Introduction

Finally I started with strength training. I was writing about strength in my post strength and aging and I knew that I have to tackle this subject to get fitter and be healthier. But this are not the only reasons. Here is a short list what I want to achieve with it.

• getting stronger
• being less prone to injuries
• reducing body fat
• fitter brain, through fitter muscles
• greater self esteem
• greater endurance

Some of this points are measurable (strength, body fat). Other are more feelings and could be tracked with something like a diary.

Which kind of strength training?

For the beginning I decided to start out simple. Bodyweight workouts are what I want to do. There are a couple of reason why I have chosen this type of training.

• nearly no equipment is necessary
• I can almost do it everywhere
• little or no money is needed to do it
• not much time is needed (20 – 30 min)
• there are enough exercises for every muscle available

Which exercises?

I’m trying to address the whole body with the following exercises.

• squads
• walking lungs
• push ups
• pull ups
• handstand (at a wall)
• elbow plank
• side elbow plank (left and right side)
• superman

How much, how often and when?

I do one set for each exercise and when I reach a certain level, I will do two sets. For example when I can do 50 squads I take a one minute break and do a second set. Pull ups are actually hard. So I do a couple of full pull ups and then, without a break, negative pull ups (jumping up and letting slowly down). To get the most out of it, I execute every movement very slow. In addition this reduces the risk of an injury. For the static exercises (handstand, planks, superman) I hold them as long as I can. Actually 30 sec and I try to add 5 sec after one week.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my training days. If I have a race on the weekend I simply skip the Friday workout. The same applies, when I’m super fatigue from an endurance workout the day before.

I do the strength training always before any endurance workout. Like this my muscle are fresh and are able to do the exercises correctly and with lesser risk for an injury.

Measuring Progress

If it is measurable it can be improved or with other words, if I know how many reps I did, I can check if I have improved or not. This simply means, writing down the workouts. I use a spreadsheet (example below) for this.

Outlook

Doing a little bit consistently is better than doing nothing at all. With this motto, I will establish my strength workout routine and make it a habit for the next couple of month. Sooner or later I will surely hit a plateau and then I have to adopt, change my exercises or take a break for some time.

Disclaimer: Consult your doctor or health professional before you start with a workout routine like this or similar.