We’ve been at this for sixteen years at Woodshed, and we’ve loved being part of the growing consensus that strength training is a non-negotiable for building and maintaining an active lifestyle at almost any age.
When you get stronger, the positive cascade is well-nigh inevitable: bones and muscles fortify, the body works better, and everyday life becomes easier. It’s an incredibly worthy investment.
But it can also be slightly mysterious—and certainly intimidating—to some. After all, we’re not that far removed from the dominant image of strength training being that guy in the chain commercial who just picked things up and put them down, noisily and repeatedly.
Knowledge is power, though, and one of the best ways we know to demystify strength training is by explaining what we actually do in our first session with a new client. It’s surprisingly real-world and accessible, and it generally puts folks much more at ease:
We start with a general warmup, and here’s the most important principle—for that warmup and the entire session: we do what is appropriate for you. If you come in with a history of back pain, we’re not going to have you doing all manner of bends and twists during your warmup. We’ll move your body gently to get you ready for what comes next.
From there, we usually introduce a handful of very basic human movements and practice them at the right level and pace:
- Squatting: The squat is simply the act of moving your body toward a “seated” position. How we get there—and where we land (we often use boxes to start)—is a very individual process.
- Pushing and Pulling: Pushing something away from you (or yourself away from something, as in a wall pushup) is a useful skill for strength building. So too is pulling—think light dumbbell or bodyweight rows.
- Hinging: When you pick something up, you hinge—move your hips back, bend slightly, and stand with the object. We have several easy-to-learn movements that focus on that hips-back process, where so much of your power resides.
- Cardio and Core: That’s right, we said “cardio” even though we’re talking about strength training. But don’t get it twisted—we just mean gentle movement between strength segments to help the session flow. Things like an easy spin on the bike or standing rower. We round things out with some core work—again, all at the level and pace that’s right for you.
It’s not flashy, and it’s not supposed to be!
It’s the first step in helping you feel stronger, safer, and more confident in your body—one movement at a time.