Exercises for Men: Essential Workouts for Your Fitness Routine

You might have heard the common gym adage: "Never skip leg day." That's because leg workouts are key to helping you build a strong, well-balanced body.

But you don't need dumbbells, barbells or other fitness machines to develop strong leg muscles. Bodyweight squats are an excellent way to work out multiple parts of your body without any equipment.

Squats work out multiple muscle groups, including:

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The number of reps an individual should do will vary widely, depending on their level of conditioning, Hackley says. The more times you do this exercise, the stronger you'll get and the more reps you'll be able to do with the proper form.

For a more advanced workout, you might try wearing a weighted vest while doing your bodyweight squats and other exercises.

"I think weighted vests are a great tool many people don’t use," Hackley says. "Using them, you'll get stronger faster."

You can outfit a weighted vest with as little or as much weight as you choose, depending on your fitness level. An individual who's trying a weighted vest for the first time might start with 10 pounds, while someone with a high fitness level could add 50 to 100 or more pounds, Hackley says. You can buy a weighted vest at many sporting goods stores and online.

If you've ever watched a movie set in a military boot camp, there's a good chance that an intense drill sergeant will at some point bark at a recruit: "Drop and give me 100!"

"The military uses pushups as a great upper body functional movement to develop strength, resilience, stamina, endurance and great core strength," Hackley says.

Of course, you don't need to be a soldier to benefit from pushups.

Pushups are an excellent workout for your abdominals, chest and lower back, so it would be a good idea to incorporate pushups into your upper-body or full-body workout days. Plus, one of the great things about pushups is that you don't need any equipment, and you can do them virtually anywhere, indoors and outdoors.

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The number of pushups an individual will do will vary widely, depending on his level of fitness. If you're just starting out, start out by doing five or 10 pushups. You should do as many as you can with the proper form, Hackley says.

If you experience wrist pain, you can use a number of strategies to mitigate wrist pain, such as adjusting your elbows, raising your hands and stretching.

For a greater challenge, try doing pushups with weighted vests or while balancing a weight plate on your back.

Love them or hate them, planks are a great exercise to strengthen your core.

"They're great for increasing spinal stability, which can be helpful with mitigating back pain," says Nick Balestriere, a health coach at the age management medical office of Cenegenics located in Boca Raton, Florida.

Plus, they're a great exercise that you can do wherever, whenever without needing any expensive fitness equipment.

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Do as many as you can with the proper form, and try to hold the pose longer as you get stronger.

Burpees are a full-body exercise that can be part of a warmup routine, a main workout or a way to finish your workout, Hackley says. They're relatively low-impact, so they're easy on your joints and feet. This exercise helps boost your muscle tone, strength and flexibility and is also a good way to burn calories.

Burpees strengthen various muscles and body parts, including your:

The burpee essentially combines three exercises into one fluid movement: squat, pushup and jump.

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For a more intense workout, you can do burpees while wearing a weighted vest. The amount of weight you use will vary depending on your conditioning.

Chin-ups and pull-ups are similar exercises that can help you build your upper body muscles, specifically your arm, back and shoulder muscles.

"Pull-ups and chin-ups are one of the best upper-back exercises one can do," Hackley says. "Mastering one or both exercises will build awesome strength. They are great exercises for functional movement and can be done anywhere one has access to a horizontal bar."

In both exercises, you grab a horizontal bar and pull your body up, but the primary difference in how you execute each exercise is in the grip. To do a chin-up, you'll grab the bar with your palms facing toward you. To do a pull-up, you'll grip the bar with your palms facing away from you.

For many people, the chin-up is slightly less difficult to execute because it's easier to use the muscles in your shoulders, arms and forearms than when you are doing a pull-up.

Chin-ups and pull-ups are part of the training regimen for many weightlifters, but you don't have to pump iron regularly to benefit from these exercises.

As to which is preferable, it depends on your goals, Hackley says. Chin-ups place more emphasis on building up your biceps and pecs, while pull-ups accentuate your back and shoulder muscles; however, both forms of exercise will benefit all of those muscle groups. Some people will struggle to do one chin-up or pull-up at the beginning, while others may be able to do 50 or more. The more you do, the stronger you will be, and the more you'll be able to do.

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If you're just starting out and need assistance doing a chin-up or pull-up, loop a long resistance band around the bar and place your foot in the hanging end of the band. This modification will provide you with support as you progress toward doing a strict chin-up or pull-up.

It's important to keep your calf muscles strong for an array of reasons.

Calf muscles have several important functions, including:

Calf-strengthening activities are simple to perform and can help reduce the risk of injury, improve mobility and promote a healthier lifestyle.

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Depending on your tolerance, you should try starting with three sets of 10 repetitions or try doing as many repetitions as possible in a two-minute window. As you develop your strength, you can hold dumbbells or kettlebells in each hand for more weight and resistance or attempt single-leg heel raises.

Functional exercises – like jumping jacks – can help train muscles that are used for everyday life.

"Functional training is key for us to live injury-free lives and to keep up with the demand of physical requirements for our day-to-day activities," says Jenn Costin, a certified personal trainer based in Madison, Wisconsin. "Some ways to incorporate training in a gym setting would be to add in some jumping and bending movements. By practicing movements that can easily translate to everyday life we help to create body awareness, build strength and – most importantly – avoid injuries."

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Strive to maintain optimal form while moving at your maximum speed, ensuring you complete the full range of motion with every jump to optimize your fitness progress.

“Begin with 30-second sets and gradually increase the duration, aiming for several minutes or longer without breaks,” Hackley says.

Low-impact exercises can be an important part of a man's daily exercise regimen, says Jamie Costello, a certified personal trainer and vice president of sales and fitness for the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami.

Such activities include:

One of the good things about these exercises is that they can be performed with a low level of intensity or effort and still be effective for building endurance, while keeping your knees and other joints safe and healthy. These exercises can also help keep your heart healthy.

"The most important element is that you're moving throughout the day and every day," Costello says.

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Using smart watches and pedometers can help you track your progress and provide motivation.

Resistance training should be part of everyone's exercise regimen, says Jonathan Jordan, a certified personal trainer based in San Francisco.

"Whether you want to be lean, toned, ripped or strong, resistance training is key for maintaining a healthy body composition, mobility and vitality," Jordan says.

In addition, research suggests that strength training can protect you from chronic diseases and potentially extend your life. In a July 2022 review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers found that muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a 10% to 17% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

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At the gym, Jordan suggests using machines that allow you to do pulling movements, like the seated row machine or lat pull-down machine.

Other resistance training exercises include:

Resistance training is easy to squeeze into your daily routine, even if you're on the road and don't have access to weightlifting equipment. You can do an array of exercises using inexpensive resistance bands, or suspension straps, which you can store in your luggage if you're traveling.

Eric Cohen, a CrossFit Level 1 trainer and co-founder of the walking app 99 Walks based in Sag Harbor, New York, recalls that a friend once told him that success is made at the margins. This concept applies to exercising to reach health goals.

"Sure, the big (exercises) – squats, deadlifts, the bench press and pull-ups – are important," Cohen says. "But adding a few small movements will amplify the gains."

An exercise Cohen calls the "ski flier" is one of the small movements that can help you reach your fitness goals. It's similar to the stance ski jumpers take as they fly off the ramp.

"It's a simple move, best done (with) bare feet," Cohen says.

Building strength in these accessory muscles has three benefits:

"As so many lower body exercises start from the ground up, the stronger the foundation, the more benefit you'll derive," Cohen says.

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The goal is to accumulate 60 seconds in the forward lean position, always keeping your body straight, with no bend at the waist.

"You'll start to feel some effort in your feet which is the activation of all the little muscles that rarely get engaged when we wear shoes and plant our feet on the ground," Cohen says.

Getting a good cardio workout is important for men of all age groups. Sweating it out for 20 to 40 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical at a slow to moderate pace might be the only kind of cardio you're familiar with, but it won't necessarily optimize your metabolic rate – or how well your body burns calories, Balestriere says.

"Even highly conditioned athletes can lose their optimum performance capacity if they don't maintain a good daily cardio exercise regimen," he adds.

Playing a team or individual sport is an effective way to get in your cardio, especially if you tend to view gym workouts as a chore. There are no dumbbells, barbells or gym machines required, but it still counts as an effective workout. If you're a basketball fan, a tennis aficionado or a volleyball lover, you can work up a healthy sweat and have fun at the same time. If you play a team sport, you'll get the added benefit of camaraderie with your fellow competitors.

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Even if you’re a regular on the court, it’s important to warm up before you start to avoid injuries as you get older. Warmups should include stretching to prepare the muscles and rev up the body for exercise.

“Stretching can help prevent muscle injuries and enhance athletic performance,” Hackley says.

Also, be sure to choose the right sneakers that provide support and are designed for the sport you’re playing. The wrong shoe can lead to blisters, foot pain and ankle injuries.

Stretching and breathwork are more important than many people realize.

"A lack of deep breathing really begins to exacerbate other problems in the human body," Hackley says.

To improve your breathing and flexibility, consider taking a yoga class. During intense yoga workouts, your breathing tends to slow down, as opposed to speeding up like it would during a brisk cardio routine. In addition to training your body to breathe, you'll also stretch tight or unused muscles. This is important because inflexible muscles can lead to lower back problems, tightness and muscle tears.

Research suggests that practicing yoga provides an array of health benefits. In an April 2022 meta-analysis published in the journal Pain, researchers evaluated 27 studies involving 2,702 participants and found that practicing yoga helped alleviate low-back pain and boosted mental health and physical functioning.

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There are various types of yoga, ranging from relaxing, meditative styles that are less physically demanding to more intense versions that will have you working up a sweat.

As you become more comfortable and familiar with the poses, challenge yourself by taking a vinyasa flow class, which is a more athletic and fast-paced style of yoga, or a hot yoga class, which is done in a room heated to approximately 90 degrees to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Because you'll be sweating a lot more, remember to hydrate well before, during and after your yoga practice.