It’s not uncommon for someone to walk into the studio for the first time and ask me “Do you provide weight training?” The reason for their confusion is because we don’t have any typical machines at the studio. I decided to use today’s blog post to explain exactly what “weight training” is.
The first thing I should clarify is that research has proven that to improve muscular fitness you must apply the overload principle.
“Overload occurs when a greater than normal physical demand is placed on muscles or muscle groups.”
-American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Resources for the Personal Trainer
To produce the strength and endurance gains, resistance training should progressively overload the muscular system. The goal is to provide a stimulus to the body forcing it to adapt by getting stronger. To be clear, your goal is to achieve an overload. Some of the forms of resistance that can be used are:
• Bodyweight
• Weight machines
• Barbells
• Dumbbells
• Kettlebells
• Resistance bands
• Sandbags
At the studio, three of our core tools are the TRX (bodyweight), kettlebells and the Ultimate sandbag. The reason I chose these three was because of the variety and functionality they provided. The TRX is a suspension system that allows you to use your bodyweight as the load. It’s based upon vectors.
Based upon positioning, we can make an exercise easier or more challenging. I gravitated towards this tool about 10 years ago when I realized that it could be used as an aid or as a means to make a standard bodyweight exercise more challenging. I’ve worked with people who have a hard time performing a bodyweight squat. Holding the straps for assistance allows that person to perform a squat. They can use their upper-body to assist in the movement, by pulling themselves up out of the bottom position of the squat. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve taken a bodyweight push-up and increase the intensity by using the straps to elevate the feet. This incline position changes the demand of the push-up. To see an example of this, watch me demonstrate in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY0ZOr4bJU0&list=PLDE434D33283CC251&index=22
I believe that part of the confusion is that for the novice or beginner, their only exposure to training has been via TV commercials, magazine articles, and social media. They saw a picture of Jennifer Lawrence performing exercises using dumbbells, so they assume that must be what they need.
When I was determining how I wanted to deliver our small group training, I was adamant that the size of the studio was critical to the experience. Offering our training in a small environment eliminates the vastness that can come accompanied in the “Big Box” gyms. It’s very easy to feel lost in a large gym. The lost feeling can then usher feelings of being overwhelm and anxious.
On the training side of things, I mentioned earlier that the TRX, kettlebells, and the Ultimate sandbag provide better functionality. The best way for me to explain this is that I believe what you do in the gym should make everything outside of the gym easier and better. Sitting on a machine and performing leg extensions isn’t good if it has no carry over to helping walk a flight of stairs or get out of a chair.
On top of this, the only way to intensify the leg extension is by adding either weight or repetitions. A tool such as the Ultimate sandbag allows me to adjust loading positions and planes of motion. The TRX allows me to vary your foot position, which will affect your stability. The offset load of the kettlebell allows you to press it overhead in a more beneficial position for the shoulders. To see an example of the variety of positions your body is placed, watch me perform a Turkish getup using a kettlebell. You’ll notice that I start from a lying position, stand up with the kettlebell and return to the starting position. That’s 1 rep!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7jSYPIHr1_/
After spending my initial 25 years training people in large big box gyms, what my experience taught me is that these tools (TRX, kettlebells, and the Ultimate sandbag) are better for the outcomes I’m working towards with my members.
I’ll see you at the studio.