3 Bodyweight Exercises That’ll Help You Move Better All Day

The workout below is for Day 15 of the Just Enough Workout, a four-week workout plan. Today’s routine is pretty great on its own, but you can also check out the full program right here or browse the calendar here. If you’d like to sign up to receive daily emails featuring these workouts, you can do that here.

Welcome to Week 3 of the Just Enough Workout! We hope you’re feeling rejuvenated after your rest day yesterday and are eager to take on today’s workout: a full-body strength routine that’ll help you learn safe and effective movement.

That’s because this strength workout will have you moving in multiple planes of motion, meaning forward and backward, side to side, and with rotation. Workouts like the one you’ll do today are great for helping you do everyday tasks—from putting away groceries to picking up a laundry basket to stepping out of a car—more safely and efficiently. We live in a three-dimensional world, so the ability to move in all directions rather than simply back and forth or up and down is super important.

Today’s routine will focus on that, in both Just Enough and Just a Little More. In the former, you’ll be working with three foundational exercises—the modified plank row, curtsy lunge, and bicycle crunch—which involve front-and-back, side-to-side, and rotational movements. Even one round of this three-move bodyweight circuit (which only takes three minutes) makes for a great break from sitting, since it wakes up your legs, butt, back, and shoulders while encouraging your core to fire.

If you opt for the Just a Little More path, you’ll add resistance to the mix to really challenge your muscles throughout the multiple planes of motion. You’ll emphasize front-to-back movement (the sagittal plane of motion) with the bent-over row, side to side movement (frontal plane) with the lateral raise, and rotational movement (transverse plane) with the bicycle crunch. You’ll work on all that with the curtsy lunge, since that includes both lateral and diagonal motion. Though this routine is key for living an active life, it’s also great for building balanced full-body strength too—especially in your legs, butt, back, shoulders, and core!

Just Enough Movement Directions:

• Complete each exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
• After completing all three exercises, rest for up to 60 seconds. That’s 1 round.
• Complete 2–3 rounds.

Just Enough Movement Exercises:

• Modified Plank Bodyweight Row
• Bicycle Crunch
• Bodyweight Curtsy Lunge (Alternating)

Just a Little More Movement Directions:

Complete each exercise for your chosen work/rest interval:

• 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
• 40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest
• 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

After all of your exercises are done, rest for up to 60 seconds. That’s 1 round. Complete 3–5 rounds.

Just a Little More Movement Exercises:

• Bent-Over Row (Medium Dumbbell Set)
• Curtsy Lunge (Left Side, Medium Dumbbell Set)
• Bicycle Crunch
• Curtsy Lunge (Right Side, Medium Dumbbell Set)
• Lateral Raise (Light Dumbbell Set)

Exercise Directions: