One of this week’s themes is posture. Holding the hands behind the head during squats helps ensure that the back stays nice and straight. Three rounds.
kb swings | 30 |
kb twist | 20 |
kb 8s | 10 |
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prisoner squat | 30 |
rows | 20 |
kickbacks | 10 |
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tap backs | 30 |
curls | 20 |
windscreen wiper | 10 |
Today the Amazing Stickie is working with her incline bench in a different way doing chest supported rows. She sits with the front of her upper body leaning on the inclined portion of the bench (n.b., this does not mean that she does not keep her abdominals active) holding dumbbells in her hands. Then she rows the dumbbells as she would do if she were standing.
Sets of ten to twenty are good, depending on the weight.
Yesterday we talked about endurance as a basis for our strength training program. The other base we need is stability. In other words, we need to work on balance.
There are, of course, lots of ways to work on balance. Perhaps the simplest way is to do something we normally do standing on both feet standing on one. Things like single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, and the like fall into this category.
Another way to work balance is to add an element of instability to our workout. This is where we get to use toys. A stability ball that we roll out on to do our bench press instead of lying on a bench is a good example. Anything we do with a BOSU is another good example. Many TRX exercises put us in positions where we have to stabilize while we work and thus improve our balance.
Yet another way is to do a bit of cross training with Pilates or yoga.
A word of caution: start small. Balance, like any other skill, is best built gradually and safely.
I’ve spent the last two months talking about why strength training is good for us. Now it’s time to talk about how. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of ways to go about strength training. It all depends on the goal.
When we first start out, we need to start by building some endurance and some stability. That means that, generally, we are going to be lifting relatively light weights in relatively long sets and we’re going to do some balance work. (I’ll talk about balance work tomorrow.)
Let’s define “relatively light weights.” Sort of. My relatively light weights are not anybody else’s. A relatively light weight is one that I can use to complete a set of twenty reps. This might take a bit of experimentation. I may optimistically select a five hundred pound weight (I am being ridiculous on purpose because people get weird about numbers sometimes) for my curls and discover that I can only do 10 reps. That is a perfectly respectable set, but I will want to choose a lighter weight for my next set.
A relatively long set is a little easier to define. It’s somewhere between 12 and 20 reps.
We combine the two things like this. I find a weight for which I can complete 12 reps. I keep using the same weight until I can complete more and more reps. When I can complete a set of 20, I increase the weight and drop back down to 12 reps. Lather, rinse, repeat. We do the same process for each exercise.
This week we’re doing Bulgarian split squats. People with troublesome knees can substitute either lunges (to reduce the load) or any other exercise they like. Three rounds.
mountain climbers | 30 |
bulgarian split squat | 20 |
farmer carry | 10 |
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squat raise | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
lateral raise | 10 |
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woodchoppers | 30 |
flies | 20 |
plank up down | 10 |
The Amazing Stickie knows that compound exercises compound the benefits to her body. So today she is doing lateral lunge to curtsy.
She begins standing up straight. She can hold a dumbbell or put her hands on her hips. From there, she lunges to the left, her left leg bending and her right leg straight. Then she pushes off with her left leg and crosses it behind her right leg, both knees bending into a curtsy position. She returns to start and goes the other way.
A set of ten to twenty is good.
All right! We have made it to our final motivational reason to do strength training: It helps us prevent or control a bunch of chronic diseases. (Disclaimer: working out is no substitute for actual medical care! It is a useful adjunct to drugs and other treatments that your doctor can provide!)
Life is just better with less diabetes, coronary artery disease, arthritis, back pain, and depression. Lifting weights seems like a much easier option than dealing with all those other things.
Go lift already.
