I’m liking this show right now, and I’ll tell you why.

In a society where pills, surgery, and other shortcuts seem to be the norm,  the show’s trainers (Bob and Jillian) emphasize a good diet and hard exercise. And they work their victims to the bone too.

On top of that, they use real exercises for strength training. I don’t think I’ve seen them doing concentration curls or tricep extensions.  They do squats, deadlifts, thrusters, etc.

This season I think I’ve seen kettlebells in each episode. They have also used battling ropes, and the other night they had Danny whacking the tractor tire with a sledgehammer – followed by some tire-flipping.

Plus, call me a softie, but I like seeing people who have struggled with their weight their whole lives finally see some success.

So, maybe you’re skinny and don’t need to lose weight. I don’t really think that matters. The point is; be disciplined in your diet and workouts. I haven’t been lately and I can tell.

However, a good diet and regular exercise will turn your body into what it was meant to be. The problems come with eating too much junk and sitting in front of the TV or computer. This is how these contestants ended up where they are.

But, it’s never too late to turn it around. Some of these folks are way past unhealthy. This season, Shay started at almost 480 pounds at 5′ 8″.

Watch some of these folks work their butts off and see if you don’t get inspired. Grab your trusty kettlebell and a patch of grass and get to work.

Once again I have gone too long without adding new content to this site. I’ve also been slacking off in my training as well.

However, I’ve recently decided to make some commitments, and part of that involved getting back into my training, as well as beginning to post here again.

I’ve always had an interest in “old time” stuff, and strength training is no different.  Strength athletes from the late 1800′s up to the 1950′s and 1960′s have interested me almost since I started training.

These guys built crazy strength (and also had the physiques to show it) with remedial equipment, little to no nutritional supplements, and no steroids (until the 1950′s I believe).

So, I’m thinking about maybe starting a new category just for this stuff. I’m not going to turn this into an “old time strength training” site, but do plan on posting more methods, advice, and techniques from the old days.

Functional strength training is basically using exercises in your workouts that transfer to real life in a practical way. Think about your training program – especially if you’re into bodybuilding. Will tricep extensions carry over to real life? What about chest crossovers? Leg extensions? Leg curls? No, they won’t. Even the ever-popular bench press offers very little in the way of practical use. None of these will be much use to you as you carry bags of mulch from the front yard to the back, help a friend move, or play your sport of choice.

Functional strength is where the rubber meets the road. The main problem with bodybuilding is that the focus is mainly on looks, and not on practical usage. A good functional program will offer real-world strength – with the side-effect of looking like you’re in great shape. Focus on health and strength and the looks will follow (with a good diet, of course). The opposite is not necessarily true. Building functional strength is what will help your body stay healthy and strong as you get older.

One of the major reasons this is true is because functional exercises teach your body to operate as one piece. Bodybuilding routines (which often focus on isolation exercises) break the body up into parts: chest, back, arms, legs, abs, etc. This is the opposite of what needs to happen. Training your body to work as a single unit also works your all-important stabilizer muscles. This ties everything together for strength you can actually use.

So, how do we incorporate functional strength into our workouts? Here are a few ways:

• Use unilateral movements. These are exercises where you move each side independently of the other. Dumbbells and kettlebells are great for this.
• Stay on your feet. Exercises where you stay on your feet are great for building functional strength. Add drills like standing overhead presses and deadlifts to your routine. These two examples will carry over directly to picking things up from the ground, all the way through lifting them overhead. Exercises where you sit or lie down don’t carry over much, if at all.
• Use free weights instead of machines. Machines are unnatural and force your body to move in a fixed plane. This completely removes functionality from the movement, and can even be dangerous if the machine’s plane of movement overly kinks your body’s natural groove.
• Use odd objects. You don’t have to go crazy here, but simply adding a sandbag to your routine can work wonders. Rocks, logs, kegs, bags of chains, a slosh pipe – anything that is unwieldy and hard to handle will work wonders on your stabilizers, and force your body to work as one piece. This is a step beyond free weights.
• Use multi-joint movements. This is almost a no-brainer for this type of program, however it warrants mentioning. Large, full-body movements are in order. Drills like deadlifts, squats, bent-over rows, and standing overhead presses are great for this.

Obviously, using odd object lifting will be one of the most effective ways to bring functionality into your training. After all, in real life you’re rarely having to lift nicely balanced objects like barbells. If you want to learn how to create an effective routine for building real-world functional strength, The Underground Strength Manual looks like a good, complete course. Or, if you just want to focus on sandbag training, check out The Caveman’s Fitness Guide, or Sandbag Strength.

I remember when I was 18. I saw some photos of bodybuilder Achim Albrecht in a muscle magazine and thought, “Man, I’d love to look like that.” If I remember right, he was about 5’10″ (my height), and weighed about 250 (about 100 pounds more than me). But, I really wanted to look like that.

I just looked up some photos of him (same photos, in fact) and, well… Why would anyone want to look like that? Funny how your priorities and perspective change as you get older.

Now if you’ve looked around here, you should know that this is not a bodybuilding site. I think that building functional strength the old-fashioned way can make your body look and feel its best. Plus as the old saying goes, you can be as strong as you look.

Leaving bodybuilding alone though, if you’re interested in gaining mass, I encourage you to think about why. Why do you want to be bigger? Really think about it.

It’s not a bad thing in and of itself. There are good reasons. Maybe you’re underweight and are tired of being skinny. Maybe you play football or another sport where some additional weight would be an advantage. Maybe you’re into powerlifting or strongman, and you simply need to gain size to continue gaining strength (or think you need to).

But there are a lot of people out there who want to be bigger simply for the sake of being bigger. Maybe it’s the, “Wow, look how big that guy is!” factor, I don’t know. But before you start putting on the pounds for no real reason, think about what you’re getting yourself into.

• You have to eat a lot, and that can be expensive.
• You have to buy bigger clothes.
• You will lose some mobility.
• You will be heavier. How will that effect you standing, walking, sitting, lying down, etc.? What about long-term effects on your joints?
• You will get older, and will likely end up with more fat than you planned on.

Now again, I’m not knocking the idea of gaining mass when you have a reason. I’m all for people reaching their goals. What I’m talking about is relatively young people who want to gain some ridiculous amount of weight (like 50 pounds or something) simply because they think it would be cool to be big. I can almost guarantee that you’ll eventually end up wishing you hadn’t done it.

Personally, I always try to think about practical things. I can think of a few situations where being heavy could be an advantage in a life or death situation. However it seems that more often than not, it would be a hindrance.

So, if you are six feet tall and weigh 150 pounds, by all means – put on some weight! Get a barbell and do some deadlifts or squats, eat your meat and drink your milk. But if you’re six feet tall and are at a normal weight (say, 180 or so) – do you really think you need to gain 50 pounds? If your sport calls for it, then maybe so. But just for the heck of it? Think it through.

The squat rack is, sadly, one station that doesn’t get much action. And when it does, it’s often by people who could use some help. So, here are a few pointers on cleaning up your squatting technique.

1. Don’t rest the bar too high on your traps. Let it sit comfortably low. Too high and it’s too close to your neck. This can hurt your neck, as well as put an awkward tilt in your upper body, which is bad form.
2. Toes should be about shoulder-width apart, pointed slightly outward, and your knees should track over them.
3. Bend at the hips first, sticking your butt out back. Don’t bend your knees first.
4. Sit back rather than down. Imagine you’re going to sit in a chair that’s slightly too far behind you.
5. Squat between your legs. As Dan John said long ago, your body doesn’t fold like an accordion. You’re not accordion-folding your hips, thighs and knees. Squat down between them. To get the idea, try to squat (bodyweight only) all the way down, sitting on your haunches. To do this, you’ll have to squat between your legs. If you “accordion-fold”, your balance will likely be off and you’ll fall backwards. Remember this “between the legs” thing.
6. Keep your shins fairly vertical. If you’re doing everything else right (hips first, sitting back not down, between the legs), then your shins will automatically remain relatively vertical.
7. Squat below parallel. Be honest with yourself – did your hip joint get level with your knees or lower? If you’re just dipping down a few inches, you’re kidding yourself. Take some weight off of the bar so you can go below parallel.
8. Drive the weight up with your hips, glutes and thighs. Think of them as one unit to create the hip-drive necessary to lift the weight.

The above is a description of how to do a standard squat for normal trainees. There are more advanced methods that don’t exactly fit this model, which I won’t discuss here. You also may notice that the overall method is similar to the kettlebell swing. It all centers around proper body mechanics to create a powerful hip drive.

If you’ve been squatting with poor form, take some weight off the bar and start from the beginning. You’ll be better off in the long run, with better gains and an overall safer lift. Leave your ego at the door.

One issue that sometimes comes up is whether squats are bad for the knees. The answer is yes and no. If you are squatting with poor form – especially if you’re bending at the knees first – then you’re putting your knees at risk. Another indicator is your shins. If your shins are moving significantly forward of vertical, then you are likely putting undue stress on your knees.

Another potential knee problem is squatting all the way to the ground if you don’t know what you’re doing. Squatting all the way to the ground, with added weight on your back can damage your knees if you release tension. You need to hold tension in the knee in this position. Relaxing in this position (with a barbell) can put extra stress on the tendon/ligament structure of the knee because of the stretching effect caused by the leverage of your leg musculature and the weight. It takes a conscious effort to hold tension in this position, so I don’t recommend it without an experienced trainer.

Given that, most people will be fine using the guidelines listed above for proper squatting technique. The squat is an excellent exercise, and is one of the best if your goal is overall size and strength. But be sure you’re doing it right!