Strength is vital to accomplish every day tasks, from opening jars to being able to lift one's shopping bags and suitcases. Strength provides us the with ability to continue to enjoy activities and to live independently.
There are many ways to develop strength, working the muscles and progressively increasing resistance to create a stimulus for muscle growth. The gym and weight training is a great place to do this, but what if you don't like weights or the gym? Bodyweight workouts improve strength, endurance, flexibility, and can be modified for any fitness level. They engage multiple muscle groups, are low-cost, and can be done anywhere. Importantly, for us, they are part of mobility and movement training - that provide functional fitness.
Before we proceed any further, a word of caution: check with your doctor before starting a new exercise regimen and always work-out within your limits. A personal trainer can also help with technique and specific skills.
"Bodyweight exercises are just one way to get stronger. To make progress you have to find an exercise that you enjoy and be consistent."
Below are some suggestions of simple routines, sets of exercises, from three very different channels. These cover the basics and provide some inspiration, they are not definitive but rather a starting point.
Calisthenicmovement
The Bioneer
Minus The Gym
If you are new or getting back into strength training: practise and experiment. See what you enjoy and soon enough you'll be making progress. Following the principles and examples in these videos, I practise a set of push, pull, squat and rotational exercises for my own full-body workout twice a week. I also like to run to improve my cardiovascular health but that is only one method to improve it. Fast walking, cycling, swimming, rowing, dancing - they all count too.
Finally, don't forget that sufficient rest, recovery and proper nutrition are a vital part of the strength building and self-care process, especially as you get older. Respect your body and live with health and vitality!
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
The above videos focus on simple routines. Click here you want to learn more about bodyweight exercise (for men and women) in general.
Exercise addresses one of the pillars of health. What else can you focus on to maximise your health and longevity?
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Related Studies
Paluch AE, Boyer WR, Franklin BA, Laddu D, Lobelo F, Lee DC, McDermott MM, Swift DL, Webel AR, Lane A; on behalf the American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; and Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. Resistance Exercise Training in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024 Jan 16;149(3):e217-e231. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001189. Epub 2023 Dec 7. PMID: 38059362.
Shailendra P, Baldock KL, Li LSK, Bennie JA, Boyle T. Resistance Training and Mortality Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2022 Aug;63(2):277-285. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020. Epub 2022 May 20. PMID: 35599175.
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. PMID: 27102172.
Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency. J Sports Sci. 2019 Jun;37(11):1286-1295. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906. Epub 2018 Dec 17. PMID: 30558493.