Coach Cassie's Blog

Cassie is a personal trainer and fitness instructor at Xcelerate Fitness, Dinuba. Check out her blog and feel free to add to your favorites for future reference.

Coach Cassie

10 Exercises Everyone Should be Doing

As a new trainer I have seen people perform some really "interesting" exercises. Just when I think I've seen it all, some guy in tight spandex and a headband surprises me.

There are literally thousands of different exercises designed to target all areas of the body and help you achieve lots of fitness goals. Many of these are perfectly good exercises when performed correctly and used appropriately in a well designed, progressive program. Unfortunately there are also a lot which are, well just plain ridiculous.

So what are the best exercises to help you get the most from your workouts and utilize your time in the gym most efficiently? Here is our list of the top 10 exercises that everyone should include in their workout program.

1. Squat 2. Deadlift 3. Overhead Press 4. Push Up 5. Pull Up 6. Dip 7. Swing 8. Push Press 9. Step Up 10. Hang Clean

These are all multi-joint, multi-muscle exercises that incorporate very functional, everyday movements. They can help to develop all-around strength, power and endurance as well as increase lean muscle mass and aid in weight loss.


You do not have to perform all these exercises at once (although it would make for a pretty good full-body workout.) Nor do you have to perform them every time you workout. They should be scattered throughout your workouts and performed pretty frequently.

They can all be modified using different equipment to create variations from beginner to advanced so that everyone regardless of level, age or sex can perform them. They also do not require any fancy, expensive equipment and can be performed in pretty much any gym, at home and in most cases even outside.

Can You Do Cardio With Bad Knees?

“I was wondering which cardio workouts are best for people with bad knees? I'm 21 and I love to run but I already have bad knees. So, I'm torn between running or quitting cardio altogether because I don't know what else to do that’s as good a workout as running. Help!”

Because cardio often involves repetitive motion of the knee joint, it can be especially aggravating to injured knees. I personally had to avoid running for nearly a year when I developed knee pain, and was convinced I’d never run again. But many “bad” knees can be addressed with proper training. Here are 3 easy tips to get the most out of your bad knees:

1) Train Your Quads
A weak quadriceps muscle can allow the knee to track improperly in its bony groove, which results in knee pain and soft tissue damage. Often, the fix for this is as simple as doing exercises for a specific knee muscle called the vastus medialis, which is the teardrop-shaped muscle on the inside of the knee. Cable kick forwards are my favorite exercise for this, and you can do 3 to 4 sets of 15-20 reps per leg every other day.

2) Stretch Your Hamstrings
Tight hamstrings on the back of your legs can also significantly affect your knee mechanics. If you have knee pain, you should stretch your hamstrings 2-3 times each day for at least 60 seconds. One of the best moves for this is the lying hamstring stretch.

3) Use Low Impact Training
To maintain your cardiovascular fitness as you implement the tips above, engage in low impact training like bicycle riding (make sure seat is high) and water running.

With these 3 steps, most individuals can significantly reduce knee pain.