Follow fitness expert Harvey Newton's
practical, back-to-basics fitness plan, and you'll be
strutting with the best of them come summer.
In spring there are two guarantees. The weather will turn, and your
head will spin with the plethora of smarmy get-fit-quick routines.
If you are looking for an easy way, pretty calves and biceps, or
the latest trick, read no further. In 40 years,
Harvey Newton has
discovered no shortcuts. Few people are more respected within
serious weight training circles than Newton, former national and
Olympic coach for the U.S. weightlifting team and current head of
Newton Sports in Ormond Beach,
Florida. His books (most recently
Explosive Lifting for Sports, Human Kinetics Publishers) and
approach are short on glitz and long on real life function.
Newton's rules for those of us emerging from winter sloth are
simple. To build your strongest body, and avoid injury during the
games of spring and summer, stick to three principles. Start slowly
- lift lighter in the beginning, and never sacrifice proper form
for heavier weight. Be diligent - three days a week, 45-60 minutes
of strength training is what you need, no less, no more. And be
functional.
"The best way to build overall strength is with multiple-joint
movements that involve many muscles rather than isolation exercises
like bicep curls that work only one joint at a time," says Newton.
"Multiple-joint lifts mimic real life movements. They aren't fancy,
but they are efficient. As long as your lifts are multiple joint,
full range of motion, executed in the 8 to 12 repetition range, and
repeated for three sets with two to three minutes rest between
sets, mission accomplished."
Courtesy of Newton, what follows is a ruthlessly efficient, wholly
functional, whole body routine.
The Squat