With my college-age son back in school after spring break, I decided to switch things up in the gym. My goal of building strength and a running base remains the same. I’m anticipating some schedule changes including spending more time outside working on gardening projects. I need to pivot a little for a few months until school is over by the end of May.
We just added a new piece of equipment to our gym after going back and forth on various fitness equipment company sites. In the end, we decided to go with REP Fitness for an incline/decline bench. For the past year or so, I’ve made do with stairs or a large ball when I needed to do incline or decline work. However, there are a few exercises in the Mindpump programs which are best suited for a bench. While this REP bench is rather solid, it does come with wheels to facilitate moving it in and out of our rack.
For my strength training and running, I decided to continue with my daily exercises and the weekly Murph workout. I’ve had to move the Murph workout around in my schedule a few times due to travel and other activities. However, this upcoming weekend, I will be back to doing the Murph on Sundays.
For strength training, I’m using Mindpump’s Advanced 15, a relatively new program by them. One does 2 exercises each day for 6 days during the week. The Advanced version takes about 20 minutes while the regular 15 only takes 15. I like focusing on 2 exercises daily to ensure I use the best form. It also allows me time to do several sets up of my daily exercises. If I have extra time, which I will do next week, I will add kettlebell workouts. Once I’m done the Advanced 15, I will switch back to Performance.
Finally, not on the list above, but just added to my daily list, my husband and I are challenging ourselves to leg hang for 30 seconds daily for 30 days. According to a recent Mindpump podcast, Russian Olympic athletes used to do this for incredible strength gains. During the episode we listened to, one listener needed help with improving his grip and ability to do pull-ups. Sal recommended doing leg hangs every day for 30 days for 30 seconds, then adding on 10 seconds or so, for the next 30 days. The central nervous system gets enough stimulus to build but not too much because of the moderate intensity on a regular basis.
Articles on Russian strength training
- 4 Secrets of Soviet Weightlifting (As Revealed by Pavel) (Breaking Fitness)
- The Russian Approach to Size and Strength (T-Nation)
- Secrets to Soviet Strength Training (Garage Strength)
- Grease the Groove (Better Human)
2 dogs and a house 
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