Today’s tough economic conditions have caused many of us to cut back on some of the luxuries we used to take for granted. While fitness is certainly more of a necessity than a luxury, the way we achieve it can be easily scaled back and achieved in a more cost-effective manner. There’s no need to keep paying for expensive health club memberships when some old-school strength training techniques can provide the same results for free.
What is old school strength training?
Old school strength training is as much a philosophy as it is a discipline. He refers to the relationship between muscle and metal, assisted by gravity, rather than the relationship between muscle and complex machinery, assisted by electricity and a computer. Metal is very cheap and gravity is free.
Machines and computers of sufficient quality to produce concrete results cost a lot of money. While a basic set of free weights can be had fairly cheaply, gym machines require an extremely strong bank account, combined with a significant amount of floor space to park them, or an expensive gym membership in which to basically it is rented. time on the machines.
Your muscles won’t care which method you choose, but your bank account will surely prefer the old-school approach to strength training. While free weights and a set of adjustable dumbbells will go a long way in your workout, many exercises can be added to a fitness regimen that don’t require any equipment, such as sit-ups, push-ups, and jogging.
How do I get started with old school strength training?
First, you must commit to exercising on your own and develop the mental discipline to do so on a regular schedule. Get a set of metal free weights and a few pieces of basic equipment, such as a weight bench and squat rack. Decide what your ultimate fitness goals are, and do some basic research on which exercises will best achieve them. The classic weight training system of performing a fixed number of repetitions of an exercise (typically 10 to 15) and repeating them three times, with a few minutes of rest in between, still produces the most reliable results.
With an old school weight training system, you don’t need a computer to tell you when you’ve had enough exercise, your body will let you know on its own once it has learned to listen. Work until you are very tired and a little sore, but not until your muscles ache. Rotate your exercises so that you allow each muscle group to rest a bit while you work on a different area of your body. For example, don’t do all the arm exercises in a row and then switch to legs, as this will likely lead to strains, which can result in discouragement and time off from training while things heal.
As any Spartan can tell you, physical fitness has never required complicated electronics. With a little discipline, some inexpensive equipment, and a bit of basic knowledge, you can throw away your passcard to the gym and get better results at home through old-school strength-training techniques.