Andrea asked, "What is the one weightlifting exercise that has given you the results you like the most?"
If for some reason I could only ever do one exercise for the rest of my life, it would probably be deadlifting. It is such a fabulous full-body exercise: traps, lats, abs, glutes, hamstrings, quads (and erector spinae, but most us are not saying, "Yeah, I really want my spinal erectors to POP.")
HOWEVER, deadlift form is (a) hard to learn and (b) important to get right. If you're not familiar with the form, I would say it's worth working with a trainer for a few sessions in which you specifically focus on that particular skill. You can figure out the nuances of a bicep curl on your own, but it's much harder to evaluate your own deadlift.
So if I were making one recommendation to a pal who was only willing to do a little bit of lifting, I would recommend assisted pull-ups. They are extremely accessible and will probably offer you an opportunity to progress rapidly. You can do them at home with bands if you hate going to the gym, or you can do them at the gym with a machine if you don't love working out at home.
Pull-ups are fantastic core exercises. I did not imagine that pull-ups could strengthen my abs, but it turns out they are a great ab exercise. I didn't know how much I needed lats and traps until I worked on my lats and traps, but lifting has eliminated all of the weird aches and twinges that used to cause me back pain at regular intervals. (Also, if you need somebody to move something heavy, I'm your girl.) Obviously, they're terrific for delts and biceps as well.
One caution: don't start assisted pull-ups expecting them to become unassisted pull-ups on a short timeline. Three months was not enough time for 13 out of 17 female participants to get an unassisted pull-up in a study described by the New York Times. It was not enough time for me; it took me a little over four months of consistent 3x/week workouts prioritizing chin-ups and related movements before I could do an unassisted chin-up. (I've still never done an unassisted pull-up, because I don't care about the pull-up/chin-up distinction.) But there is so much benefit just waiting to be gleaned from assisted pull-up workouts, no matter what your trajectory looks like.
So there you go: two choices, pick your fave!
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