How Strong is Strong Enough
Are you strong enough to....?
If you read that first line and are currently singing "be my man," by Sheryl Crow, it's time to start strength training.
Often, when clients come to work with me, they say they want to get stronger, and I always ask the same question: What's your litmus test for stronger? The first time I worked with a strength coach, he asked me what my goal was with strength training.
To...ah...look better? I think? Maybe? I hadn't given it much thought. Not long after that, I was walking my first basset hound Rooney, when he pulled a stunt known as flat basset. This is the point in a walk when the basset hound has had enough, and just lays down.
In the middle of the side walk.
In Boston.
A mile away from home.
I had to call Sheila to come and pick us up.
Which is when I realized that I wanted to be strong enough to pick up my 50lb dog, and at that time, I wasn't.
So that became my primary goal, which was good, because Rooney was a star at flat basset. (Eventually I had to be strong enough to pick him up and actually walk with him...)
Most folks I work with have a strong sense of what they don't want, but I think it's helpful to have a sense of specificity around what you do want.
Along those lines, I was recently asked what "enough" is when it comes to strength training. 30 minutes a week? 60 minutes a week? Three days a week? Light weight with a lot of reps? Heavy weight with less reps? The answer isn't one that everyone loves:
It depends.
Yeah. It does.
But here are a few thoughts:
- Strong enough to live the life you want to live; can you say yes to the activities you want to say yes to? Hiking, gardening, a long walk, pickle ball, golfing, etc.
- Strong enough to get up and down off of the floor, to carry your own luggage, to catch yourself if you stumble
- Strong enough for the older version of yourself to do all of the aboveStrong enough to protect your bones.
There is also a caveat on maintenance, which takes less work than the initial building of muscle, though for those of us in mid-life, we are working against a bit of a downhill current, so maintaining means keeping the effort consistent AND adding weight now and then; not just going through the motions.
So what does that mean for you?
Well: If you're not doing anything, then doing a body weight circuit twice a week is a great start (30-60 minutes a week).
If you're doing strength training, but not consistently, working on the frequency.If you're pretty consistent, then it might be time to increase your weight.
If you aren't familiar with Rate of Perceived Exertion), check out this video starting at the 39 second mark.
I hope that helps a little. If you have specific questions, let me know.
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