What if exercises were Halloween candy?

If exercises were Halloween candy, every trainer and gym goer would have a different opinion about which ones belong in the bag.

Burpees would be candy corn. They’re everywhere, some people swear they’re great, and there is always someone wondering why we keep doing this to ourselves.

Squats would be the full-size Snickers bar. They take a little more work, but when you need something substantial, they get the job done. You probably wouldn't hand one to a five-year-old at 8am, and I'm probably not prescribing heavy squats to every client in every situation either.

Biceps curls would be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They're simple, they're popular, and nobody is going to complain when they show up in the workout.

Turkish get-ups might be the candy nobody can quite identify. You can explain what's inside, where it came from, and why it's supposed to be good for you, but there's still a decent chance the client is staring at it thinking, “Can I just have a Kit Kat?”

Sled pushes are Kit Kats. Break them into manageable pieces, put some effort into each one, and most people can get something useful out of them.

And then there are exercises like Olympic lifts. They're the giant novelty candy bars. Impressive to look at, fun when you know what you're doing, but probably not the first thing you grab when you're trying to solve a very specific problem.

The point isn't that one exercise is good and another is bad. Just like Halloween candy, different exercises have different purposes. So enjoy the candy this Halloween and remember this workout lesson; your exercise selection should have a little more thought behind it than reaching into the bag with your eyes closed.