Hello, my strong & beautiful friend! 💜☺️

This post isn’t going to be fancy or super-duper wordy (which I know is rare for me! haha).  But my hope is that this list of 60 functional exercise moves gives you lots of practical ideas & inspiration for your workouts!

I originally decided to make this list as a companion to my post, “How to Create Your Own Fat-Burning, High-Intensity Workout” — so that you really would have ALL you need to make your own rockin’ workouts.

Recommended Exercise Equipment

Many of these functional exercise moves don’t require ANY equipment — just your amazing body!  So if you don’t have any special workout gear, no problem.

There are some exercise moves that DO require a little bit of equipment, but most of it is very affordable & very versatile — so I’d recommend investing in some of the basics if you really want to diversify your workouts.

Here are a few pieces of equipment I definitely recommend purchasing:

• Free Weights — 5 pound weights work great for a lot of the movements requiring weights, or even 10 pound weights as you get stronger.

• Stability Ball — Can be used to diversify core, upper body, & lower body movements.

• Resistance Bands — Great for upper body movements, especially as a modification for pull-ups.

And here are a couple pieces of equipment that definitely aren’t necessary, but are awesome & can really take your workouts to the next level:

• Set of Boxes — Box jumps can add a whole new dynamic to your workouts! They are amazing for improving your overall fitness, getting your heart pumping, & strengthening your lower body.

• Weighted Vest  — A 10-20 pound weighted vest can work great for a lot of lower body movements, & it makes them exponentially more challenging!

• Ankle Weights & Wrist Weights — These will seriously intensify your exercise moves & help tone your legs & arms even faster!

.

60 Functional Exercise Moves to Add to Your Workouts

I’ve organized this list of exercise moves by the main muscle groups they work (upper body, lower body, core, & full body).

The movements with a “✨” next to them require some kind of equipment, which I put in parentheses.

If there are some (or several) exercise moves on this list that you aren’t familiar with, have no fear!  You can do a quick Google search to find pictures, videos, or descriptions of almost all of the exercises.  

Alright, let’s start burnin’ some major fat, building lean muscle, getting beach body ready, & boosting our health!  🤗

Upper Body Exercise Moves

• Push-Ups
• Diamond Push-Ups
• Spiderman Push-Ups
• Grasshopper Push-Ups
• Pike Push-Ups
• Scoops
• Tricep Dips
• Speed Punches
• Speed Curls ✨ (free weights)
• Tricep Kick-Backs ✨ (free weights)
• Shoulder Presses ✨ (free weights)
• Upright Rows ✨ (free weights)
• Arm Raises ✨ (free weights)
• Banded Rows ✨(exercise band)
• Banded Pull Downs ✨ (exercise band)
• Banded Pull-Aparts ✨ (exercise band)
• Decline Push-Ups ✨ (stability ball, OR a chair/couch/something similar height)

Lower Body Exercise Moves

• Speed Squats
• Squat Jacks
• Jump Squats
• Jump Turn Squats
• Lunges/Reverse Lunges (either Alternating or Switching Legs)
• Side Kick Squats
• Leg Lift Squats
• Split Squats (aka Explosive Lunges)
• Side Hops
• Run in Place
• High Knees
• Calf Jumps
• Calf Raises
• Toe Taps
• Good Mornings
• One-Legged Squats ✨ (stability ball, OR a piece of furniture/something similar height)
• Box Jumps ✨ (box jump set, OR a step/ledge if doing lower jumps)
• Steps Ups ✨ (box jump set, OR  step/ledge)
• Hamstring Hip Raises ✨ (chair/piece of furniture, OR box jump set)
• Hamstring Curls ✨ (stability ball)

Core Exercise Moves

• Butterfly Sit-Ups
• Bicycles
• Russian Twists (can add free weights or a medicine ball to make it more challenging)
• Accordions
• Flutter Kicks
• Shin Slaps
• Plank (or Side Plank)
• Plank Speed Kicks
• Prone Paddles
• Stability Ball Passes ✨ (stability ball)
• Stability Ball Knee Tucks ✨ (stability ball)
• Stability Ball Crunches ✨ (stability ball)

Full Body Exercise Moves

• Running Punches
• Jumping Knee Tucks
• Burpees
• Knee Tuck Burpees
• Half Burpees
• Mountain Climbers
• Mule Kicks
• Wave Catchers
• Star Jumps
• Prone Jacks
• Squat Thrusts
• Squat to Shoulder Press ✨(free weights)

Making It Practical

Now that we’ve gotten through this list of functional exercise moves, here are a few tips I have to make this post as actionable & practical as possible (so that you can start implementing these into your workouts, and see some amazing results with your health & body!):

1. Check out “How to Create Your Own Fat-Burning, High-Intensity Workout” if you haven’t already — it goes hand-in-hand with this post, & will give you the step-by-step process of creating several different types of awesome workouts!

2. Bookmark this post or print out the list of exercise moves so you can use it to spark inspiration & gain ideas when creating your own workouts.

3. Do a quick Google search for any exercises that you’re interested in but aren’t sure exactly how to do.  You might find some of your new favorite exercise moves!

What are some of your favorite functional exercise moves to add to your workouts?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin