Skip the Gym for Mobile Strength

Photo: tanais, Flickr

You have approval to skip the weight room, but not the workout. Those isolating moves on weight machines and benches are building asymmetrical strength -- a perfect set-up for future injury. You need to be building mobile strength. Outside Magazine's Marc Peruzzi would know, a lifting regimen in his 20s left him vulnerable to several injuries sustained during full-body outdoor athletic endeavors. He blames the military press for a shoulder injury while skiing, the bench press for a herniated disc and the seated leg press for a blown ACL simply carving soft powder.

Peruzzi shares that one professional hockey trainer in Canada noticed rookie skaters off the farm were exploding with whole-body strength compared to seasoned pros relying on machine-circuit workouts. And a 2008 study agrees. It looked at strength related to fixed range machines versus free-form weight cables. After 16 weeks, the free-form group's strength and balance increased 115 percent and 245 percent respectively, compared with 57 percent and 49 percent for the fixed lifters.

What outdoor athletes really need is mobile strength, which is training for power across real-world movements for flexible, strong muscles in tune with the rest of the body. Outside Magazine's 10-exercise mobile strength workout can kick-off your farm-boy or girl physique. Mix-in all 10, including Donkey Kicks for the lower bod, Push-ups Plus for upper-body and the Kick, Slide, Punch for torso/balance. They'll also guide you on all the mobile-strength training equipment you'll need, for around $250-$300.

Here are a few additional tips to get that home gym for cheap.