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Total Body Conditioning Workout for Men

Add this basic weight-lifting workout to your usual cardio routine to help build muscle.

There are seven primary muscle groups in the body. A good weight-lifting routine works each group. This isn’t to say that this workout will strengthen every muscle in your body, but it’s a good foundation on which to build your strength-training workout. Before you begin any new exercise plan, check with your doctor to make sure the plan is right for you.

The program: You can split the exercises up over the course of a few days, or do the whole circuit a few times a week, leaving a day of rest in between. You’ll want to do six to eight or eight to 10 reps for the upper-body exercises, and 10 to 12 reps for lower body and abs.
The payoff: Look and feel stronger all over.
Bonus benefit: This beginner-level core routine doesn’t require any special equipment—just things most people have around the house.

To get started, warm up with a few minutes of jumping jacks, rope skipping, or brisk walking or jogging, then perform the following exercises.

Push-up
Works the chest
Support your body on the balls of your feet and your palms, with your body off the floor, the hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Straighten your arms without locking your elbows.



Lower your body until your chest is just a fraction of an inch off the floor. Push yourself up and back to the starting position.



Split Squat
Works the quadriceps
Stand with your right leg 3 to 4 feet in front of the left, with your toes pointed forward. Your right foot should be flat on the floor, but only the ball of your left foot should be planted. To help balance, line up each foot in a natural stance, don’t align with the other foot. Keep your body erect. Rest your hands behind your head.

Bend both knees and lower your body straight down until your left knee is a few inches off the floor and your right knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. Return to the starting position.



Russian Torso Twist
Works the midsection
Sit with your body at a 45- to 60-degree angle to the floor (as if you’re halfway through a sit-up) and your arms raised directly out in front of you. Bend your knees and keep your feet free, not anchored by anything.

While maintaining this body angle, rotate as far as possible to one side and then, without pausing, to the other. (You may also want to do a set of traditional crunches or sit-ups.)

Self-Resisted Biceps Curl
Works the biceps
Stand with your knees slightly bent and abs tucked in, your left arm down at your side, with your palm facing forward. Put your right palm over your left wrist.

Make a fist with your left hand and execute a biceps curl with that arm while resisting it (pushing down against it) with the right hand. Return to the starting position. Finish your set, then repeat with your right arm doing the work.



Chair Dip
Works the triceps
Place your palms on the seat of a sturdy chair that’s behind you, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, and your buttocks off the front edge of the chair.

Keep your back arched and close to the chair as you slowly lower your body until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Your body should remain straight. Pause, then press back up to the starting position.



Lateral Raise
Works the shoulders
Grab a pair of water bottles filled with sand or two full paint cans, and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your arms at your sides.

Maintaining slight bends in your elbows, lift your arms up and out to the sides until they’re parallel to the floor. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.



One-Arm Row
Works the back
Grab a full plastic water or detergent bottle with your left hand, and place your right hand and knee on a sturdy bench, such as a piano bench. Plant your left foot flat on the floor, and let your left arm hang down slightly ahead of your shoulder, with your palm facing the bench. Keep your back straight.



Pull your left elbow up and back, past your body. Pause for two seconds, then slowly return to the starting position. Finish the set, then repeat with the right arm.