With summer just around the corner, many of us are looking to improve our fitness so that we’re ready to get out there when the sunshine arrives. Incorporating military fitness exercises into a fitness regime is one of the most efficient ways to get your fitness levels back up. In order to help you get started we’ve put together a few of the best military fitness exercises guaranteed to get you fit for summer.
Front Squats
Squats are great for improving lower body strength and easy to practice from the comfort of your own home. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, tighten your core and squat down as if you were going to sit on a chair, keeping your chest up and shoulders back. Come back up and repeat as many times as you feel comfortable doing. As you build up your fitness you can also use resistance bands to intensify the workout.
Bicep Curls
This is a great exercise to combine in a workout with squats, as bicep curls are aimed at improving muscle strength in the upper body. You can do bicep curls using dumbbells or resistance bands, it’s really down to personal preference. When doing a bicep curl, make sure your knees are slightly bent and your back is straight as you raise the weights/ bands to your shoulders, hold and repeat.
Swimming
The health benefits of swimming can often be overlooked when in fact it is one of the best ways to build cardiovascular fitness, to build endurance and to tone your muscles. What’s great about exercising in the water is the low impact it has on your joints. For a more strenuous workout you can add swim weights, however this should only be done under strict safety regulations.
Push-ups
Another great exercise that is ideally suited for working out at home or in the gym is push-ups. Doing a push- up engages both the upper body and core strength and can be completed according to different fitness levels. Make sure you start in a good plank position and remember that a push-up is a full body exercise so it’s important to avoid putting all the strain on your chest. As you build up muscle strength you’ll gradually increase the amount of reps you’re able to do in a session.
Rucking
Rucking, sometimes referred to as ‘tabbing’ or ‘yomping’, is simply walking, jogging, or running with a weighted rucksack on. Carrying the extra weight on your back means you burn more than double the amount of calories than regular working and also give yourself a more intense cardio workout. Alter the weight and distance depending on your fitness level to tailor your rucking towards your individual goals.
Running
Last but definitely not least, the benefits of running should never be overlooked. It is a fantastic way to improve your cardiovascular fitness as well as overall body strength. Running is an important military exercise for building up endurance, which is which is why it is great to incorporate running into a fitness routine alongside other muscle strengthening exercises like push ups and squats.
