2014-06-02 Pete.dpm

Pete D.

I’m going to write a blog post about Pete D. who is the crossing guard at Monroe and Grant here in Madison. On Wednesday mornings I go to Barriques on Monroe after my TRX Kettlebell fusion class. As I walk up Monroe, I can see Pete jogging up the block with his crossing guard vest on. What a model for the kids. He’s active, he’s helping kids; we need more adults like this in our community.


So until I get that pic of Pete, here’s one of Sorin climbing in the Arboretum.  It’s shrunk to 60% because at 100% I couldn’t manually grab the corners and resize. I had to go into the code (“inspect element”). Additionally, I’m having the same fading problem with text when I get to the bottom of my writing window (see below). 


Lastly, when I add a pic like this I can’t get the text below the pic. Also, after adding this pic, the first one of Sorin resized to 100%.

The Competition

Looking around at some other publishing applications and I’m looking at Byword. I just purchased it on Wednesday (after a long time of deliberation) and it’s pretty sweet. It does a lot of what DeskPM should be doing. Interestingly it doesn’t allow you to insert images, which John had built in from the start (or at least when he let me into the inner circle!


One of the big things Byword has to offer is the ability to publish to Evernote. This is **huge** for me (and yes, I know markdown is not supported yet, just trying to get into the habit). I can see me using it kind of like Drafts for iPhone - fire it up, make a note and publish right to my Evernote Inbox. 

Well, I wrote paragraph one, then paragraph two, then inserted the image above and it seems like the second paragraph may leak into the image. Publishing now to find out.

*update: you can see from the previous post it didn’t format well.  I’ve inserted to line breaks now and I’m reinserting, republishing.

Add a Post Title

Adding two images to Blogger. This one is a screen shot of the Dan Patrick show featuring JJ Watt.
The next one is right under, looks perfect right now. New line, all good!

Now I have the pic on the left, so I’m writing here on teh right. JJ Watt had an amazing ox jump. Look at the box - it’s at his chest. And he’s able to explode and elevate, not just getting there but standing there! 














******************************
Testing right image now. Here’s a pic of JJ youth football in my hometown, Pewaukee, Wisc.



Now entering more text, the cursor went top left again (into the margin), but typing brought it back tow where it’s supposed to be.

2014-05-05 autosave testing

2014-05-05

Drafting this Monday morning. Hitting save and then coming back, looking over the auto save feature.

9:43 AM checking autosave.

9:54 AM checking autosave

9:55 AM

Auto save working well.

Published to Blogger.

2014-05-05 autosave testing

2014-05-05

Drafting this Monday morning. Hitting save and then coming back, looking over the auto save feature.

9:43 AM checking autosave.

9:54 AM checking autosave

9:55 AM

Auto save working well.

Add a Post Title

My original blog was on blogger. Just typing that brings back fond memories of my initial days publishing for the first time. I need to go back and read some more of those. Great time.

So I really had a tough time with images there, so I want to see if DeskPM is handling them any better.

Well I would say that’s better - entered a left, right, and center. Just started typing after that and I’m already right below all images, not starting up and to the right anymore! Win!!

I think an H2 would be appropriate for my last section.

This is Heading 2

I love espresso. I’m training for Olympic distance triathlons this summer. And well, On Wisconsin!!

** undo took away the formatting and the text, then the next text.

Add a Post Title

My original blog was on blogger. Just typing that brings back fond memories of my initial days publishing for the first time. I need to go back and read some more of those. Great time.

So I really had a tough time with images there, so I want to see if DeskPM is handling them any better.

Well I would say that’s better - entered a left, right, and center. Just started typing after that and I’m already right below all images, not starting up and to the right anymore! Win!!

I think an H2 would be appropriate for my last section.

This is Heading 2

I love espresso. I’m training for Olympic distance triathlons this summer. And well, On Wisconsin!!

** undo took away the formatting and the text, then the next text.

Chris and Hans recorded their podcast (week 16) following the Titans game this week.  Chris was broadcasting behind enemy lines, deep in Minnesota.  He was joined by his brother-in-law and friend of the show Jon Anderson.



Podcast Week 16

Game Plan Launch - the New Home

I know that not many of my readers used Twitter.  This post is NOT about Twitter so keep reading.  But the micro-blogging platform has opened my eyes to a whole new world of people, relationship, conversations and information.  It's also forced me to develop my writing here at the Game Plan.

To that end, I'm launching a new project today.  Here's the premise: I want to take my blogging to the next level and create a more professional platform for myself, both personally and professionally.  I have learned a lot on Blogger, starting a total of four blogs and consulting for two others.  I have been challenged by some very successful people to take the Game Plan and make it a more suitable "home base" for everything I do online. 

The goal is to be more professional.  But the process is one that could take months, even years to develop.  And that's not the point.  The point is to get out there and allow it to grow.  I continually coach clients to start small, establish consistency and build a new lifestyle for themselves.  So I need to practice what I preach.  There will never be a good time to launch this new project because I'll always want to make a few more adjustments.  I simply need to jump in and make my adjustments as I go. 

Since this is a soft launch, I'm going to skip the disclaimers.  There's a lot more work on my end to make this project more complete, but the location and structure has been set.  I'll fill in the pieces as I go. 

So let's Go!  My new home is HansSchiefelbein.com  I hope you'll join us.

Project Launch

Forgive the cliche, but there's no time like the present.  There's no better time than right now to do that project you've been "Planning" for months, if not years.  For many of the people I talk to, this is in regards to working out, losing weight.  That's why Nike took the cliche and made the passive statement an active one: Just Do It.

Earlier this week I listened to an interview that mentioned a phrase called "analysis paralysis."  The idea was that someone could get stuck analyzing a situation so much so that it actually paralyzes them from making a decision and proceeding with action. Analysis paralysis is one hurdle to getting things done, or in this case launched.

There's always a couple really good reasons why you don't launch a project, right?  In the exercise world, you don't know how you'll find at least 20 minutes per day to workout.  And even if you do, how can you do this 3-5 days per week like ACSM recommends.  And there's so many exercises to choose from.  How can you do them all, or which ones should you do?  And then of course you know that life will get busy, and you'll probably never stick to the workout routine.  So it never starts.

What about other projects?  For me right now, I'm working on an online project that has taken me months to “complete”.  I've watched the pros do it and I want to launch my own.  But the pros are so good at it.  How could I ever get to their level?  I don’t want to do this if it's not the best. So it's been put off month after month.

What I'm working on is a new blog.  It will be a website, really.  When I say I’ve been working on it for months I mean that i've dabbled with it here and there.  Realistically it gets very little of my time.  But still I’ve been procrastinating a launch because it’s not quite where I want it to be.  I want to put a professional foot forward and have a product I'm proud of.  And that's where I've been hung up. 

That's the inspiration for this post, because I've made a decision. 

The website will never be ready to launch.  There's always more time and money to be put into it.  Actually, the time component which has been holding me up is the component that I could control (and start) right now!  The sooner I launch my new website, the sooner I can get the “project launch” out from under me.

So the point it this: I'm in search of progress, not perfection.  There's never a perfect time to start a workout program.  So you should start tomorrow morning.  For me, there's never a perfect time to launch my new website.  So I'm starting Monday morning.

All the details will be there on the opening page.  To get there, you'll have to come back here.  So it’s a date? 

See you Monday for the launch!


   

The Principle of Overload

There is a principle in fitness training that is essential to experience any type of improvement in performance.  It's called the principle of overload and here's how it works.  Our bodies get really good at performing the demands we place on it.  If you ask your body to run 2 miles every other day, your body will get really good at that.  If you ask your body to do 60 push-ups and 60 sit-ups every day, your body will get really good at that.

What about at work?  If you tell your body to walk around the store room and move a few boxes, your body will get really good at that.  But what if those boxes got heavier?  You'd struggle!  Or what if you were asked to move 30% faster?  You'd struggle!

This is where the principle of overload comes in.  When you overload your system (i.e. your body) you systematically break down your muscles so that they grow back stronger.  This is the only way to improve performance, by breaking down muscle fibers.


I experienced a perfect example of this on my 12 mile run this morning.  I'm training for a half marathon in Middleton at the end of the month.  Training has gone well so far, but my longest run was last week and it was only 8.75 miles.  To jump to 12 miles was ambitious, but I know my body and it's abilities.  Typical distance training calls for small increases in "long runs" once per week.  To go from 8.75 to 9.5 or even 10 would have been very comfortable.  But that additional two miles was excessive overload today.

And I felt it.  My route was three 4-mile loops, and on the third loop I was halfway through when it hit me.  I knew it was coming, but knowing the principles of overload and progression made the feeling even more pronounced.  I had entered a mileage where my body was completely stress because it hadn't been there before (during this particular training session).

Of course this brings up another topic - the fight.  What do you do when you are at a place you've never been before, but you need to make it to the finish line?  Another post for another day.

Back to overload.  This morning's run was excessive overload but it was a controlled situation and it was a place I've been before, albeit one year ago.  Still, the overload is necessary for improved performance.  (I'll have to remind my legs throughout the day that this is for their good.)

So what about you?  Training, work, personal, spiritual.  If the principle of overload says that you must exert greater than normal stress on a system to grow it stronger, how are you doing that?

Change in Race Schedule

Katie and I are signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon in two weeks, but have to change our plans because we could not find a babysitter for Norah.  Now don't you all start jumping out of the woodwork now - we've already made our decision.

It's tough for me because I've wanted to run Chicago for years and this year my mom bought my entrance fee as a birthday gift!  Well, it just wasn't meant to be.  Katie is really bummed too because she's been training so hard.  I wish I knew how many 5-mile runs she's done pushing both kids in the double-jogger. 

But fear not: the Schiefelbein's will not be denied!  We've decided to sign up for a half marathon in Middleton October 31st.  This entails a rededication to our training.  We're going to taper down a bit and then build back up to peak in about 8 weeks.

As for me, I'm hoping this little rest will allow me to ramp up my training.  I'll admit that I lost interest in the last couple weeks.  My long runs have been good, and I'm getting faster.  But the short runs during the week haven't been happening.  So this little adjustment may be just what I need.

I've been training with my Five Fingers occasionally.  This will allow me to get back into regular training once a week barefoot.  Also, I haven't had the time this summer to train on the track doing sprint work which was a goal of mine.  I guess I'm getting a second chance here.

Are you training for anything this fall?  There's always a good Turkey Trot somewhere locally.  And a good (cold) Jingle Bell run is always fun! 

Vibram Five Fingers

Have you heard of the barefoot running craze?  Did you know that the Stanford track team practices barefoot and only puts on their Nike shoes for competitions?  Barefoot running sounds hard on the feet... could it actually be good for your health and training?

When I heard that the book Born to Run was based on an ancient tribe in Mexico and their ultra-running culture, I was immediately turned off.  It just sounded a little too far-fetched for me.  But it was recommended by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing and a voice I highly respect.  It took me a couple months to get into the book; Katie and her dad beat me to it.  They said it's a must-read.  So read I did.  And it's changed everything.

The idea of the book is this: our feet were made to run, and all of the "protection" of high-end running shoes inhibit their ability to get stronger.  Essentially the cushion prevents our feet from being stressed and this eventually weakens the feet, leading to injury.  In another post, I'll do a book review of Born to Run.  Today, I'd like to tell you about my experience with barefoot running.

My running career consists of two half marathons and three full marathons.  I have an educational background in biomechanics and exercise physiology.  Born to Run drew on these collective experiences and knowledge and convinced me to at least try to train part-time barefoot running.

I bought my Vibram Five Fingers three weeks ago partially on a birthday gift from my brother-in-law, Peter.   It is very important to know that you don't just jump into training barefoot.  So I've progressed from quarter-mile runs to about three miles yesterday.  This has taken place over the last three weeks.  Currently I'm on vacation in Sanibel Island, Florida and I just completed a 38-minute run in my Vibrams.

Many people ask, "How does it feel?"  Friends on Facebook are asking, "How do your ankles and calves respond?"  My answer aligns perfectly with one of my principles of training: progression is essential.

My feet hurt pretty bad after my first couple weeks of running in the Vibrams.  But I could literally feel my feet getting stronger.  I know the biomechanics of my feet and their high arches.  I know I've done a bunch of sprinting on the balls of my feet and barefoot running on grass and sand.  So I know the science says they'll get stronger.  But as with any form of training, there's a breakdown phase before there's a strengthening phase.  I'm starting to get stronger.

In Summary:  Born to Run convinced me to explore the barefoot running method.  I bought Vibram Five-Fingers and have been progressively training longer distances in them.  I have a long way to go to change my running form.  But as an athlete and a trainer, I've dedicated my life to helping people understand health and fitness.  This is just one other component to training of which I'm seeking to become an expert.

Any questions?  Find me on Facebook or ask in the Comments section.  In my next post, I'll talk about my first water-shed running moment - my first mile run in the Vibrams followed by four miles in my running shoes.

Family Camp 2010

For the second year in a row, Katie and I took the family to Fort Wilderness in Reinlander, WI for Family Camp.  This has turned into one of our favorite weeks of the year.  The Northwoods are so beautiful, but for us it has been about the community.

When I think back on our week at the Fort, I think of a giant family gathering.   How cheesy does that sound?  But here's the deal: the camp is full of families with kids of all ages.  Each family is so unique and so friendly.  We have met the neatest people there.  The Fort has established a sense of community that makes me as a parent extremely comfortable having my son freely walk around and explore.  This was my biggest memory from 2010: Sorin was able to walk around the dining hall and the walking trails on his own for so much of the trip.  Don't get me wrong, I kept a close eye on him.  But you can immediately feel the community love on these kids from the smiles, to the waves, to the gentle direction and watchful eye of a stranger who's about to become a new friend.

I watched for one week while Sorin walked more than he's ever walked in a week.   The camp is wide open and has trails that must be a path to adventure for a little kid.  Sorin had his first exposure to so many trees, the lake, trails, and even a playground.  I had him in our backpack for a couple trips and he loved the view from my back.  One of the warmest feeling I got was when so many of the men and women would look at him and call him by name.  To have other families embrace my child is very special.

My parenting years are only numbering two, but I feel it's safe to say that this type of community is not common for today's youth.  Sorin has an extended community of family and friends that make me excited to allow him to grow up as a Fort camper.

And Norah.  Well it was her first year and she was an angel.  Not really, but how do you follow up Sorin's experience with an 8-week old baby?  Norah didn't sleep so well so we had a long week in that regards.  To be fully honest, I slept pretty well - it was Katie that struggled.  All kidding aside, we did have a hard time with Norah.  We wouldn't have it any other way, but two kids under two makes "vacation" not the most accurate description of the week. 

Still, Katie and I had some nice times together on walks to and from meals and a couple times at the beach.  Of course we also had the added benefit of both sets of grandparents at Family Camp with us.  They helped quite a bit which is so nice. 

Katie and Sorin and I were in a tent for the week at Family Camp #1 last year.  This year with a newborn we decided to get a cabin.  Boy was that a great idea!  We had a huge cabin all to ourselves without a worry of waking up any other campers when Norah started to cry.  One of my favorite memories was around 7pm each night.  I'd give Sorin a quick shower to clean off his suntan lotion and dirt.  We'd get our pajamas on and sit around on the mattress that Katie and I slept on which was place between two bunk beds.  Sorin's pack-n-play was on the other side of a bunk and Norah slept on another bed or right next to Katie.  We had this whole cabin to ourselves to end our day as a family getting ready for bed.  It's moments like this that make me excited to create and continue annual rituals like Family Camp.

If you have children from newborn through high school, I would highly recommend Fort Wilderness Family Camp.  You can ask question in the Comment section or email me.  Kids these days have a lot of video games, tv, cell phones, and the cement of the city.  Fort Wilderness allows me and my family to get out into God's creation, see His beauty, and explore the great outdoors.

A Common Thread of Competition

Last week our family was on vacation up in Reinlander, Wisconsin.  For the second year in a row we attended Family Camp #1 at Fort Wilderness.  I'll be writing about that experience this weekend, but right now I want to talk about a recurring discussion I was having all week: training.

When training conversations came up, I could feel an interesting vibe and buzz.  Maybe it's because I'm a fitness guy and that topic gets me jazzed.  But I think it's more than that.  It wasn't community because it was a bunch of conversations I had with individuals.  Still, being the common denominator in all of them I can't help but recognize the theme. 

Here's some of the stories I heard: one was doing her first marathon after just completing her first triathlon.  Another is doing her first marathon after realizing she signed up for the full instead of the half.  Another was asking me about doing her first 10K or even half marathon, but she's chosen to run around her hometown lake - no small feat, it's 17 miles!  One woman just got done with P90X and she and I were discussing the pros and cons of the training and what's next for her. 

When the topic of training was brought up, I certainly perked up and took extra notice.  Maybe that was part of the reason I was feeling a vibe each time.  But even if that was the case, there's no disputing our mutual excitement to talk about training.

If exercise and training evokes such positive conversations, why?  My guess is that each person feels a sense of empowerment and pride.  Their fitness is a challenge.  You don't hear people talking about their trip to the gym and the great treadmill work they did or the additional set they got through on their bench press.  But training for a marathon?  Now there's a lively discussion.

What about you?  Are you training for anything?  Katie and I are signed up for the Chicago half marathon in September.  I've got a bunch of friends doing other races and competitions this fall.  Would you be intrested in training for your first 5K?  10K?  Sprint triathon?

Or maybe you're just working out to get in shape.  That's cool, and great work! 

Feel free to comment below if you'd like to join our community of athletes?

Race Week: Just Observing

I am so excited for Race Week.  This Sunday is Madison Marathon and I'm excited for different reasons.  As Katie and I grow our family, we're in a season where I need to take some time off from training and competing.  For months I've gotten myself excited for this weekend because so many friends and family are running this year's Madison Marathon.

My sister is running her first half.  My father-in-law is completing his second, but first without injury.  My soon-to-be sister-in-law and her dad are each doing the full.  Cousins Matt and Amanda are doing their first half together.  Our friends Kate and Laura are running the half; Laura did a full in Chicago last year.  My cousin Kelly is running after doing Chicago last fall with Laura.  I'm probably missing someone.  Sorry.

Well when I think of race week I think of realized preparation.  You've logged the miles, you've trained your body, and hopefully you've envisioned race day.  There's so many details that go into training for a full or half marathon.  I'm just so excited for all these friends and family to be able to compete with themselves on Sunday.

All that is left is a short run, two days of rest, and some nutritional prep.  I've always been a good eater.  Using food as fuel is very important.  I'm a firm believer in carb-loading.  When your body needs energy (and Sunday your body will NEED energy) it is going to the carbohydrates first.  So load up on pasta and bread on Saturday night.  Don't get sick, but eat a little more than usual.

On race day, I like to eat the following:

• banana
• bagel with peanut butter
• one of Katie's homemade muffins
• coffee (yes, one cup)
• and probably another one of those muffins

This may be too much for you, but as I said - I like my fuel.  Don't change your routine too much, but don't run on an empty stomach.  You'll need nutrition on race day.

To all my friends and family, I'm honored to be watching you in all your glory on Sunday.  You've worked hard and are going to accomplish a big feat.

Enjoy the run.

EIM - Exercise is Medicine

When I decided to pursue my certification as a personal trainer, I knew wanted the best.  And the gold standard in exercise and fitness is the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).  They are the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world:

ACSM’s Mission Statement reflects this goal: The American College of Sports Medicine promotes and integrates scientific research, education, and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health, and quality of life.

With some experience in the industry, I have grown to love the work of ACSM.  Their newest initiative is called Exercise Is Medicine.  The idea is to get physicians to consult with each of their patients about the importance of exercise at each visit. 

It's a very ambitious initiative but it's already caught my attention.  Doesn't it make sense?  Think about it: exercise IS medicine.  Anyone who has exercise has felt the immediate benefits.  And anyone who has worked out for an extended period of time knows the long-term benefits and improved quality of life.

I share this with you in an effort to motivate you to make a change this month.  Sure, today is Frog Jumping Day, this week is Salvation Army Week, and pretty soon it will be Go Skateboarding Day (which actually sounds kind of cool).  But May is also now Exercise is Medicine Month. 

Let's make this simple:  Join the comments section below and tell me what kind of exercise you're getting that isn't normally part of your routine.

The New Recovery Drink: Chocolate Milk

(This post doesn't necessarily belong in the current series on Exercise Programming, but it's posted as a supplement.  Enjoy!)

At this point I hope that everyone has begun to incorporate some of this material into their exercise program.  My goal is for this website to be a resource for you, a place where you can get all your exercise information and motivation.  Need more?  Find me on Twitter, Facebook, or email.

If you've started to ramp up your exercise program, your body is working hard and needs to learn how to recover.  Our last post talked about the importance of stretching to facilitate muscle recovery.  One of the biggest omissions from an exercise routine is the area of nutrition.  Today I'm giving you permission to enjoy one of our favorite kids' drinks: chocolate milk.

Sure, you should drink the chocolate milk because you just had a great workout and "you deserve it."  But that's not why I'm telling you to drink it.  Current research has found that chocolate milk has the perfect balance of carbohydrates to protein to facilitate muscle recovery.  (You can read an interesting article with more details at CBS.com here.)

I can already hear the experience athletes: "Hans, the last think I'd want to drink after a long run or bike ride is chocolate milk."  I can hear you because that's what I was thinking until I tried it.  It's way better than you'd think.  After I finished the Madison Marathon last year, they had small cartons of chocolate milk available for all the runners and it was the best drink I had all day.

If nothing else, go run for 30-40 minutes and cap it off with a glass of chocolate milk.  And if you're wondering which kind to buy, it doesn't matter.  I mix Hershey's syrup with 1% milk.  Bottoms up!

The X-Factor: Stretching and Flexibility (Exercise Program #4)

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In the first two post of this series I have thrown a lot of information at you regarding cardio training and strength training.  Let's ease up a bit and do something a little less stressful, like stretching. Muscles work very hard. They stretch and contract in a brilliant way to provide us with the ability to move dynamically. This does not come without consequences. When you use your muscles for excessive movements, you're actually tearing and changing the composition of the muscles. Stretching is one of the best ways to recover from an exercise bout.

Notice we haven't talked about stretching until after our workout.  This is because active stretching is done most effectively after muscles are warm.  Also, there is very little evidence to suggest that there is any benefit to stretching before your exercise session.  If anything, the stretching will take some of the "bounce" out of your step, and could hinder higher levels of performance.  But this is beyond the scope of this post.  What you need to take away is this:  

1. warm-up before exercise (light jogging to break a sweat; not stretching)
2. stretch after exercise (muscle recovery)

You might be saying, "Hans, I've always stretched before a run.  It feels good."   I don't doubt that, but I'm just communicating the research which says muscles should be warm before a workout (they're not if you haven't run yet) and that there's little to no benefit to stretching before the workout.  Conversely, stretching after exerting your muscles is great for recovery of all that muscle activity.

So what kind of stretches are we talking about?  Glad you asked.  For the purpose of this post, I'm going to offer three stretches for the biggest muscles you'll be using:

• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps
• Calf (gastrocnemius)

Here's the hamstring stretch:

And if you have really tight hamstrings, you'll want to increase the stretch of the muscle like this:

Here's the quadriceps stretch:

And finally, the calf:

Do you stretch enough?  Most likely, no.  And to be honest, neither do I.  Don't take it lightly.  I've gotten a lot better over the years in my stretching and you should too.  As we get older, our muscles take longer to recover.  Injuries happen much more readily.  If you have any questions or would like some other ideas regarding your stretching, you can find me in the Comments Section.

Looking forward to the next post?  I'm about to give you a recovery drink that will make you say, "REALLY?!!?" 

(Updated research:  I just found this related article on MSNBC.com - Want a better workout? Don't stretch before)

Strength Training (Exercise Program 3)

Strength training is an important component to an exercise program.  It also seems to be the most confusing part of the program for new exercisers.  There are many different variables in a lifting program: days, sets, reps, weight, rest.  But don't worry - I'll explain the essentials here and have you feeling stronger within two weeks, guaranteed.

Why strength training?  The easy answer that fits every individual is that strength training makes life easier.  That's right, when you are stronger you are able to do the ADLs (activities of daily living) much easier.  You can take those two flights of stairs because your legs don't get tired that easily.  You can bring in 4 bags of groceries instead of two.  You can pick up that box for storage, climb the step ladder and heave it over your head without fear of falling.  You name it, it will be easier after just two weeks of strength training.

The other reason I like to focus on is increased confidence.  When you've spent time "pushing weights around" and adding some strength to your frame, your frame and your confidence display your hard work.  You walk a little more upright.  You move around better.  You feel more confident in your body - both men and women.

As I noted earlier, strength training is probably the most confusing part of the exercise program.  This post will make you familiar with the essentials so you can start lifting this week.  Remember - think of this training in terms of progression.  Strength training provides the greatest feedback in terms of accomplishing a goal and moving forward.

First, some definitions:

• repetitions (reps): number of times a weight is lifted, ranging from 8-15
• sets: number of times a group of reps are completed, ranging from 2-4
• weight: come on, you know what weight is

Some debate exists on how often strength training needs to occur (per week) for benefits to be seen.  At minimum you need to lift two days per week.  This is mostly for maintenance, but it's a good place to start.  Ideally I have my clients lifting three to four days per week.

Without me being able to demonstrate the proper technique of these lifts, I'm giving you homework.  If you are unsure of how these lifts should be done you should search YouTube for proper technique.  As always, I'm available for individual consultation in the comments section or on Facebook (Facebook.com/hans.schiefelbein).

So how do you put together a strength training program?  Let's start with two days per week and six lifts.  (Remember, you have to look these up for proper technique)

• Bench Press
• Bent-over Row
• Bicep Curl
• Tricep Extension
• Military Press
• Squat

There are a couple reasons for me including these lifts but all I want you to walk away with is the understanding that these are the building blocks for a complete strength training program.

How much to lift?  That's up to you, and it will require some trial and error.  Your goal is to lift each weight 8 times (reps) and do this for three sets.  You should lift in the order listed, and you can do two exercises at a time, alternating.  So it would happen like this:

1. bench #1 followed by row #1 (which would be first set)
2. do this for a total of three sets
3. move to curl #1 followed by extension #1 (which would be the first set)
4. do this for a total of three sets
5. finish with military press #1 followed by squats #1 (which would be  - you guessed it - the first set)
6. do this for a total of three sets

Have I mentioned I'm available in the Comments Section?  You can also email me at Hans416 [at] gmail dot com.   (Sorry, I'm a little paranoid about spammers.)

Two weeks.  

That's all you'll need to grow out of the first set of weights you started at.  You'll see increases within two weeks if you lift 2-3 days per week.  All the gains won't happen that fast or that often, so enjoy it while it's there.

Strength training is important for so many aspects of your health, both mental and physical.  I'll write about that more in later posts.  Have you experienced any benefits of strength training?  Share your experience with me and this community (you're not the only reader, mom) in the Comments Section.

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Happy Training!!