If you are new to strength training – or possibly at the stage where you are contemplating getting started – it can feel a little overwhelming, and possibly even intimidating. There is a vast amount of information out there, and it can seem terribly confusing trying to figure out where to start, which resources to trust, and what program or system is right for you. To help with that, I want to share a few key concepts that should be universal regardless of what system or piece of equipment you use.
1) YOU NEED TO DEVELOP A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF YOU
This sounds like a “duh” statement, but I think this is actually the biggest miss that most people have when it comes to strength training. Coaches (either in person or online) try to be helpful by giving instructions such as “tighten your core” or “brace your core” or “use your hips” … but unfortunately this often leads to confusion on the part of their trainee, because the coach failed to explain what they actually mean by those things. The coach has probably been in the game long enough that those things are just second nature for them, but for the new person just starting to strength train they don’t really have a grasp of what they are being asked to do with regard to those cues (and many others). So, step one needs to be to really slow things down, and make sure you UNDERSTAND exactly what is being asked of you. A good coach will help you focus on the most important aspects of the movement, without overwhelming you with every detail under the sun.
2) ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF YOU, YOU NEED TO DEVELOP THE BODY AWARENESS TO DO IT CORRECTLY
Understanding is critically important, but you will not actually make any progress without actually doing it. A term we use for this is “body awareness.” Developing this body awareness, or in other words getting the feel for something, is not like flipping on a light switch; it is more like a dimmer switch. When you first get started with strength training the light is off so-to-speak, and as you get started you will slowly turn the light on, and as weeks and months go by it will get brighter and brighter, and eventually it will be all the way on. This process will happen at different speeds for different people, and the important thing to remember is that it IS A PROCESS. If I can demystify one thing it is that there is NO SUCH THING as “learning to do it right” the very first time you are exposed to something. For basic movements, you can probably get pretty close to #1 above (understanding what is being asked) but the gap between knowing what to do and being able to actually do it is large – it takes a fair bit of practice to get there. If you wanted to learn a highly complicated movement (like a golf swing) then the body awareness to do it really well will take a lifetime to develop. The good news is that most strength training movements are simple enough that it comparatively takes very little time – but there is still the learning curve.
3) ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF YOU, AND YOU HAVE SPENT TIME DEVELOPING THE BODY AWARENESS / FORM TO DO IT WELL, THEN YOU NEED TO INCLUDE “PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD”
This is another big misconception when it comes to strength training. People think they can do the same exercises for the same sets & reps with the same weight over and over again and will somehow continue to make progress. I wish it were that simple, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. You will be able to make some progress for some period of time that way … a few weeks, or possibly a few months (if you are lucky), but long-term it absolutely will not work. You need to progressively overload your training in order to continue to make progress at building muscle and getting stronger. Now, how exactly to progressively overload can range from being quite simple all the way up to Ph.D. level, and everywhere in between. In the spirit of simplicity, basically what it means is that at some point you need to one or more of the following:
- Lift heavier weights
- Lift heavier weights (this is so important I wrote it twice in case you skimmed the first one)
- Make the leverage more challenging so that the same weight is more difficult to lift
- Do more reps with the same weight (this is NOT the same as lifting heavier weight – do not confuse the two)
- Increase the density of your training session (do the workout in a shorter amount of time)
The most important one is you need to lift heavier weights. Let’s say it again: THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS YOU NEED TO LIFT HEAVIER WEIGHTS. If you want to build muscle, get stronger, and increase bone density, at some point you need to lift heavier weights. This is true regardless of what equipment you use (kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, weight machines, and so on), and it is true across all ages and experience levels (you can be in your golden years and have no prior experience, and this STILL applies to you). For most people, that point is a lot sooner than you might think. When I work with a new student for personal training they typically increase their weights every week or two for the first several weeks, and only after quite a few weeks of increases do we then start to have longer periods of time between increases.
If you are training on your own, such as with our On-Demand kettlebell programs, understand that you will have to eventually move up in weights in order to make progress. This is not up for debate, there is no way around it. At some point you need to lift heavier weights. For perspective, the “starter sets” I listed in my previous blog post are just that: starter sets. They are my recommendation for where to begin your training, especially if you are taking our Kettlebell Virtual On-Ramp course. However, you need to understand that you will outgrow those sets, and at some point will need some heavier kettlebells. THIS IS A GOOD THING! This means you have achieved exactly what you set out to: you have built muscle and gotten stronger. In our On-Demand programs we include “test days” where you can challenge yourself and see where you are at, and after the workout on those days we explain how you can tell if you are ready to move up in weight. If you follow the program you WILL get stronger and you WILL be ready for heavier weights, and it is on you to rise to the challenge and actually start using heavier ones at that point.
-Tony Gracia
