3 Tips for Beginning Weightlifters

Let’s just start with the disclaimer: I am not an expert and I am definitely not your coach or trainer. The advice I’m giving here is meant to be general. If you’re unsure of anything having to do with weight training -- or any fitness regimen -- talk to a pro and make sure you’re doing things correctly.

OK, with that out of the way, I want to talk you into lifting weights.

Regardless of where you are on your fitness journey, what your interests are and what your goals are, strength training is an essential component. Lean muscle will make you a better runner, biker, basketball player or whatever. It will help with the yardwork and lifting the kids and so many other things. And come on -- lean muscle just looks good.

But starting out weightlifting can be confusing and intimidating. Believe me, I've been there -- not that long ago. As I said, I'm no expert, but I've gotten to the point where I'm comfortable anywhere in the gym. So here are 3 basic tips to help you take the first step.

   

Start Out With Light Weight

If you’re trying a lift for the very first time, err well to the side of safety. Don’t worry about getting the maximum benefit right away, and whatever you do, don’t worry about what other people are thinking -- they couldn’t care less. It’s much more important to learn the proper form for a lift and how that actually feels when you’re doing it, so that you can replicate that when you stack on more weight.

But even more elementary: You want to be sure you can get your full set done. If you fail the first time you try a lift, what are the odds you’ll try it again next time? If that means putting two 25-pound plates on the bar, so be it. You’ll move up pretty quickly.

If it’s really too easy, you can add weight. But if it’s too hard, you can get hurt.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Big 3

Bench Press

Deadlift Rack/Platform

Squat Rack

For the longest time, I was intimidated by the “Big 3” lifts: chest press, barbell squats and deadlifts. These are the lifts you think of when you think, “I pick things up and put them down.” They’re the ones you see the muscleheads doing, with lots of plates on the bar. And it’s easy to figure, “Hey, that’s just not for Regular Guys.”

First of all, every one of those guys had to try it for the first time, too. And if you’re listening to my advice, you’re starting out with a low weight. You’ll be fine.

The Big 3 lifts recruit the most major muscle groups of any strength training you can do. If you’re doing these three on a regular basis, you will work pretty much every muscle in your body. And that includes your core. If you do these three lifts, you will get stronger, no matter what else you’re working on.

Click on the links above for specifics about your form. Doing these movements correctly will give you the most benefit and put you at the lowest risk for getting hurt.

One big caveat here: You may be limited by an injury or simply from a lack of joint mobility. Even though I already said it in my disclaimer, I do want to emphasize this: If you're unsure of anything, enlist the help of a pro, and talk to your doctor if you need to.

Dumbbells Are OK

A good way to work up to the Big 3 is by using dumbbells to start. Though you can go heavy with dumbbells, you don’t have to. They offer some more flexibility with certain lifts. And you don’t have to worry about getting pinned under a barbell.

In some cases, dumbbells can even be better. With a barbell, your dominant hand or leg can do more of the work, and you might not even realize it. With dumbbells, each side is working independently, forcing you to do equal work.

•  For chest press and deadlift, you don’t really have to do anything besides replace the barbell with dumbbells. Form remains the same.
• Obviously, you can’t rest two dumbbells on your shoulders to do squats. Grab one and do a goblet squat, where you hold the dumbbell to your chest as if it were a goblet or chalice. Proceed with the squat.
• And of course, you can use dumbbells for pretty much all the accessory lifts, such as curls, rows and vertical shoulder press.

Some Little Tips:

• Use collars, even on deadlifts. You never want the plates to slide off the bar.
• Wipe down the bench when you’re done. Don’t be gross.
•  A standard barbell weighs 45 pounds before you add any plates.
• Watch other guys in the gym, particularly ones who look like they’ve been doing this for a while.
• Machines are good for pulls, such as rows, tricep pulldowns and lat pulldowns.. It’s OK to use them, too. 

Got any more great tips to help people get more comfortable lifting weights? Sound off in the comments below, on Facebook or on Twitter.

5 Dumb Little Tricks to Help With Pacing and Running Form

Do you feel like your running form is all over the place? Can you never seem to keep a consistent pace from run to run? Are you totally frustrated by either (or both) of those?

I'm not a running coach -- and I'm certainly not your running coach. But I have some neat little tricks that work for me, and maybe they'll work for you, too.

Turn Off the Tech

I have a really old smartphone. I could probably get money from an antiques dealer for it. And one of its problems is that it craps out completely when I use a GPS run-tracking app. So at some point I decided I would just have to use the stopwatch function, and log my runs after the fact. 

But something odd happened: Instead of depending on the voice from my phone to tell me how fast I was running, I got much better at understanding my own pace. I learned to pay attention to how hard I'm breathing, how much bounce is in my step, whether I'm engaging my glutes. When things feel the way I want them to for a particular run, I am usually within a few seconds per mile of where I want to be.

Focus on Your Breathing

They were running so hard their shoes flew off!

I mentioned that I learned to pay attention to my breathing when I turned off the tech. The "talk test" is my best barometer of how fast I'm going. I generally categorize it into Green, Yellow and Red.

• Green: Can talk in full sentences without strain. Easy run pace.
• Yellow: Can blurt out a sentence, but can't carry a conversation. 5K pace.
• Red: Can barely get a word or two out.
  End-of-race pace.

Watch for Your Feet

If you've read anything about running form, you've almost certainly heard advice to avoid overstriding. It's good advice -- the farther out from your body's center of gravity, the more pressure there will be on your knees. You want a stride that will allow you to strike the ground with your calf perpendicular to the pavement. 

I have a real dumb trick for this, but it works: If I'm looking straight ahead and catch my feet in my peripheral vision, I'm overstriding. That's a good reminder to dial back.

You may be wondering how you can go faster if you don't lengthen your stride. The answer is hip mobility. The better you can rotate your hip joint, the longer you can stride without getting ahead of your body's weight. And you've probably heard me say it before: That means squats. Real squats. With a barbell. And heavy plates on it. Squats are the single best developer of hip mobility that I can think of.

  

Check Your Shadow

If you've been running for a while, you probably have a decent idea of how you look when you're doing things properly. If the sun is to one side or the other of you, you can glance at your shadow and get a sense of whether your form is how it's supposed to look.

Just be sure it's safe to look away from dead ahead. Don't do this in traffic, in a crowded race or on a technical trail.

Run With Your Dog

OK, I know this isn't an option for a lot of you. But I know that if Lily has to break into a canter, and not just trot, I'm into race pace. Sometimes that's what I want. But if I want to go easy, I try to keep her in a trot.

One caveat: If you don't stop your watch every time, you have to factor in poop, pee and sniff stops into your pace mentally. I'll often lose 30 seconds a mile this way.

What Are Your Tricks?
Everybody has some little trick for keeping things in order. I've shared my faves -- how about you? Sound off on Facebook, on Twitter or in the comments below!

Mechanics, Interval Training, Squats and Rest Days

I try not to brag too much on the blog, so I don't talk too much about specific improvements I'm making. First of all, who besides me really cares? And second of all, what looks like a breakthrough to me is just another day at the office for someone else. Everything is relative.

But I'm going to set that aside for a second. Two years ago, I ran the New Jersey Marathon in 4:18 in difficult conditions. I might have done 10 minutes or so better without the major headwind in the last 6 miles. About two months before that, I ran the E. Murray Todd Half Marathon in 1:56, which is just below a 9-minute pace.

I am running both of those races again this spring, and so far my pace in training runs has been significantly faster -- 8:30/mile or faster on longer runs. And it feels very comfortable. I'm pretty sure I can hold that pace for 13.1, and even if I slow down for 26.2, I'll be well ahead of where I was two years ago.

So what gives? How have I gotten better? 

I can speak only for myself. Others have had success with their own programs, but a few elements have helped me, and I want to share them.

Mechanics

After last year's New Jersey Marathon, where I was a volunteer and a spectator, I wrote about running form. It's not universal, but there's a clear pattern in any race: Faster runners tend to use good mechanics, and the slower the finishing times are, the more likely the runners are to have weird form. I try to focus on a few things:

Weight over my feet!

• Mid-Foot Strike: I don't believe this is make or break for everyone, but I've found that I'm much better about keeping my weight above my feet if I focus on landing on my mid-foot instead of my heel. Otherwise, I tend to overstride and lose efficiency.
• Arm Swing: I don't allow my arms to come across my body. A little bit of twist, in conjunction with hip rotation, is OK, but more than that is a waste of energy.
• Quads and Glutes: I pay attention to which leg muscles are doing the hard work. If I feel like I'm asking too much of my calves. I try to lean forward a bit and "loosen up" to allow my quads and glutes -- the big guns -- to move my legs.

Interval Training 

Two years ago, I was hit-or-miss with interval training. Without making it a regular part of your program, and doing it at least once a week, you're not going to get a lot of benefit from it. This time around, Monday is interval day, period. I don't have a complicated program -- I do three basic lengths, with half those lengths recovery.

• 400-meter repeats faster than 5k pace, with 200-meter recovery.
• 800-meter repeats around 5k pace, with 400-meter recovery. This is a bedrock of marathon training.
• Mile repeats at 10k pace with 800-meter recovery. 
• One I haven't done in a while: Straights and curves. Go hard on the straights of the track, ease up around the curves. Good for explosive speed, not so much for endurance speed.

Intervals help build cardiovascular strength by forcing a lot of blood through your heart. The real work actually gets done in the recovery phase, when your heart is trying to slow down and the blood is rushing through.

Squats

courtesy Hookgrip.com

As I mentioned, one of the keys in my running mechanics is trying to be sure the big muscles -- the quads and glutes -- are doing the work. But that's only going to pay off so much if those muscles aren't up to the task.

Enter squats. Not bodyweight squats, or kettlebell squats, or dumbbell squats. Real squats with a barbell. The first time I tried them, over the summer, I found out just how much room I have for improvement. And I've made a point of working them into my marathon training.

The key, I've found, is making sure you're doing them right. Don't let your lower back do the work. Make your quads and glutes push you up. And don't cheat -- get your thighs at least parallel to the ground. If that means less weight, so be it.


Rest Days

When I started out in this training cycle, I adopted Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 marathon plan. It involves running five days a week, with one day for cross training and one full rest day.

My running partner needs a break, too!

It took me only about four weeks to realize that six days on, one day off doesn't work for me. It simply doesn't give my body the time it needs to recover. And recovery is the key to getting faster or stronger. Exercise tears muscle fibers; they repair themselves at rest. If all you do is tear and never repair, you're going to plateau.

So I've gone to running four days a week, with one day for cross. I'll still get plenty of miles done, and I'll have more time to rest up, heal up and push forward.


But What If You're Not Training for a Marathon?
Most Regular Guys aren't looking to run 26.2 miles, and probably never will. That's not a black mark -- in fact, my fitness regimen was much better rounded before I went into race training. But these tips aren't actually just for runners.

• Mechanics matter in any exercise. The better your form, the more you benefit and the less likely you are to get hurt.
• HIIT is a great way to work some strength into an efficient cardio routine.
• Squats are one of the most effective full-body exercises you can do, no matter your goals.
• The principles behind rest days apply to any fitness routine.

So if you're a fan of the Regular Guy mantra of Keep It Simple, Stupid, this is as good a road map as any.

What Do You Think?

What are the basic principles that you apply to your exercise regimen? How much attention do you pay to mechanics? How many rest days a week do you take? Let's hear it! Sound off on Facebook, on Twitter or in the comments below.

Negative Personality Traits That Are Actually Good at the Gym

If you're anything like me, you were raised to be a kind, friendly, even-keeled, intelligent and hard-working person.

Those are admirable traits and something I'd look for in any Regular Guy wanting to be part of my life. But in your fitness journey, some not-so-endearing personality flaws can actually help you reach your goals.

Stubbornness: In most instances, refusing to give in or compromise just makes things worse. People don't like you, and you often don't get things done. But at the gym, stubbornness is a virtue. Push yourself to get that weight up one more time or do one more set. Go an extra quarter-mile on the treadmill or another few minutes on the elliptical. Your tired body really wants you to give in, to compromise, to say "good enough." But the real magic happens in that extra bit of work, where you push your limits. So be stubborn and stick to it -- just know the difference between "I don't wanna" and "I can't."

"I don't like you." "I don't like you, either."

Being Anti-Social: In most situations where you're in a room full of people, decorum suggests that you try to be friendly and outgoing, to engage the people around you. Don't do that at the gym. Sure, it's fine to give someone a quick nod or greeting. But you're there to work, not to socialize. Your time is valuable. Leave the chit-chat for the locker room.

Anger: You know that one guy in your social circle who always seems to be angry? That guy who, no matter the conversation, has a chip on his shoulder? In life, you don't want to be that guy. It's not good for your stress levels or your relationships. But at the gym, you should work out with bad intentions. Attack what you're doing -- don't be passive. Hit it hard. Just don't be a jerk to the people around you.

Do Things the Hard Way: At work, the best way to get something done is usually the easiest and most efficient. Extra effort is best directed at some other project. But in the gym, you're not looking for the most direct path. It's easy to lean back during lat pulldowns and let the cable do the work. Or to let the flywheel's momentum carry you on the exercise bike. If you're running, that shortcut that avoids the big hill is appealing. But you're not getting the full benefit of the exercise that way. Do it right, even if it's harder. Down the road, you'll be glad you did.

Living the good life!

Laziness: Wait, what? How could laziness possibly benefit your exercise regimen? When it's time to rest -- that's how. Work hard during your workout. When you're done, be done. Let your rest day be your rest day -- as Dane Rauschenberg writes, running an "easy three" isn't rest. Fitness gains don't happen while you're exercising -- on the cellular level, they happen when your body is recovering from the damage you did while exercising. If you never give it a chance to recover, you'll never make gains.


What other negative traits do you use to help you achieve your fitness goals? Let's hear it! And if you like what you're reading here, be sure to share it with a friend.