Movement and Strength

About this course

A course on physical activity for people who want to know what is established, what is oversold, and what the smallest useful version looks like. It starts by separating the four capacities that "exercise" runs together: cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility and balance. They adapt differently and protect against different things, and one of them is undertrained by almost everybody who exercises at all. Then how much, where the important finding is that the dose-response curve is steepest at the very start. Moving from doing nothing to doing a little is associated with a larger reduction in risk than moving from active to very active, which means the person with the most to gain from this course is the one who currently does nothing. The practical section covers strength training with no equipment, built on the six movement patterns that cover the body, with a twenty-minute circuit that meets the guideline. Then the behavioural half, which is the half that actually determines the outcome: why the ambitious plan fails at week three, why you should start well below your capacity, and how to restart without getting injured. It closes with a first month laid out week by week, and the fitness claims that are not true, from toning and spot reduction to the fat-burning zone and lactic acid. Read the first lesson before anything else. It says what this is, and when to see a doctor instead.

What you will learn

• Distinguish the four trainable capacities and identify which you are neglecting
• Interpret the activity guidelines, and know why the floor matters more than the ceiling
• Train strength with no equipment using the six movement patterns
• Apply progressive overload without doing so much that you quit
• Build a routine that survives low motivation, and restart one without getting injured
• Recognise the common fitness claims that do not hold up

Before you begin

• No background in biology or medicine needed
• Nothing to buy: no supplements, devices, apps, or subscriptions
• A willingness to change one thing at a time rather than everything at once