Workout 6: All dumbbells! All the time!

Routine 1 is a good workout for folks who have minimal equipment, and/or who are just starting out with a basic dumbbell set.

Routine 2 combines dumbbell exercises with bodyweight exercises for some strength-endurance and conditioning benefits. Good if you play sports, and as part of a fat loss program. Not your Curves circuit training, baby!

Periodization: not just for menstrual cycles any more

You hear about how “low-rep sets” are better for goal X and “high-rep sets” are better for goal Y. What does that really mean? Here, an introduction to the concepts of intensity, volume, and planned variation — aka periodization.

Sport-specific training

We used to think that weight training would slow you down for other activities. We heard of mythical athletes who got “muscle-bound” after training and wound up with the agility of Jabba the Hutt. We know now that weight training is an excellent companion to just about any sport. It can help you be stronger, faster, leaner, more powerful, and even help you prevent and recover from injuries.

But how do you go about designing a weight training program for your chosen activity? Clearly a skier is going to have different needs than a rock climber. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to weight training. Here are some suggestions.

Krista’s Kompleat Kompendium of Workout Routines

I get lots of mail about what routines I recommend for people. It’s always a challenging question to answer, because there are as many possible routines as there are screaming prepubescent children outside a boy band concert.

Nevertheless I thought it might be helpful to compile some ideas for you.

Workout for the time poor

Why “I don’t have time” is no longer an excuse. There are 168 hours in a week. I know you can find 3 or 4 to haul your ass off the couch.