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.

Movement Training Ideas

I'm all for going for a run. It's a great way to blow off steam and burn up some excess calories. It's hardly the best form of exercise for overall fitness though. To develop total fitness, you have to move your body in a wide variety of ways in addition to running. This is why I love outdoor fitness stations.

Fantastic outdoor fitness station I stumbled upon in Buenos Aires

Back in the 1970s, cities installed Parcourse outdoor exercise stations in public places. The stations had labels for how to use them and completed as a set, were designed to target all aspects of physical fitness. They fell into disrepair in many cases though and I'm not fond of many of the modern versions that have replaced them. I've encountered many great versions but most often in other countries.

You don't really need specialized outdoor fitness equipment though. While adult-sized high bars are fantastic for so many movements (pullups, muscle ups, bar rolls, skin-the-cat, toes-to-bar, etc), you can do so many cool movements with standard children's playgrounds. I often get little kids at the playground trying to mimic my movements. What better way to inspire youngsters to develop a lifelong movement habit than through personal example?

Don't overlook climbing up, balancing on, crawling around, carrying things or jumping over obstacles of opportunity in your local park or neighborhood. I love to string up a climbing rope in the park and incorporate climbing into a circuit course using a park bench, tree, steps, wall or whatever.

No outdoor fitness course nearby? Make your own.

Here's a sample workout to get you started:

1. Run to a playground (1/4 to 1 mile)
2. Do a couple of passes on the monkey bars
3. Hold a handstand against a wall or tree for 30 secs
4. Balance on each foot for 30 secs each
5. Carry a cinder block in each arm for distance 
6. Vault or leap a park bench x 10
7. Duck walk for 10 yds x 3
8. Sprint home

Experiment with other moves, duration and intensity. There are a bunch of great YouTube videos describing playground workouts or look into the MovNat sample workouts. Use your exercise time as a chance to have some fun while you get stronger and healthier.

Essential Skill: Pull Yourself to Safety

Swim to shore or climb back into the boat.  Being fit gives you options

I have a number of modern physical skills in mind that are guiding these Essential Skill posts. So far I've written about carrying your own bag and swimming to shore. Both of these skills require total body movements that task more than a single energy system (i.e. aerobic & anaerobic). Pulling yourself away from harm is a skill in the same vein. Where might this skill come in handy?

• Climbing a tree, wall or fence to avoid an animal
• Lowering yourself down a rope to get out of a burning building
• Pulling yourself out of a river from a hanging branch
• Getting back into a boat or canoe from the water

I love rope climbing workouts because it's both practical and difficult

Upper body pulling strength will factor in being able to accomplish tasks like these, but they also involve core strength to pull your legs up and the agility to harness assistance from your feet. Women often make better rock climbers than men because they don't rely on upper body strength as much and scramble up a rock face more efficiently using a combination of arms & legs. Same principle applies for the 4 examples I listed above.

This isn't to avoid focusing your training on developing grip and pulling strength. Both women and men should be able to perform a dozen pullups or so. Climbing and lowering yourself down a rope will be much easier with upper body strength to draw on. Merely hanging from a bar, rope, edge of boat, etc. is challenging enough if you don't focus on body weight pulling exercises.

Moving your own body is all the gym you need (http://bodyweightproject.com/)

Here are a few excellent moves to practice in your training program to both develop and maintain the ability to pull yourself out of harms way:

• Pullups
• Dips
• Hanging leg lifts
• Rope climbing
• Rolling over a high bar
• Muscle ups

We tend to live up or down to expectations so set high physical standards for yourself.