The StoWicks Conversations
by
Carolyn and Seth Wicks
Carolyn: When I first started working out seriously, I didn't know where to start, so I went to YouTube. In my mind I thought getting into the best shape meant chaos. Think burpee to mountain climber chaos. So naturally I was selecting HIIT training videos. Night after night I was exhausting myself in my living room. My logic was the more movements I crammed into a circuit, the more in shape I would be. So, hello, I am Carolyn. I am a former YouTube HIIT training video addict and I am here to tell you, it is so much easier than that. There are a handful of core movement patterns that your body responds to the best, an essential list, that is all it takes to get lean.
Seth: We did an article a few months ago about how your glutes and lower body are vital for long-term health, but we didn't fully dive into each specific movement.
The most important one in my mind is the squat. It's the foundational leg movement that targets your core, glutes, and quads. This not only benefits you from an everyday standpoint (think stairs, carrying things), but also helps build your largest muscles groups. More muscle in turn helps improve blood sugar and metabolic health.
- For beginners, air squats are enough. Your body already has weight, so doing air squats will work your muscles.
- Intermediate level looks like goblet squats.
- Advanced is heavy barbell squats. If you've never done these before, it's worth it to go to a personal trainer and ensure your form is correct.
Another important movement is the hinge. In another recent article, we talked about power, and the hinge is the key movement for lower body power. It's the primary driver of hip extension, and below are a few ways to work your hamstring, glutes, and lower back.
- Beginners can start with the glute bridge.
- Romanian deadlifts are a good progression.
- Heavy deadlifts are the advanced stage. Again, I would recommend a certified personal trainer before diving into this yourself. YouTube is not enough here.
Carolyn: And now it's time to talk about two things. Balancing and upper body push.
I think if you were to ask anyone, most people would be able to identify a more dominant leg. Whether it's from years of sitting, favoring one leg, or keeping sport specific patterns, it's something that needs attention. Single leg exercises forces both sides to work equally and in turn builds knee stability and helps prevent injuries as most real world injuries happen one leg at a time. So let's expose those weakness and build them up, so your balance becomes an advantage.
- Beginners can do body weight reverse lunge.
- Intermediates can do walking lunges (weighted if you're feeling frisky), step-ups on a higher box (holding dumbbells if you can).
- Advanced can work the Bulgarian split squats (weighted), Smith machine Bulgarian split squats, or barbell lunges.
Now, let's talk upper body. We are specifically talking push movements. The Vertical Push (shoulders) is often the first thing to weaken with age or years and years of sitting at a desk. As we age, the ability reach, carry things, and lift them overhead will decrease, it's so important that we continue to work on shoulder strength and stability.
- For beginners start with a seated dumbbell shoulder press (light weight) or a machine shoulder press
- Intermediate can try a standing dumbbell press, landmine press
- For advanced it's all about increasing the weight standing barbell overhead press, standing overhead press machine (heavier loads)
And to round out the push section, the Horizontal Push. So think chest and triceps lifts that are focusing on building pressing strength, in the real world this would be like pushing a door open or pushing furniture.
- Beginners start with pushups, on your knees is fine to.
- Intermediate use a bench and weights for dumbbell bench press
- Advanced try a barbell bench press (this is a fun one!)
Seth: This newsletter is already borderline our longest edition, so I'm going to dive straight into pulling movements that are important for both everyday life and your posture. Most people focus way more on pushing than pulling, and that imbalance is exactly what leads to rounded shoulders and that slouched, hunched-over look. A good rule of thumb is to aim for more pulling volume than pushing.
- The beginner move is dumbbell rows. As always, work on your form first and work on the weight after.
- Assisted pull ups are the intermediate level. Either a machine or bands will work for this.
- Advanced is unassisted pull ups. Find a bar and see what you can do.
Carolyn: The last movement pattern isn't really a "movement" at all, it's just walking. Yes, walking. Walk as much and as often as you can each day.
Paired with lifting, it's one of the most underrated tools for lowering cortisol and speeding up recovery. We lift 3-4 times a week, and we always keep 2 days just for walking, no gym, no weights. We'll walk a few miles together, just talking and catching up on the week. It's good for the body, sure. But it's also good for the mind, for the relationship, and honestly, for the soul.
Seth: One thing we've talked about since our very first newsletter is consistency. Change doesn't come from one intense workout or 20 mile walk. It comes from daily habits that compound over time. We always tell each other: Anything above zero is progress.
So if you're new to these movements, start at the beginning. It doesn't matter if you're 20 or 80, the best time to start is now. It's never too late to begin working on your health and improving your quality of life.
Carolyn: Pick a movement to try for a week and tell us about it! We love to hear from you.
Seth: It always helps having an accountability buddy, so take a walk with someone this week. 1 mile is better than none.
Both: Don't wait for motivation to strike this week. Start today and sleep with peace.
See you next week,
Carolyn & Seth
The StoWicks
Quote of the Week:
“The best exercise is the one you'll actually do.”
Unknown
