Foundational Strength

Consistency The most important factor in improving your health through exercise is to just go do it.  Doing something is automatically better than doing nothing.  Exercise selection, technique, protocol, and rep schemes are meaningless if you don’t actually do them.  Whether you get up and do it first thing in the morning, or every day after work, or Monday/Wednesday/Sunday, it doesn’t matter what you pick as long as you do it, and do it consistently, even when it’s hard.  You do it when you don’t feel like it.  You do it when you’re too busy.  Doing 20 minutes of improvised body weight exercises is better than skipping your workout completely because A) some is better than none, and B) you’re not a quitter, you’re not defined by your circumstances, and YOU have decided you’re going to be consistent.  If you’re consistent, you will see results eventually. Avoid Injury/Damage If you’re injured or sore, it becomes difficult to be consistent....

If you’re completely new to this, start with a very light weight.  You’re learning the setup and movement before pushing heavy weight.  Plus you should warm up anyway. 1)       Lay down on bench and plant feet firmly on the ground. 2)       Walk your shoulders down towards your feet/hips. 3)       Pull your shoulder blades together and down, towards your lumbar spine (nothing extreme, just get them in place) 4)       Grip the bar with your hands wider than shoulder width apart (you’ll figure out what works best for you with time) 5)       Guide the bar off the rack, and get the weight stable directly above your shoulders. 6)       Slowly bring the bar down to your sternum, pause for half a second, then strongly press the bar back to the starting position. 7)       Don’t overextend your sh...