Strength Training is a TOOL!

Muscular strength and endurance has a host of benefits to our health and longevity without question! Contratry to what you may think, you don't have to be in a gym pumping iron to create strength (though you can of course) and lifting heavy things does NOT mean you will bulk up like a body builder and not be able to fit through door ways...

But this is NOT the topic of this post.

Here is what sparked today's post:

A client of mine is off to see her daugther in the beautiful Canmore, Alberta. Her daughter and her boyfriend are very fit young adults and therefore my client is in for an active visit to the mountains and beautiful nature of our western Canada (jealous!).

She sent this message recently which I just had to share. I love these "ah-ha" moments and the moments of putting those health puzzle pieces together.

First thing's first....

Hey Coach - What's a "Suitcase Carry"??

Wonderful question astute reader of the Zen Blog! A suitcase carry is (almost) as it sounds, except here in the studio during this client's weekly coaching sessions we carry a dumbbell. (*Gasp!*)

I began giving heavy carries more attention several years ago due to the work of the legendary Strength Coach, Dan John (master of simplicity and straight-forwardness). As well as including them in my own strength work. It's something so many of us ignore - the power of simplicity. Strength training doesn't need to be an elaborate, complicated or even long duration sessions to become strong and healthy. In the case of this exercise example;

-Pick up a heavy object on one side of the body.

-Stand up straight and proud.

-Walk with the heavy object for a distance.

-Put it down and rest.

There's little technique to think about and it can be done in a variety of ways to change the load and work on the body.

Ok, Coach - So what is that doing??

Ah good question. Carries offer a host of benefits including but not limited to:

-Improving the body's overall work capacity

-Increasing grip strength

-Working EVERYTHING from head to toe (not isolating any one particular part of the body)

-Improving the ability to perform daily tasks more simply (which we often take for granted or overlook)

Fun Fact #1: Suitcase carries are the "cousin" of the Farmers Carry/Famers Walk exercise. What's that you ask? Carrying a weight on both sides of the body rather than just one. (*Gasp!*)

Fun Fact #2: Suitcase carries are essentially a walking side plank! And I argue much more "functional" in regards to it's transference into everyday life.

Fun Fact #2.5: In this case, Farmers walks are essentially... you guessed it... a walking plank! So for all you "Plank haters" out there, there are other options for you.

(FYI - I'm not plank bashing, as I do feel they have their place as well. But the benefits of carries are often overlooked by the general population and transfer over so well to our real life)

Let go of complication and the fancy stuff

Keep it simple. Are you stuck? Do you feel "blah"? Try this:

3-days per week: Perform 3-5 sets of carries for distance. Use a weight that is challenging but do-able. It's not a "feel the burn" kind of thing you're going for, but rather a "holy crap I need to put this down" as you finish your set.

3-5 days per week: Walk or hike (or a bit of both). Shoot for 30min if you have time (or ... walk longer if you feel like it that day). No need to measure distance, speed, etc... Just be consistent.

3-5 days per week: Mobility work (yoga, Original Strength by Tim Anderson...) 10min (or more)

Seem daunting? Don't do it all at once if you don't have time. Sprinkle these things throughout your day(s):

-The mobility is 10-min of work which you could do while you watch Netflix OR 5min before work and 5min after work.

-Walks can be done over lunch hour, before or after work or split into a couple 15min walks if time is crunched on a given day. Either way - you walked 30min that day!

-Carries will be 10-15min depending on your rest in between. Do a set of carries before work, one at lunch (if possible) and one when you get home. Done! OR throw some mobility exercises and/or yoga poses in between sets of your mobility work to get them both done at once!

Our health does NOT need to be "brag worthy", "Instagram worthy" or consume every waking thought and conversation that we have. STRENGTH exercises are TOOLS to enhance aspects and activities of daily life. In the case of the carry exercises discussed here, they can help us more easily bring the 18L water jug to the water cooler at home or work, carry grocery bags into the house (maybe even up stairs) with greater ease, carry our children or grandchildren or move a piece of furniture more easily with a friend. Unless you have a specific need (such as a sport like bodybuilding or powerlifting, or an extreme job such as Search & Rescue, Firefighter, Police officer ... ) we don't need to be doing anything crazy with our strength to reap the health benefits AND realize how it can positively impact our daily activities and routines.