to look good in a bathing suit.  I want to look good with my shirt off too.  Jack Lalanne is one of the greatest health and wellness advocates even used standing in front a mirror naked as a better indicator of health than weighing in on a scale.  Striving for a lean body is not pure vanity but also a great way to improve your overall self-esteem and sense of self.

That being said, physique based diet and exercise plans don't necessarily lead to developing a "capable" body--one that can perform a broad range of physical feats.  I argue that a capable person has even greater self-esteem than one who is merely lean and muscular.  Confidence comes from knowing that you can handle life's curve balls and that you can respond to unpredictable situations where a weaker, slower or less nimble person wouldn't be able to avoid tragedy and failure.

Free running is an excellent mix of real world physical skills

Fortunately beauty does not need to be sacrificed for effectiveness and vice versa.  A functionally adept person is very likely shapely and visually pleasing in form.  The reverse is seldom true however.  How many body builders can swim a mile?  How many triathletes are capable of chinning themselves more than 5 times?  How many marathoners could pick up and carry someone their own size?  Some but not many.

I'm with Jack Lalanne in that a fit body should be a shapely one. Don't just focus on bigger arms and a smaller butt though.  Replace isolation weight training movements with compound ones (i.e. pull-ups over bicep curls).  Stand up when you workout versus laying down.  Use your own body weight and awkwardly shaped items for resistance training.  Run, swim and walk with a weight frequently. Working to develop real world physical skills will build an attractive body but more importantly you will acquire physical capabilities that will serve you throughout your life.

Competence leads to confidence.