Workout of the Week: Back to the Basics (Part One)

A friend of mine asked me to help them get back in shape. Considering that they expressed wanting to shake off the rust and regain their strength and mobility, I figured that it would be good to start with the basics.

Therefore, this “Workout of the Week” is going to be a multi-part series that focuses on the development of a sustainable fitness program that will enable you to progress as you build strength, mobility and endurance.

For anyone looking to embark on a fitness plan, and/or shake off the rust, this series is created with you in mind!

Consistency is the key to any exercise program, so as long as you're committing some time (it could be twenty to thirty minutes during your lunch break), then you'll eventually start to see results.

Since my friend wants to build strength, and also mentioned feeling an overarching sense of stiffness; I mentioned that strength training with a combination of dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands and bodyweight exercises will help.

Dumbbells, resistance bands and kettlebells are essential pieces of exercise equipment (for everyone at all stages of their fitness journey) since they're reasonably portable, and can be used to do a variety of exercises for a total body workout. I'd suggest a moderate weight of around fifteen to twenty pound dumbbells and kettlebells to start with. For the resistance bands, get one light and one medium strength band.

Having access to a pull up bar for chin ups, pull ups and dead hangs is great too. If you can’t do a pull up or chin up yet, that’s not a problem. We’ll be focusing on hangs and other movements using the bar before attempting a strict pull up/chin up. Getting your first of either of those exercises is a great goal to work towards. Modifications for chin ups and pull ups include lat pulldowns and inverted rows using a resistance band.

A basic workout plan is something that will be steady at first, but that you can eventually expand by increasing the amount of weight, distance (if running/cycling) or repetitions.

For the initial workout, we’ll start with a pretty straightforward bodyweight "burner" (with the option to modify some exercises by adding weights) to burn fat and build lean muscle. This workout can actually be done everyday, or you can alternate it to every other day, with other forms of weight and cardio training in between (more on this as we progress).

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The circuit:

• High knees for thirty seconds (optional strength modification: hold a light pair of weights by your side while doing this exercise)

• Twenty bodyweight squats (optional strength modification: dumbbell front squats)

• Ten push ups, or modified push ups such as kneeling push ups, incline push ups or wall push ups

• Ten reverse lunges (ten reps for each leg; optional strength modification: hold a light pair of weights by your side while doing this exercise)

• Ten lat pulldowns with resistance band

• A fifteen second plank

Rest for up to two minutes and repeat this circuit two more times.

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