I want to talk about this because I saw someone doing a dumbbell fly and dumbbell chest press. They are great exercises for the chest. You hit the pecs with a compound movement and then go after them with a isolation workout to really make it work. Well, here’s the problem. The person I observed was upright on a bench. They were sitting up against a bench and doing the movements with what looked like a 10 pound dumbbell. So they were basically working out their shoulders in a way I’ve never seen done before. Maybe it was an advanced shoulder workout? I was so baffled by it that I actually caught myself staring.

Look, exercising is important. No doubt about it. But you don’t have to make it complicated. If you’re goal is to run your first 5k, research has shown that strength training won’t improve your VO2 or lactate threshold, but it may help with running economy. So there’s no real reason to do a CrossFit style workout if you’re training to run. Same thing if your goal is to just be “healthy” – whatever that means to you. You want to exercise in a way that’s conducive to your goals. Stick to the basics of compound movements first, then the isolation/accessory exercises. Add variety, but not so much variety that every single workout is completely different.

Some great compound lifts to do if it’s available is barbell back squat, deadlift, overhead shoulder press, and bench press. How many of you can squat 2x your weight? Or even 1.5x your weight? Or 1x your weight?! Work on exercises as a skill, and it’s easy to focus on a skill if you do it one step at a time. The results will come with time