Why does it seem like muscle is so hard to put on, yet so easy to lose? You spend hours in the gym each week to build size; yet if you take a week off, it feels like you’ve shrunk. Well, you’re in luck. We’re going to break down seven simple daily exercises for men to maintain muscle size, strength, power, and more. If you’re not training at the gym, do them at home as a quick way to open your body, get the heart flowing, and feel energized and awake. And if you are going to the gym, do the below moves as a part of your warmup or even as the strength exercises in your workouts. Enjoy!
1. Hip Bridges
Every guy can benefit from stronger glutes and hips—it improves your movement patterns, increases your overall strength, and keeps your knees and lower back feeling great. And if you want something to do every day, look no further.
To begin the hip bridge, lie on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Drive through your heels, and squeeze your glutes to push your hips up. Repeat. Do not use your lower back you pull yourself up.
2. Squats
Squats are the king of exercises. They’re perfect in the gym with barbells, kettlebells, etc., and they’re also great for mobility and recovery to get the blood flowing and open your hips. (Try going all the way down for mobility.) You can also perform them with just your body weight.
To get started, stand shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly out. Initiate the movement by sitting backward and spreading your knees apart. Descend below parallel while keeping your lower back flat. At the bottom, drive through your heels, and keep your knees apart.
3. Hip Flexor Stretch
Everyone has tight hip flexors from all the sitting we do, and this can cause lower back issues and poor movement patterns. To reverse this, spend a moment to stretch your muscles so you can perform your best.
To set up for the hip flexor stretch, get on one knee with your feet in line and your knees making 90-degree angles. Squeeze the glute of your rear leg, push your hips forward, and feel a deep stretch through the front of your hips and quads. Switch sides.
4. Spiderman Lunges with Overhead Reach
This is easily one of the best dynamic stretches to open your hips and back. As you do the movement and improve, your mobility will increase dramatically, meaning better workouts and fewer aches.
With your left leg, lunge forward and left about 30 degrees. Place both hands on the ground while keeping your elbows locked and press your trailing knee to the ground. Squeeze the glute of the rear leg, and extend your right arm to the sky while watching your hand with your eyes. Maintain a neutral arch in your lower back throughout. Stand up, and switch sides.
5. Walk
There’s a myth that cardio reduces your muscle size. If you want to stay muscular, light cardio is essential—it accelerates your recovery from your workouts in a low-impact way and improves your conditioning so you can train harder. So make it a goal to walk every day for 15 to 20 minutes. If you can’t do it in one session, spread it throughout the day.
6. Wall Slides
Next to maintain muscle is the wall slide. Many men struggle with shoulders that are hunched forward because of an overdeveloped chest and weak back muscles. Wall slides are a perfect drill to activate your lower traps to keep everything aligned properly.
Stand with your head, shoulders, and glutes against a wall. Press your forearms flush against the wall. (There should be no space between your skin and the wall). Squeeze your glutes, and press your lower back against the wall while sliding your forearms up and down the wall.
7. Planks
Really, a plank? However Before a workout, it’s critical to activate your core so it’s ready to handle heavy weights and lots of reps. But on your non-workout days, it’s also helpful to do the same to keep your body active and improve your posture.
Get into a plank position by resting on your forearms and keeping your body straight. Push your forearms into the ground to round your upper back and curl your hips in to keep your lower back flat.
