Hi everyone!
Hope you all had amazing New Year celebrations! Mine was a good one – and I survived without a hangover – whoohoo!
As promised, and as a follow-up to “Myomytv’s Top 10 Conditioning Workouts of 2011“, here are my Top 10 Strength Workouts from 2011. Many of you have no other choice but to train at home and I think it is highly possible to build real strength with a few pieces of equipment and a good understanding of what is required to progress. With good form and progressive overload in just a few basic exercises, you can feel and look stronger and more confident than ever!
Strength is Beautiful after all!
Not all of these are purely strength workouts, but they sure involve a lot to get through them!
Number 10
“Beautiful Strength – Emma Challenged Me” – this was a great strength-based workout that was designed by Emma for the “Challenge Me Series”. This illustrates how serious you (my amazing readers) are to train for strength and performance. I was so pleased with all the workout designs I got at that time and I am thrilled that many of you continue to “follow” my workouts and leave your comments 🙂
Number 9
Next is a little insight into what I do in the Gym. “Sumo Deadlift, Chin Ups and One-Arm Push Ups” comes in at number 9. I look at this and see the improvements in my form and a change in my focus. BUT, I still have not managed that One-Arm Push Up on my left side 🙁
Number 8
A great workout, “Strength to Strength” also illustrates just how much my form has improved!
Number 7
“Spartacus Eat Your Heart Out” is an other workout that really shows my journey! I especially notice the improved hip hinge in my Single leg Deadlifts and my improved range of movement in the Single-Leg Hip Thrusts. But, I would not have got to where I am today without these old workouts. While my form is not as strong, the workout is a great design!
Number 6
“Beauty in the Barbell” was a great example of how you can combine strength and conditioning in the gym, or of you have a Barbell at home. This workout marked when my focus really returned to the Barbell training – after my first trip to the USA.
Number 5
“Back to the Barbell” is another example of S&C with a variety of resistance tools. I love my KBs and I love the BB, so here I use a bit of everything to get more bang for my buck. This was great workout!
Number 4
Going on holiday can prove challenging when it comes to your training. So “Holiday Body Weight Workout” was a great example of how to create a strength-based (and conditioning) challenge with whatever is available.
Number 3
“Testing Times – Full Body Strength Workout” is exactly what is says! Loved this one!
Number 2
Because of the shear amount of thought that went into this design, “Respect Your Strength” had to be number 2! This really was a rest of strength. A keeper for sure!
NUMBER 1 (tied)
This was a close call; so close in fact that I couldn’t pick between them! I chose these recent additions because they both show just how strong my form has become over the last year. It also illustrates how much I have learned over the course of 2011. So “Home Strength Workout” and “Sweat-Marks Rock” win the top spot!
For everyone who remembers these workouts from the first time around, I am sure you too have gotten stronger in every way! Anyone who is new to the site, these are great workouts from my archives, but the choice is endless. It should give you a few ideas though to get you started. If you are a beginner, then you will find some suggestions in the “Beginner’s Corner”.
Looking forward to what 2012 will bring! 🙂
Cheers
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
Happy New Year! Thanks for the mention. This put a smile on my face on a dreary Tuesday morning and my first day back at work after Xmas. Thanks for all you do and continuing to provide so much inspiration for my strength training. Here’s to getting even stronger in 2012 and bashing out a few more one arm push ups! 🙂