Strength Training Needs To Be Your Foundation – Body Weight And Barbells

Strength Training Needs To Be Your Foundation – Body Weight And Barbells

I was on holidays in Maui for my 2nd wedding anniversary and being the fitness addict and freak that I am, I decided to go get a one week gym membership at the local gym. During my holiday….

I just couldn’t take a week without training. Yes, I can do some calisthenics around town, but it’s just easier to have weights and a floor that I can use at a real gym. Wife being completely annoyed aside and thinking I’ll need mental help, I got to see the gym inside for the first time in almost 5 years. Considering I train exclusively at home, this was my first time in a while, and it was an eye opener.

I hate waiting for machines, people sweating all over everything and watching people do some of the weirdest things known to man. Just Youtube “gym fails” and you will know what I mean. it’s just not my scene. At home you can do your own thing, build your own gym and have fun while doing it, without having to put your hand on the bench some guy forgot to whip down after 3 hours on the elliptical.

When I was there, I saw the new age of kids doing their routines, and I was shocked. I admit I’m a people watcher, i just couldn’t help it. I saw 16-20 year old kids doing iso rope bicep cable curls, front shoulder raises on cables, upright rows with bands, machine dips, machine bench press, and whatever else the fitness industry throws at you to make good old fashioned hard work in strength training easier. Kids loading up 3 45s a side on the machine bench like its some kind of record. These kids had zero experience, and were isolating their small muscles they hadn’t even developed yet! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Where were they getting this info? When I was that age flex and muscle and fitness routines where all barbells and dumbbells. Probably men’s health and various other mags with extremely shredded dudes with big lettering beside them saying ” get huge biceps fast! ” are selling kids on lazy training and getting away from real work.

In fitness, nothing is fast and just like anything worth doing in life, you have to build a foundation! Do not look for iso work before you even have muscle to isolate. You should always be building the foundation of your program with heavy strength work with barbells body weight and dumbbells first.

Save the isolation for when you are well into your training experience, and even then, still only use those movements for a few things in the last few pump sets of training. My training always has the following work for pure strength. I always switch them up to different variation but the work is generally the same.

Bench press and incline bench ( of course everyone benches even these kids, but after that its onto cable flyes to tone up the chest! )

• Weighted dips ( build up to weighted of over 100 pounds )
• Standing barbell shoulder press
• Barbell skull crusher
• Weighted chin up and pull up ( again build up to 100 pounds added )
• Bent over barbell rows
• Barbell curls
• Pistol squat and weighted pistol.

I don’t do regular squats as I personally believe they cause a lot of injuries people don’t realize. Build up to ten pistols, start adding weight and your legs will be strong as anyone.

Make sure you use a progressive strength system where you are micro loading weight and performing deliberate practice. Your goal should always be to do even 1/10th better than last time. Record everything with these key lifts, reps and weight. If you did 3 reps at 200 pounds last session, you need to push and 4 reps with that weight the next one. Deliberately practising and pushing yourself is how you will get better.

Those should be the foundation of any routine body weight or not. Me personally, I have my days set up as push pull so I have calisthenics training followed by the barbell work. You can do it any order you want, I just find body weight strength training doesn’t tax you ( if you stick to low reps highest progressions ) so I do barbell work second. Usually my workout are 75 minutes. I keep a good pace.

If you are beginning your fitness journey do a lot of research and design any routine you like, but always include strength training. Muscle is a bi-product of strength. Tone that up later! Put down the rope bicep curls!!