Old School Workouts

Last October the American College of Sports Medicine conducted a survey asking more than 3,800 fitness professionals what they thought would be the top fitness trends for 2014.  Not surprisingly, a few of the top trends predicted for the year were High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Strength Training, Body Weight Training, Yoga, and Functional Fitness, to name a few.  Towards the end of last year and into the beginning of this year, I’ve noticed another trend taking place, both men and women alike: the return of the “old-school” workout, i.e., using both body weight exercises and Olympic-style weight lifting techniques to achieve maximum strength and achieve the best possible results.  Those of you that are Cross-Fit crazies and heavy lifters probably think I am a bit behind the times here, and you are probably right, but to me, this is probably the #1 new trend I have noticed in the past handful of months, and it is here to stay.

My own foray into old school workouts started a few months ago when I decided to forget about my fear of injuring my lower back (which has bugged me on and off for the past year or so) and hit up the Smith Machine to do some basic squats.  I’ve always been leery of overworking my hips and lower back so they don’t get too stiff, but after the first few sets and some minor adjustments with my feet and the weights, I realized that my back actually felt better when I was done.  Plus, I was sweating bullets and breathing like crazy.  An epiphany, one might say, and although I’m sure many of you have been doing weighted squats for years, for me this was a huge breakthrough.  In my almost 5 years as a trainer I have never felt comfortable teaching this technique to my clients and I still have a lot to learn to properly tweak it to fit each individual, but doing this on my own opened up a whole new area of training.  Instead of kicking myself for being years behind the times I decided to dive in and get rolling.  So here is a list of my new/old favorite exercises that big dudes have been doing for decades and it took me until 2014 to fully discover:

• The Squat:  Doesn’t get any more basic, or important, then this one.  When you do this correctly you have to use your entire body and concentrate like crazy on your form to prevent injury and maximize strength.  I’m still working on myself in various stages to make sure I am doing all the motions correctly and to build some confidence and strength, but it’s become a staple for my clients in their workouts as well.  Quick tip – Don’t worry about lifting tons of weight to begin, just sit back on those heels, keep your core tight and make a full range of motion.  This one will get your heart ticking.
• Bench Press:  When I was in high school and college everyone and anyone wanted to know how much they could bench.  So, we did it all the time, constantly trying to one up one another and see how high we could go.  For whatever reason I stopped doing bench presses a handful of years ago, but now I’m doing them again.  Why?  Because, like those squats from above, they work multiple muscle groups, are a fantastic way to measure upper body strength, and are a great gauge of progress.  Quick tip – If you have any lower back problems, put your feet up on the bench instead of the ground.  When I do this it forces me to concentrate on my core and not arch my lower back.
• Dead-lifts:  Just started doing these a few months ago.  I suppose I was hesitant because of my back until a friend with back issues said that his back actually felt better after doing these for a while.  And he was right.  Strong dudes have been doing these lifts for ages, as they force you to really concentrate on your hips, thighs, lower back, glutes, and core.  I’m a huge fan of compound exercises and movements and this might very well be the best one.  If you do them correctly your whole body should be shaking towards the last rep.  Quick tip – Keep your abs as tight as possible during every rep, you’ll take some pressure off of your back and double your effort.
• Pull Ups:  When I was in middle school I think I could do like, none of these.  Now I can do, well, a few more than none but they are still pretty hard.  Another of the most basic of moves, these work a whole lot of everything in your upper body and all you need is your body weight and a bar, another staple of my favorite exercises for myself and clients.  Rather than doing set after set, I like to mix these in with other upper body exercises to keep moving.  Quick tip – If you can’t do a full pull up, no worries, have a partner give you a boost under your feet with your ankles crossed over.
• Push Ups – One of my clients a few months ago remarked to me that, during one particular session, I had her do over 100 push-ups with different variations.  Sounds about right.  My guess is that of all the exercises out there, this is the one I do the most with my clients, and for good reason.  If you do them properly, virtually every muscle in your body is working together.  No equipment necessary and you can do them anywhere.  A personal favorite, for all-time.  Quick tip – Try to keep your elbows and arms as tight as possible as opposed to your shoulders flying out.  A bit harder, but you’ll work more muscle groups and build strength a whole lot quicker.

Once you master the basics listed above you’ll be able to take on any other exercise in the gym.  But the best part is that all these movements will work your entire body in very little time.  Not a bad way to go.