11/09/2025
Catch all of our offseason tips in this week's podcast featuring Nathan and Andrea, out now on Youtube: https://youtu.be/VwDr_OHvKRE
Strength Training: Where to Start?
So, first let's assume that you have a $10 a month membership to Planet Fitness or somewhere similar. The best thing you can do first is use the person who works there. It's part of your membership and have them show you how to use the machines and how to set the machines up for your height. All of these weight machines have different settings so that the machine will move correctly with your body and be aligned correctly. And it's really hard to figure it out for yourself unless you know what you're doing. So take advantage of the free benefit that you get when you join these gyms. They might try to talk you into personal training and if you don't want that just tell them that but tell them that you want to learn how to use the machine safely and one of the employees will do that for you.
So then second, if you know you've never lifted and you're in your offseason, I think a good basic recommendation is for lower body strengthening, whether it's the leg press, the seated hamstring curl, standing calf raises. If you choose a weight that you can lift with good form for between 8 and 12 reps, where on the final rep you're fatigued, but your form is still good, then that is the correct weight for you. And if you do three to four sets at that weight, then that is a good routine. You don't need to do 10 exercises. You can choose an exercise that targets your quads, one that targets your glutes, one that targets your hamstrings, one that targets your calves, and that could be all that you do.
If you want to do more, then obviously strength, doing some core strengthening exercises would be beneficial as well as strengthening your upper body. Especially if you're going to try to run fast. I can tell you that lifting heavy in your upper body is very beneficial. And again, it doesn't have to be a ton. like choose two core exercises to do and choose one exercise for each major part of your upper body. And I can tell you from what I have my coaching clients do that a program like that at a gym like Gold's Gym takes less than a half hour.
- Andrea Myers on our offseason episode: https://youtu.be/VwDr_OHvKRE
