by vgpedlr » Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:56 am
Well, it looks like this forum has dried up and blown away . . . But just in case anyone wanders in by accident, I'm going to repost an easy to use template for strength training some may find useful.
Prelude:
For some reason, most people think exercise must hurt to be any good. The "no pain, no gain" and "#beastmode" mentality absolutely dominated fitness discussion. I suppose that intensity is sexy, looks good on the commercials, and gets people excited. But it is totally unnecessary, and I believe wrong for most people. Trying to imitate genetically gifted professional athletes who use PEDs is inappropriate for regular people. If you're in your 20s, you can get away with it for awhile because of hormonal levels. But for the rest of us it's frustration, burnout, and injury. So let the paleo crossfitters have their Pukie the Clown t-shirts, there is another way. (Real deal, google it)
Little and often over the long haul brings the greatest success.
Just like with diet and losing weight, it doesn't happen overnight. You make a practice of the correct habits and keep,at it every day. There is no need to "bomb" or "blast" your body into submission. Folks, it's about health, not war. I think that when training for health and fitness you should feel better when you finish than you did when you started.
Longtime members will recall that when it comes to aerobic fitness that I'm a huge fan of the Maffetone method. Use a heart rate monitor and the 180 formula and use low intensity aerobic sessions to build health and fitness in an enjoyable manner.
For strength training the equivalent is the "Easy Strength" method developed by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline. Also goes under the name of the 40 day challenge. Google will show various articles and personal accounts of the program.
How to do it:
Pick one exercise from each of the following categories:
Upper body push
Upper body pull
Hip hinge
Squat
Loaded carry
Do a total of about 10 reps per exercise. I.e. Two sets of five or 3X3. Use a weight that you could comfortably get more reps. Never struggle, never miss. Just practice the movements.
Extra credit for including an explosive move and a frontside move like the leg raise or ab wheel.
So the push could be any variation of bench press or over head press, using any type of equipment or body weight. The pull is any variation of a row or pull up. The squat, any type of squat, lunge, step up etc. The hip hinge is a little trickier, most folks probably need a little help getting this. I did. Deadlift variations and proper kettlebell swings work the hip hinge. A loaded carry is carrying some weight for distance, like a farmer's walk. Absolutely brilliant core work, as it is very real world, all core muscles working and readjusting every step to keep you together.
Frequency:
The key to the program is doing it as often as possible. Since the load and volume are light, sessions need to be frequent. Ideally 5 days a week. You should be able to do it nearly every day. But 3-4 days a week will work too, especially for those really out of shape, or folks who are active doing other things. Workouts are short, no more than 20 min. My last session I completed in the time it took the others to talk about their kids.
So here's what I'm Doing:
Push- Military press
Pull- Pull-up
Hip hinge- Suitcase deadlift
Squat- Front squat
Carry- variable, whatever I feel like
I warm up with a set of kettlebell swings (explosive) and end with the ab wheel.
The Sixth Movement:
Covering the basic human movements is usually enough, but the sixth movement or "everything else" is for individual needs. I'm experimenting with TRX T/Y/I pulls to see if they might help balance my shoulders from cycling.
Quick, easy, and effective. And leaves plenty of time and energy to do other things. You don't have to be a gym rat to build solid, useful strength.