Thread by @themustachedad

21,000 hours and 10+ years later, I’ve trained 1000s of athletes from pee wee to Pro baseball.

As a Licensed Athletic Trainer, I can watch someone move & predict their injury risk.

If I could only pick 9 exercises to bulletproof a body in 12 weeks, here’s what I’d pick and why:

9. Turkish Get Up

Despite its odd name, the TGU is the ultimate test of mobility & stability for every major joint.

This exercise progresses through all the body’s natural movement patterns we learn as we develop.

The TGU targets functional strength & coordination that few other exercises require.

8. Trap Bar Deadlifts

A safer and more versatile alternative to conventional deadlifts, this exercise can be used to train strength and power.

With the weight centered in relation to your body, it keeps the load balanced and reduces injury risk compared to straight bar lifts.

7. Cossack Squats

Some might consider this a lateral lunge at first glance, but when performed slowly and controlled, it becomes a great test of lower-body strength and stability.

You can load the ankles, knees, & hips on one leg while lengthening the adductors and opening up the opposite hip joint.

6. Farmers Carries
I personally use these as workout finishers to build grip endurance & overall fitness capacity.

With dozens of variations, you can customize carries to whatever equipment you have (DBs, KBs, weighted vest)

If you’re a parent with young kids, you already do these daily.

5. Kettlebell Swings

KB swings are great for training aerobic endurance, full body coordination and strength.

With multiple variations and flows someone can incorporate with this movement, you can create an entire workout with one kettlebell and a little bit of creativity.

4. Cable Chops/Lifts

The purpose of your core muscles are to help stabilize and transmit power from the lower body to the upper body during movement.

The chop and lift pairing train the core with the whole body in mind, as opposed to traditional isolated core exercises just focused on aesthetics.

3. Pullup variations

The pullup is the true test of upper body strength, grip strength and core stability.

The shoulders and arms rely on a well developed and coordinated core to complete these properly, and every rep is earned for this exercise.

2. Sled Pulls/Pushes

Another exercise with an abundance of variations to choose from, sled work is the ultimate warmup or exercise finisher.

You’re able to train every joint of the body for both cardio and strength in one fluid exercise - feet, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders and wrists.

1. Walking Lunges

Traditional parallel squat movements have their place, but are overrated in my opinion.

Being able to lunge continuously while keeping an upright torso and proper breathing showcases single leg stability and strength, while correcting imbalances in the legs and core.

I chose these specific exercises because I've used them for both my personal and clients' programs with great effect.

And as a busy dad, I'm always looking to get the most out of my workouts in the least amount of time so I can spend more moments with my family.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this thread, you'll probably like the content of my newsletter.

I write more in-depth on the topics of health, wellness, family, business and mindset.

Check out it out here, it's free: subscribe.zealcreativeco.com

And that's a wrap!

Follow along for more content like this and repost the first thread section if you can.

It's greatly appreciated!