Strength Training For Health and Human Performance

Three Keys To Achieving Your Fitness Goals

Today I wanted to discuss three keys to achieving your fitness goals that apply to any field.

Consistency

We can write the best exercise programming but if we are not consistent with the application of the program our success will be limited. I remember going through my doctoral studies and getting up at 430 am to study every day. To complete my master’s and Ph.D. I had to study daily for six years. Success is a distance race, not a sprint. Be in the game for the long haul.

Effort

To be successful we are going to have to apply some effort while we are performing our exercise program. Sometimes that means doing a little bit more work than we did the time before. Sometimes that may mean just showing up and going through the motions. But regardless we do need to put forth the effort to get to the exercise facility and put in the work.

Embrace Routine

To achieve success we must embrace that routine is necessary. Find a dedicated time that you can exercise and for many that may be to exercise first thing in the morning before the distractions of the day begin.

In conclusion, these three keys are certainly not all-encompassing but they will get you started on your path to achieving your health and fitness goals.

Sincerely,

Michael Thomas, Ph.D.

Exercise Selection

The following are exercises that I approve of for most individuals. You may need to alter an exercise to meet your needs. If an exercise causes joint pain or discomfort change it. Limit the range of motion or lighten the load to reduce abnormal joint pain.

Chest Flat, Incline, or Decline Presses (Barbell, Dumbbell, or Machines)

Upperback Pull-downs, pull-ups, dumbbell rows, cable rows, machine rows

Lower back Back extensions, Top range of motion Deadlifts (if you can perform safely). Due to back injuries, I only perform the back extension on an irregular basis.

Hamstrings Same as lower back.

Biceps Standing dumbbell curls, Incline curls, some machine type curls

Triceps Close grip presses, pushdowns, triceps extensions dumbbell, dips

Calves Calf presses, Standing calf raises

Quads Squats (dumbbell or barbell), dumbbell lunges, horizontal leg press, some 45 deg leg press. As I have progressed in my years of training the most common exercises we prescribe are dumbbell lunges and a horizontal leg press. I do not like the idea of putting a bar on a client’s back due to several issues long term.

Feel free to use these exercises to form the basis of your strength training program. Find exercises that recruit the desired muscle groups and that do not cause joint irritation. One of the best ways to reduce joint discomfort is to lighten the load and or limit the range of motion.

Stay Strong,

Michael

Youth Strength Training

I am excited to start our new youth (12 years and above) strength training program. I can think of no other population that stands to benefit more from safe, progressive, and practical strength training.

Today I wanted to share our first version of our Spring 2021 program.

This program consists of exercise on Tuesday and Thursday.

Workout time should be about 20-25 minutes.

Workout for Both Days

Flat Chest Press

Pull-ups (if a young athlete cannot complete a pull-up we want them to do holds at the top of the pullup for up to 30 s. Once 30 s is achieved the athlete can likely complete full pullups).

Pushups (goal is to complete 20 pushups in one set). After the athlete can complete 20 pushups we may progress to the parallel bar dip exercise.

Standing Dumbbell Curls

Walking Lunges

One Legged Standing Calf Raises

This program is completed in a circuit fashion with one exercise followed by the next with about 45-second rest intervals between exercises.

The resistance used allows for 8-15 repetitions per set.

Complete 2 cycles through this program twice per week.

Record all the weight and repetitions completed each day.

Our goal for youth athletes is to at least double their strength in 6 months.

So if a young person can complete 2 pull-ups on day one we want them to be able to complete at least 4-8 pull-ups following the 6 months of strength training.

If a youngster is completing walking lunges with 20 lb dumbells in each hand for 10 steps per leg on day one we want them to be able to use 40 lbs after 6 months.

Basic, progressive, linear strength training is the key.

Focus, focus, focus.

Stay Strong,

Michael

Exercise Time

Perhaps the most common reason people do not exercise is lack of time. The beauty of resistance training especially when you follow the advice here is exercise doesn’t require much of a time commitment. In the first study, I published participants exercised 3 times per week for about 35-45 minutes per session. Total training time per week was about 2-2.5 hours that resulted in improvements in muscle mass and strength following the 8-week intervention (Thomas & Burns, 2016).

Keep in mind this study was conducted with trained participants. I have since adapted my recommendations to less strength training per week.

Regarding resistance training prescription there appears to be a minimum dosage needed and this minimum dosage is less than most follow.

Strength training two days per week at 30 minutes per session does produce tremendous improvements in muscle mass and strength.

Further, I have witnessed many individuals improve in strength and muscle mass completing just one total-body strength session weekly with the total training time of that session being less than 30 minutes.

In my training, I exercise twice per week with each session lasting 15-20 minutes. I have been strength training for over 30 years and I have found that less is more.

When you exercise using the basic movements that engage a lot of muscle mass you don’t need much training volume.

We have seen this at my training center over and over. In fact, I haven’t had one client who trained at this frequency not improve in strength and muscle mass in short order.

Stay Strong,

Reference

Thomas, M. H., & Burns, S. P. (2016). Increasing Lean Mass and Strength: A comparison of high-frequency strength training to lower frequency strength training. International Journal of Exercise Science, 9(2), 159-167.

Excuses

I get it, we all have excuses for not exercising. Even I find making time to exercise a struggle. I spend a lot of time sitting at a computer, the last thing I want to do is exercise especially when I am exhausted mentally.

The thing is you must find time to exercise and for most exercising before your workday begins maybe your best strategy.

Protect the 30 minutes you have allocated for exercise. I have two rules when it comes to missing a workout.

I never miss workouts
The only time I miss a workout is if there is a family emergency or I am sick.

Very rarely do I get sick and family emergencies are not common.

I would encourage you to protect your exercise time. Exercise is perhaps the most important thing you can do in your limited spare time.

The beauty of following the exercise programs I prescribe is that all programs posted here can be completed in under 30 minutes.

No more excuses, start a plan, and keep it up!

Stay Strong,

Example Week of Exercise

Today I wanted to put together a weekly plan of exercise. The plan includes 4 days of organized exercise and 2 days of extra movement. This is just an example and you can adapt things as you see fit. The 4 days of exercise will require less than 30 minutes of exercise.

Day 1

Resistance Exercise as described on these posts or something similar. Chose one of these two strategies and follow it for 8-12 weeks for the resistance training.

My Current Resistance Training Program – Strength Training For Health and Human Performance (drthomasfitness.com)

Exercise Selection and Routine – Strength Training For Health and Human Performance (drthomasfitness.com)

Day 2

Cardiovascular Exercise following a higher intensity progressive plan similar to this one.

Cardiovascular Exercise – Strength Training For Health and Human Performance (drthomasfitness.com)

Day 3

Resistance Exercise as described in the Day 1 links above.

Day 4

Cardiovascular exercise as described in the Day 2 link.

Day 5

10,000 steps total for the day. Wear a Fitbit or other fitness tracker to track steps.

Day 6

Same as day 5

Day 7

Rest

Day 8 : Repeat Day 1

Total Exercise time is under 2 hours not counting the 10,000 step requirement on day 6 and 7.

This is not the only plan to follow but is a great start.

Stay Strong,

Cardiovascular Exercise

Today I wanted to talk about ways to implement more activity in your weekly plan. Resistance training should be completed at least 1 or 2 days per week. I have covered ways to set up that in prior posts.

On the days you are not strength training you should perform some other form of exercise. The plan I would probably follow includes:

Two days of cardiovascular exercise that is progressive.

My choice is to use the elliptical but you can use any mode of cardiovascular exercise you like.

Warm up with some low intensity movement for 3-5 minutes.

Then, complete 15 minutes of exercise at a level that is challenging. I prefer the interval training program on the elliptical.

Record the distance covered in that 15 minutes.

Each time you perform that mode of exercise try to improve the distance covered for the same time (15 minutes) with the same program and intensity.

Therefore, your cardiovascular training program is progressive. Over weeks and months, your intensity should increase as you are working harder but not longer.

Once you can complete 20% greater distance increase the intensity level by one category on that machine.

The key here is accurate record-keeping providing data on the distance covered, time, and intensity of each workout.

The data you will have over weeks of exercise will be motivational as you see your improvements.

Stay Strong,

P.S. Engage in this plan only after you have been medically cleared to engage in high-intensity exercise.

Progression

I hope everyone is having a great week. Last week I discussed the concept of progression and I believe this is the most important concept of exercise especially resistance exercise.

If you want to improve your fitness levels and strength progression is the foundation. The simplest way to do this is to measure your performance on just one set per exercise.

Take the example of the pull-up exercise. If today you perform a set of pullups and can only complete one repetition you now have a baseline. Every day you perform the pullup exercise your goal is to increase the number of repetitions completed. This is a very simple example of progression but many people lose sight of this concept. Even advanced trainees get caught up in doing many sets and exercises that they lose sight of progression. Also, measuring progression becomes more difficult the more sets and or variables you add.

Most need to follow a simple linear progressive plan for many months. In the example above your goal may be to complete 8 pull-ups after 6 months of consistent exercise. This would be an 8 fold improvement in performance. Is that possible? Absolutely. I have witnessed this type of progression over and over.

Advanced trainees will likely need more variation but the Large majority are so far from that status that we must stay laser-focused on progressive and linear exercise.

I hope this helps. Stay focused.

Stay strong,

Michael

Priorities

Your number one priority when you engage in strength training is to improve muscular strength through all major muscle groups. This means overtime you should increase strength in the basic exercises.

Chest Press

Pullup, pulldown, or row

Walking lunges or leg press

Calf Raises

These are the basic exercises that engage the major muscle groups of the body safely.

If you are an athlete focus on doubling your strength in these movements over the next six months.

If you double your strength your athletic performance will improve whether that be run faster, jump higher, or throw a ball harder. Of course, assuming you are doing some sport-specific training that includes biomechanical training of technique and form.

In the weight room, your focus must be on getting stronger on these basic exercises.

For athletes, your goal should be to do 20 pullups with your bodyweight and chest press your body weight for at least 10 reps and advanced athletes will need greater strength.

For walking lunges your goal should be to hold your body weight in your hands and complete 6-10 reps per leg. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs you will need to work at holding 75 lb dumbbells in each hand while performing a lunge.

Get to these strength levels and then we can talk about performing other exercises or focusing on other things.

Be intentional when it comes to strength training!

Stay Strong,

My Current Resistance Training Program

Today I wanted to take some time to show you my current resistance training program. Keep in mind I have been strength training regularly for 30 years. My goals are to continue to improve my strength and fitness levels. At this point in my exercise career improving in performance is difficult.

I strength two days per week. I have tried combining the following program into just one day of training but found that program wiped me out. The following program takes me about 15-20 minutes per day to complete. This program balances my work and rest ratios and allows plenty of time for recovery.

Day 1 usually Wednesday

Upper Body

Flat Chest Press 1-3 sets of 8-15 repetitions

Pullups 1-3 sets of as many as possible (usually 15-20 reps)

Dumbbell Lateral Raises 1-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions

Dumbbell Curls, usually seated both arms at the same time 1-3 sets of 6-10 repetitions per set

Bar Dips 1-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions

Day 2 usually Friday

Lower Body

Leg Press or Walking Lunges 1-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (Leg press) 6-10 reps per leg (lunges)

Back Extensions 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions per set

Standing Calf Raises 1 legged 1-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions per set

Barbell Shrugs 1-3 sets of 6-10 repetitions per set

Sometimes I add in a few sets of crunches

I usually follow the approach of completing 1 set for all exercises for 3 weeks followed by an increase in the number of sets to 2 sets for all exercises for 2-3 weeks, followed by another block of an increase in sets per exercise to 3 sets.

Basically, this looks like:

3 weeks of 1 set per exercise

2-3 weeks of 2 sets per exercise

2-3 weeks of 3 sets per exercise

Then a reduction in volume back to 1 set per exercise for 3 weeks.

None of this is set in stone and I adapt my training to how I feel but I never sacrifice training volume for intensity. Meaning that if I am working less hard per set by completing 3 sets I reduce the number of sets to 1 or 2.

This is what works for me right now and if you are not an advanced trainee you will probably be better served to perform 2-3 sets per exercise.

You may also complete this workout in one day. I have just found that I do better splitting the program in half.

There are times that I complete two total-body sessions per week following the same format and the same exercises.

Understand that I have arrived at this after years of training and experimentation. You can learn from these principles and know that more exercise is probably not the answer but rather a laser-focused approach to strength training with no wasted effort.

Stay Strong,

Michael