One of the most challenging obstacles of an exercise regimen is simply, beginning. Exercise can be intimidating. What do I need to do? Is twice a week enough? Do I really have to stretch? What is this Pilates thing? Will Crossfit kill me? How do I burn fat and reach my goals? What are all these machines at the gym? Cardio or weights first? It’s mind spinning and I believe this is a major barrier to achieving your physical fitness goals. There are a lot of things to unpack here, and through my blog, I hope to answer all your questions.
First, I want to help you begin a strength training program. Strength training is my first exercise love and a key component of physical fitness. Spoiler alert: strength training is not all about slamming massive weights, testosterone, grunting, and red, sweaty men. Strength training is for everyone and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Let us talk guidelines. Strength training should be performed at least 2-3 days per week, but hey you can do something for your strength daily. Sessions can last anywhere from 1 minute to 2 hours and can be done anywhere: living room, gym, bathroom sink, public park, mountain, playground, etc.
Now down to the solutions. I believe in being efficient in the gym, I don’t have time to work every muscle one at a time. Aim for the big movement patterns. I break upper and lower body exercise into 6 big movement patterns. These patterns contain compound exercises, which means the exercise will use multiple muscles to perform the action. This is my favorite way to train because it’s the secret to building muscle faster, burning fat quickly, and achieving the body you’ve always wanted. Here are the 6 main patterns: squat, hinge, vertical press, vertical pull, horizontal press, and horizontal pull. We’ll skip abs for today.
Let’s look at examples of our patterns.
Squat: squat, front squat, leg press
Hinge: deadlifts, Romanian deadlift, lumbar extensions, hip thrusts
Vertical Push: overhead press, handstand push-ups
Vertical Pull: pull-ups, cable pulldown
Horizontal Push: push-ups, bench press, dumbbell press
Horizontal Pull: cable rows, barbell row, bent over dumbbell row
I don’t want to be too complicated with our exercises here, so I listed a sampling of my favorites. This way of framing exercises works for most movements, but some movements can’t be pigeonholed such as a power clean. This is a great exercise that could fit in different categories, so point being, not every exercise you do has to have a pattern.
Now when building your own strength training program, pick any two patternsfrom above for the day. I personally wouldn’t pair squat with hinge the same day, but the rest can be mixed-and-matched together. Let’s build a quick 3x a week program.
Day 1: Squat/Vertical Press
1A) Back Squat
1B) Dead bug with weight overhead at 90 degrees
2A) Dumbbell Press
2B) Planks with alternating shoulder taps
3A) Reverse Lunges
3B) Wolverine Cable Cross
3C) Hamstring curls with sliders
Day 2: Horizontal Push/Horizontal Pull
1A) Dumbbell Chest Press
1B) Cable Rows
2A) Incline Press
2B) Pendlay Rows
Arm Circuit:
Bicep curls
Triceps Bench Dips
Hammer curls
Triceps Pulldown
Day 3: Vertical Push/Vertical Pull
1A) Pull-ups
1B) Bear Crawls
2A) Thruster Press
2B) Mountain Climber (abs)
3A) Lat Pulldown
3B) Pike Press
The 3-day plan above is meant to be a quick example. Please note that all of this can be adjusted. I realize this article is written with a gym set-up in mind. If you work out at home and need help, contact me and I can modify any plan for at home. Some of these exercises/concepts could be a bit tough to handle if you are completely new to the gym, and that is completely okay! My advice to you would be, either find a good trainer in your area, seek out a performance based physical therapist, or do online training with me.
I can guide you through this minefield, customize programs for your needs, and then, once you become comfortable making your own routine, you can be off on your own.
Learning how to properly strength train is an investment worth making. We know the benefits:improved bone health, muscle function, physical ability to do things you love, and heart health. Why not put the work, time, and money into this now and reap the benefits for a lifetime?
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