In the last year, since I’ve moved into a house and setup a basement home gym, I’m been working on several different ways to improve my fitness. I’ve been experimenting with different training methods and equipment to find what’s the best for my goals. But at the same time, I’ve been learning more about fitness overall. And on top of that I’ve started on my path to become a certified personal trainer with NASM.

Everyone knows the two extremes of training; lifting weights and cardio. But there is so much more to that. So many different ways to have fun, challenge yourself and also fix issues like lower back and flexibility.

First, my Goals

My goal is simple, live to 100 years old and still be lifting weights. And maybe compete in something. But to be able to achieve those I need to improve my strength, power, endurace, form & technique, and my mobility. It’s a lot for sure, but all of it ties together. All of it is achievable if I set realistic goals in a slightly demanding timeline.

The way to achieve this is to find the best exercises that do the job, but still experiment a little bit to keep things interesting and find new ways to improve. And most importantly, read, educate myself and see what else everyone else is doing.

Second, the Equipment

The three main pieces of equipment I’ve been working with are the barbell, sandbag and kettlebells. This is on top of the strength equipment my local gym provides. Of these I find the kettlebells the most versatile and rewarding and the ones I focus most on. This doesn’t mean that I don’t use other equipment, but these are the ones I gravitate to the most. I do try to focus more on functional training; training that applies more to everyday life. Although going for PRs and doing strongman stuff is fun, too.

Third, the Plan

Right now the plan is to find a balance between strength training, functional training, mobility and recovery. And of course nutrition.

Stay tuned as I provide more details on how things are going.