Top 15 Exercises

Cardio Workouts

• Running is not only one of the most basic forms of exercise, it is certainly one of the best. Running helps you lose weight, lower cholesterol levels and increase lung capacity. You don't need any exercise equipment, making it one of the most cost-effective exercises as well. Jumping Jacks are a simple cardiovascular exercise that takes coordination and stamina. By leaping into the air, arms and legs scissoring in and out, you're burning calories while improving circulation and muscle strength.

Body-Weight Exercises

• Lunges target several major muscle groups in the lower body. Beginners should do reverse lunges, dipping the lower leg back and down to avoid serious injury to the knee. After a slight learning curve, lunges are a must-have in your workout routine. Mountain climbers work nearly every muscle group in your body. You start out in the pushup position and perform deep alternating lunges with the legs. This is the ideal low-impact exercise if you've been out of the gym for a few months. Pushups are one of the most basic exercises, because your own body weight forms the resistance. It builds muscle in the chest, upper arms and abs. You can either turn up the resistance by inclining the legs, or make it easier by working off the knees. Calf raises are one of the top strength exercises for your lower legs. By dangling your heels over a ledge and repeatedly lifting off the balls of your feet, you can effectively train explosiveness into the muscles of the calves.

Floor Exercises

• The side plank is an exercise that might not feature much movement, but certainly provides a strength and toning workout. You lie on your side and prop your body up by balancing along the forearm and shoulder. This position exercises the obliques and just about every other core muscle group in your midsection. The front plank is a static exercise that goes for the gut, literally. You lie prone on the floor and prop your body up along the forearms. During the front plank, you are maintaining tension along the center line of the body, using all the core muscles in your abdomen. The bicycle crunch is widely recognized as the single best abdominal exercise for building core muscles. You get a cardio workout and keep tension on the abs by constantly moving your legs in an inverted cycling position.

Strength Builders

• Box jumping helps build explosiveness in the legs and increases your vertical jumping range. It's a plyometric exercise, taking repetitive jumping and landing and turning it into a high-intensity workout.The leg press is a strength-building exercise for the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings, the major muscle groups of the legs. You sit at this gym machine and press the weight away from your body by extending the legs, making it less stressful on the body than other strength-training exercises for the legs. HealthGuidance.com notes that squats work your core muscles more than any other exercise. You can employ plenty of variations in the type of resistance you use, but the results are the same: a powerfully strong core. If you want toned, rounded shoulders, add the dumbbell shoulder press to your workout routine. This exercise works the deltoid muscle group as you press the dumbbells up and over your head. ACE Fitness rated the bench press as the most effective exercise for building your chest. You can use either a Smith machine or an adjustable barbell to load on the weight. With either option, the bench press is an essential component to any upper-body strength-building routine. Bodybuilding doesn't have to be hard, especially with shoulder shrugs. You can build up the trapezius and deltoid muscles of the upper shoulders and neck by simply grasping two dumbbells and shrugging your shoulders.