Lifting

Why: Live longer and get stronger while sitting down. Zero skill required.

Required

Chest press

Chest, shoulders, arms

Instructions

One-arm row

Back, shoulders, arms

Instructions

Single leg press

Butt and legs

Instructions

Optional

Heads up: These exercises are optional. Seriously. Sure, they'll deliver about 50% more muscle growth in your arms, shoulders, quadriceps, butt, and core. However, they'll also double or triple the length of your workout. Hence, we only recommend them for the truly dedicated!

Leg extensions

Legs (front)

Instructions

Cable hip abduction

Butt (side)

Instructions

Seated crunch

Core (front)

Instructions

Lateral raises

Shoulders

Instructions

Tricep extensions

Arms (back)

Instructions

Bicep curls

Arms (back)

Instructions

Routine

Download the free Strong app to track your workout.

Join a gym that is close to you

Which gym? All the machines used by our program are extremely common and will be found in any affordable chain, such as Planet Fitness, Cardinal Fitness, Gold's Gym, or LA Fitness.

Tip: To avoid a crowded gym, avoid peak days, usually Monday and Tuesday , and peak times, which are mid-mornings from 8 to 11 AM and early evenings from 4 to 7 PM .

Frequency

Lift once to twice per week

Tip: When you're on a diet, you can lift just once per week. That's enough to keep your muscles .

Warning: To give yourself time to recover, don't lift on back-to-back days.

Volume

See below

Protocol: For each exercise, you do 5 sets, each with 10 reps. Between each set you should take 1 to 3 minutes of rest.

Rep: The act of lifting up and putting down the weight one time.
Set: The number of reps you do before you stop.
Rest period: How long you wait between sets.

Progression

See below

Protocol: After hitting 10 reps on all 5 sets, add +2.5lbs per exercise on the next workout.

Tip: A set of magnetic weights, each 2.5lbs, makes progression easy. We

like these

for $40.