Strength Your Way: The Bar

“Consistency before intensity. Start small and become the kind of person who shows up every day. Build a new identity. Then increase the intensity.” ~ James Clear

For years, I’ve been a fan of the Movement Logic podcast with Strength Coach Laurel Beversdorf and Physical Therapist Sarah Court. Over the years they have helped me unpack some of the myths, misinformation, and even cultish culture of the fitness industry. They have helped me understand the current science about movement and how it *actually* impacts the body (or not). I learn from them all the time and I’m a better teacher and mover because of it.

But when they suggested that the best way to build bone and fight sarcopenia was lifting heavy with a barbell?

Well, that was a bridge too far.

I fought this idea with every fiber of my post-menopausal being. Sarah and Laurel have clear, cogent arguments about why it’s the best choice for strength training and yet, the very idea of it just seemed like … too much.

It would be expensive. It would take up too much space. It would be, well, HARD.

It took years. Years of building my strength and capacity. Years of understanding what I needed to keep me consistent and motivated. Years of continuing education and research.

Until, I finally said, OK. OK, OK, OK. Let’s do this.

So here are 6 of the things I have discovered:

1. A barbell set is less expensive and space intensive than I thought. For someone who did not want to pay the cost of a gym membership – not the commute, the expense, or the culture – staying home is appealing.

2. We spent less than $400 for all the barbell gear. We got some new (and on big sale) but much used at Play It Again Sports. Everything we use can be stacked in a corner. It takes less than 2 minutes to set it up and break it down.

Here’s the Gear we use:

Barbell ~ We got a 27lb/6’ bar but they come in different weights and lengths (the Olympic bar that you will find at many gyms is 45lbs and 7’ long).

Stands ~ We use two light, strong stands to rack the bar that are stable yet easy to move and store. We got them at Play It Again Sports for $30. You can also get a cage that offers the safety of bars to catch a dropped barbell but is also heavier and harder to assemble and store.

Bench ~ We got a simple, light weight, adjustable bench that is essential for bench press and can be used for several other moves.

Plates ~ We have a set of soft rubber plates in 45 lbs, 25 lbs and 10lbs that we supplement with smaller 5 lb and 2-1/2 lbs plates that we bought at Play It Again Sports. Having the smaller weights allows us to progress gradually and let our bodies adapt to moving heavy weight.

Clamp / Collar ~ It’s essential to have a barbell clamp or collar to secure the plates when they are loaded onto the bar. We love these as they are light, easy-to-use and super strong.

Additional Options:

Medicine Ball ~ We use external weights including the plates and a 14 lb medicine ball mostly for core and balance exercises. I like the ball because there are fun (ish) things you can do with it. Totally optional.

Mat ~ We are using our set up in my studio that has a beautiful hardwood floor that we wanted to protect, so we also bought this puzzle floor mat system that is great: light, soft and strong. If you are not working on a floor you want to protect, this might not be needed for you.

3. Bring a Buddy! Training can absolutely be done alone (I did it for years) but it’s easier and more fun with a buddy or someone to encourage you.

4. Muscles vs connective tissue. As you lift heavier, understand that muscles respond more quickly to training than connective tissue in joints, tendons (connecting muscle to bone) and ligaments (connecting bone to bone). Muscles respond well to high intensity activity while tendons and ligaments respond to gradual and consistent activity.

5. Rest is essential. Make sure you are resting between sets (at least a minute or two) and between working a body part. Notice Squats/Deadlifts on one day then Lunges three days later.

6. It’s better with a buddy or group. The human brain is wired to lean toward what is easy and comfortable. As you progress in strength training, the truth is that sometimes it will be uncomfortable. This is why training with someone helps keep us going when we don’t feel like showing up. A trainer, especially if all of this is new to you. A lifting buddy. A group even online. Have someone there to be accountable to.

To share all of this and more, plus the basic movements I do every week with the barbell, I’ve made you another video in the Strength Your Way series. You can watch the whole thing in under 40 minutes or use the time stamps to jump to particular sections or exercises.

Barbell Strength Moves – The Basics Video

Barbell Strength Moves – The Basics Video Time Stamps

0:00 ~ Intro to external resistance

1:00 ~ My story. Why I chose the barbell. Resource of Movement Logic Podcast. Barbell less daunting than I thought.

4:11 ~ Do it with a buddy.

5:07 ~ Gear: Barbell, Stands, Plates, Bench, Clamp/Collar, Medicine Ball, Mat

11:30 ~ Muscles vs Connective Tissue

13:06 ~ How much to lift?

14:50 ~ Rest between Sets and Body Parts

16:25 ~ Do it with someone

18:10 ~ Still experimenting

19:00 ~ Legs/Hips & Benefits of Free Weights

20:06 ~ Squats

22:00 ~ Deadlifts

24:23 ~ Chest/Back

25:00 ~ Chest Press

26:13 ~ Bent Over Rows

27:22 ~ Arms

27:35 ~ Bicep Curls

28:25 ~ Triceps Dips or Triceps Extensions – free weights

29:50 ~ Tri Extensions -- Bar

30:49 ~ Legs Balance / Shoulders

31:04 ~ Lunges

33:05 ~ Shoulder Press

34:14 ~ Core / Impact

34:39 ~ Broad Jump / Shuffle Back

36:07 ~ Medicine Ball V twists

37:43 ~ Medicine Ball Roll Ups

39:04 ~ Balancing Medicine Ball Toss with a friend

39:44 ~ Outro

Using the external resistance of the barbell for the biceps!

My strength training and barbell practice are still evolving and I’m still learning and adjusting all the time. This information is in no way meant to be prescriptive or dogmatic but rather inspirational encouragement.

As always, I would love to hear your questions and to help you create a strength training program that is great for your Right Now Today Body and your particular precious self. Leave a comment, send me an email: I’d love to connect with you.

Your strength is one of the most powerful determining factors for your ongoing health and longevity. Let’s get strong and live long!

Strength Your Way: The Basics

For the past few years, I have been researching and experimenting with my version of strength training. The voluminous research (see Resources below) has definitively convinced me that strength training not only fights the impact of muscle loss (it’s called sarcopenia, y’all – it’s real and you can do something about it) but improves bone health, balance, injury prevention, independence and more. So. Much. More.

I’ve been a movement teacher for 25 years; I’m not a strength coach or personal trainer. And the number one thing I notice in the past 25 years of teaching is that participants tend to leave strength training out of their movement diet. That omission starts to limit their capacity not just for movement in class but in life.

Your body needs all kinds of movement. Walking, for example, is great but doesn’t do much to increase your strength or flexibility. Lifting heavy stuff while gardening or grandparenting is also great but will do little to increase your mobility and range of motion. The longer you live in your body, the more important all types of movement and particularly strength is for retaining your everyday abilities and independence.

But strength training doesn’t have to look any particular way. There are lots of ways at it and what matters is finding what works for you.

Squatting. It’s not just an exercise. It’s a living movement! (Photo: Rebecca George Photography)

Over the next few weeks, I will share a bunch of resources that have helped me build my own strength training program (and how it has changed). I’m not telling you how to do this but rather giving you a basket full of seeds to explore on your own so you can create something that works for and evolves with you. I will give you an outline of the slow, progressive approach that I’ve used that you can jump into from wherever you are.

As always, listen to your body, trust your experience and self-knowledge, rely on the guidance of people who are research-centered, and always check with your health team recommendations that are best for you.

So first, before we get into the details…the basics.

You can strengthen your body with your body weight, with resistance bands, with weights, or with a jaunty festive medicine ball! (Photo: Rebecca George Photography)

Strength Training Your Way: The Basics

1. Start Where You Are

It may sound obvious, but you cannot start where you are not. A common mistake people make when starting strength training is doing too much, too soon. This often leads to extreme soreness or even injury which stops us from doing anything at all. Another mistake is not doing enough for your Today Body (think always doing the same Pilates exercises or staying at that one setting on the chest press machine) which leads to your body’s boredom and lack of progress. Either way, it’s no bueno. Start where you are and adjust from there. Little by little is how to do this. Perfection is not the goal: doing soemthing is better than doing nothing.

2. Consistency over Intensity

While I’m an advocate for moving toward higher resistance and lower reps (see #3), choose a program that you will do consistently. I have devised a simple 30-40 minute program for myself that I do 6 days a week in the mornings. That’s what works for me and I do it regularly (almost) without fail.

But you know you. You know your tendencies and your schedule. It is better to do 5 minutes every day than do 60 minutes one day and then not do it again for a week or two. Remember: doing something is better than doing nothing. What can you commit to doing on the regular? Start there and add as you need and want.

3. Progression, progression, progression (and recession when needed)

Your body is great at a lot of cool stuff and one of the things it’s best at is adaptation. Once you’ve done something for a bit, your body gets used to it and is no longer stimulated to grow and change. Muscles, bones and connective tissue need to be “on their toes.” It’s important to increase the load that you are working under (little by little by little) and/or change the movement you are doing to work any particular area.

This brings us to the question of repetitions (the number of times you do an exercise) and sets (the number of times you do those reps). Here’s an example of how I progressed squats over the course of many months:

When working with your body weight, the way to progress is to change your range of motion. For squats, for example, I started with chair sits (kissing my butt to a chair and coming up), then to a lower stool, then full range of motion. For pushups, I started on a countertop, then progressed to a table, then to a chair, then to the floor. The change in angle kept my body challenged without any change in external resistance.

Once you start adding external resistance like bands or weights, you can slowly add a little weight at a time (and I mean a little!) to keep your body challenged and able to do the reps.

Keep progressing and challenging yourself but remember that your body is not a machine. Progress will not be linear. There will be times when you need to back off and regress in order to move forward. Keep paying attention to how you feel before, during and after the movements. Play with the paradox of progressing without overdoing, adding challenge without straining or contorting.

NOTE: Movement Logic has some helpful resources in determining your best working weight and reps in their mini barbell course, even if you aren’t using a barbell.

4. Rest Between Sessions and Between Sets (But KEEP GOING – See #2)

When you do strength training, what you are literally doing is breaking your muscles down a little bit so they can build back stronger. This is your body adapting to the load you are putting on it. It’s important, then, to give your body time to recover before working that part again. Some folks have a whole routine that they do 2-3 times a week. I have shorter routines that I do 6 days a week but I shift from working lower body, to upper body, to core.

As you progressively increase your load and get to higher weights and lower reps, you will find that you need a longer break between sets to get your breath back (for me it’s 1-3 minutes). As always, listen to your body and do the next set when you feel ready, no rush.

5. Sore Muscles…or not

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is the achy feeling after working muscles in a new way. It’s important to distinguish between PAIN and SORENESS. Pain is sharp and localized, soreness is achy and tender in the general area of where your muscles were challenged.

It’s normal to experience DOMS especially when you are starting out. If you get SO sore that you struggle to move, you’ve probably overdone it but probably have not caused any damage (see Pain vs Soreness above). If you progressively load your body very gradually, you may not experience soreness at all (this is true for me) and that does not mean you haven’t had a good workout! Bottom line: it’s ok if you have DOMS and it’s ok if you don’t. For more on recovery, check out this episode of the Movement Logic Podcast.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I’m not going to lie. There are many days that I do not want to do my strength training. Almost always, once I get started I’m good. Sometimes, I’m not loving it while I’m doing it but am so glad that I have when I’ve finished. And occasionally (I haven’t slept well, I’m healing something, our democracy goes sideways), I just don’t have the juice to do it.

Just as it’s important to distinguish between pain and soreness, it’s important to distinguish between “Waaaah don't want to” and “I don't have it in me today.” Pay close attention to that difference and regress when you need to (see #3). Do your best not to skip more than 3 days in a row (this will mess with your habit-building) but if you do, no problem, just begin again.

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Those are the basics.

As we move through this series, you can keep returning to these foundational principles, especially when you are making choices about doing making a change (either at the beginning or after your body has adapted).

Next week, I’ll show you some of my favorite simple strength moves that you can do with no equipment and just your body weight! In the meantime, take a look at the resources are below.

Questions? Just pop them in the comments!

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RESOURCES

The Web is full of all kinds of resources. Lean into them but check your sources: there are plenty of hucksters and well-meaning clueless people out there telling you what to do. Make sure that you are following folks who use well-founded research-based approaches, check with your health team about your plan, and above all, listen to your body.

Sarcopenia, y’all. It’s the real deal.

https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/how-can-strength-training-build-healthier-bodies-we-age

Go heavy

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/heavy-resistance-training-benefits-older-adults#Other-forms-of-strength-training-also-beneficial

For bone health, LiftMor Study is one of the best

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28975661/

and

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-38-got-bones-yoga-asana-isnt-enough/id1614469934?i=1000610717217

Comprehensive booklet on strength training from the CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/downloads/growing_stronger.pdf