Resist that resistance… To be specific resistance does not have to be weight per se, you could be resisting against gravity among other things. So resisting your own bodyweight is also a great form of resistance exercise (planks, wall sits, pull-ups).
So an example: instead of air squats, grabbing a lets say 10 or 20 lb dumbbell and doing squats or even better a goblet squat…and to one up that – do a press at the top. That is a great full body workout. Of course do your homework & match the proper form before doing it. You should have a good air squat form before adding the resistance to it. You want the proper foundation before you build that house on top of it.
If you have a kettlebell, goblet squats can also be part of the menu.
An alternative to the goblet + press up squat is to give your arms and shoulders a different workout – hold the weight directly in front of you horizontally with both hands. You won’t need much weight to give your shoulders, arms and upper back a workout while keeping that weight steady and in front of you during the entire squat sequence.
No weights around? Then go sloooow.
As for resisting gravity aside from planks and such: find a hill & run up it. Repeat. It is a bit easier on your joints running up a hill and you can find a grassy hill that you can sprint or run up, walk down and repeat it. There are so many benefits to hill training.
Just keep in mind, you don’t need a lot of weight for a resistance exercise to be beneficial especially if you are just getting back in the groove of things or have limited resources or access to a gym. If you created yourself a circuit of a hill sprint, 10 goblet squats, walk down 30 second plank and repeated that for 10 rounds…I doubt you would be wondering if you were getting a workout.
Resistance training is not…resisting to work out 🙂
Also make sure especially when you do resistance with an external weight (not just yourself) go slow & with deliberation when you do it. A new movement may be awkward at first, so focus on the movement where you feel tightness & your form. Start with a light weight at first. Besides sometimes depending on what exercise you are doing even 10 or 40 pounds is a challenge!
As always if you have any questions & are interested in working together to meet your goals feel free to contact me at incrementalfit@gmail.com!
-Damien
