It’s January, and that brings a bunch of new people to the gym. Or maybe some of my triathlete followers are incorporating strength into their training programs for the first time. And one thing many of these people have in common is they don’t know where to start.
So….because the basics still work, I am dusting off an old blog from a few years ago.
1. Squats
You squat every time you sit, so this is the one that makes the most sense as far as a daily movement pattern. It uses all the muscles of your legs and your core in one movement.
Exercise Examples: Any kind of squat on 1 or 2 legs, and leg extensions or the leg press.
2. Hip Hinge
This is a big one as it is key for developing low back strength. It uses all the muscles in your posterior chain: glutes hamstrings and low back. Instead of bending at your waist, try tipping from your hip. Think about the movement you would make if you were to look under the bed.
Exercise Examples: Kettlebell swings, Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Glute Bridges.
3. Lunge
While lunging isn’t used often in everyday life, it is still a good one to practice. It works with many different muscle groups at once(legs, abs, low back), and also helps in developing balance and stability.
Exercise Examples: All lunge variations including step-ups and split squats.
4. Push
Opening heavy doors, pushing a shopping cart, lifting something overhead, catching yourself if you fall. While you should try to push both vertical and horizontal for Range or Motion purposes, they will strengthen similar muscle groups. The focus is on your shoulders, chest, and triceps.
Exercise Examples: Push-ups, Chest press, chest fly, tricep extensions, shoulder press, lateral raises, front raise.
5. Pull
Pulling open doors, pulling out a chair, taking something off a high shelf. Again, this can be horizontal or vertical and will work similar muscles. The muscles that incorporated pulling are your back, (think posterior chain) and biceps.
Exercise Examples: Rows, lat pull downs, pull-ups, face pulls, pull overs, biceps curls.
6. Carry
Any time you carry something you are working your stabilizer muscles. It helps us maintain good posture and form over long periods of time.
Exercise examples: Farmers Carry, Overhead carry, Front rack carry. If you don’t have something heavy to carry, any variation of a plank or anti-rotational band work is a great substitute.
A few additional notes when designing your strength session.
- When starting, aim for start with 1 day a week, building to 2-3 times a week
- 20-30 minutes is enough time to get a good strength workout in
- Start with 3 rounds of 10-12 repetitions per exercise. Once you start to get comfortable strength training, start to increase your weight and do less repetitions. Muscle only grows when we lift heavy shit. You want to finish within 2-3 repetitions of technical failure.
- You can do a total body workout 3 days a week. If your legs are fatigued or you have challenging bike or run to do, then go easier on the lower body exercises by focusing on mobility and range of motion, and lift upper body heavier.
- Don’t be afraid to video yourself and watch in to critique your form.
- Keep it simple! When you strip down the most complicated exercises, they are all a variation of the same few movements. The basics will ALWAYS work!
Leave a Reply