Do I Skip Leg Day? Abbie and I Get Into It

Alex: Welcome to Practically Fit — real fitness over forty. I'm Alex.

Abbie: And I'm Abbie.

Alex: And today we're going to talk about strength training.

Abbie: That's right. Today we're sharing from both of our perspectives — no experts, no studies, just our experiences with strength training over the years. We'll touch on how our approach has maybe changed or adapted over time, and share some of our favorite and least favorite exercises.

Alex: That's right. We'll even share our hottest takes on some questions that are bound to be controversial for those of you who enjoy lifting weights and building muscle.

Abbie: First, it's time for the warm-up.

Warm-Up

Alex: All right, time for the warm-up. Hey, the title of this segment really reminds me of a song from Kris Kross when I was growing up. Did they have Kris Kross in England?

Abbie: Yeah — I mean, we weren't some far-off nation without a network.

Alex: They were huge here. I didn't know if they made it over there with the backwards jeans, but they had this song that went, "Warm it up, Kris. I'm about to warm it up, Kris. That's what I was born to do."

Abbie: Oh my god, I cannot believe you're rapping.

Alex: I listened to it the other day on YouTube. It brought back some memories — I used to listen to that cassette tape. So when I was writing this episode this week, that's what popped into my mind.

Abbie: So did you talk to one of the kids about it? Because I got questioned about whether I had a Walkman or not.

Alex: I talked to one of the kids about running with a CD player that had anti-skip technology.

Abbie: Ah, yeah — I think that's why I got questioned about whether I had one of those.

Alex: The good old days. All right, let's kick it off with an article from CBS News. The headline is, "More Gen Z Adults Ditch Smartphones and Social Media in Growing Dumb Phone Trend."

Abbie: Kind of sounds rude calling it "dumb phones." I get what they're doing — the opposite of smartphones — but it does sound like typical startup branding.

Alex: Super clever — how did they come up with this concept? The article says, quote, "Some Gen Z users are swapping smartphones for simpler devices, citing less stress, better sleep, and improved focus." We're all smartphone users these days for the most part, and I could see those being some benefits of changing. The article talks about Kendall Schrode, who remembers the moment she swapped her smartphone for a flip phone. She says, quote, "For me, the second that my iPhone was gone, it was just heaven on earth." She could have just gotten rid of it so she doesn't have to have it.

Abbie: It's not obligatory.

Alex: Well, she got a dumb phone from a company called Dumb.co. They sell devices that aren't smartphones, yet they still have Uber, Google Maps, and Spotify — they just don't have social media. I feel like if it has Spotify or Uber on it, it's still kind of a smartphone, right? Like, how many apps can you load onto this thing? I guess the idea is no social media. This company has more than 5,000 active users, and their typical customer is a 24-year-old woman. So let's talk about what Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician and professor at the University of California, San Francisco who studies social media's effects on young people, had to say about this dumb phone trend. He said, quote, "In teenagers and even in adults, the features of the design can lead to symptoms similar to substance-related addictions, which can include impaired control, withdrawal, tolerance, and relapse."

Abbie: I get it — there are a lot of emerging studies, or even studies that have been around for a while, about the impact of social media and constant phone usage and addiction. But I also don't think you need to go to a store called Dumb.co to do this for yourself.

Alex: Yeah. Well, if you commit to a dumb phone and stick with it, according to this article from CBS News, you'll sleep better, have less anxiety, and less stress. Or you could just not do social media.

Abbie: Yeah, or you could just put your smartphone to one side at 8 p.m. at night. You have control over this — the device isn't controlling you.

Alex: Yeah, I think the social media thing is interesting. To me it's like, why get rid of your super expensive iPhone that you already paid for when you could just delete the apps? I guess people are so addicted that maybe this is the solution. Do you think they keep the iPhone in the attic like a siren call, and one night they wake up at 3 a.m., go grab it, and relapse? This is fascinating to me. It reminds me of that story we talked about a few weeks ago, where younger generations were going "analog" — with the analog backpack. They'd say, "I'm doing some non-digital hobby, like knitting, and I put it in my backpack and take it with me." Some people were even creating analog rooms in their house. We've got an analog room — a room with a record player and a couch.

Abbie: All rooms are analog. And lights. It's only analog if you put things in them.

Alex: So basically, a room without a TV is analog?

Abbie: I mean, I don't need a TV. I'm good with that one.

Alex: All right, let's go to our next article. It comes from Runner's World, and it's called "Here's What Happens to Your Body and Mind When You Make Running a Daily Habit, According to Experts."

Abbie: I'm guessing this is positive, given it's an article about running frequently in Runner's World.

Alex: Yeah — I gravitated toward this article because we both just got off our run streak. We talked about it last week. The article covers numerous benefits of running daily: better heart health, stronger muscles, more resilient tendons and ligaments, a more efficient nervous system, a sharper mind, and better body awareness. Those are, I think, some of the things we saw on our run streak. But there were a couple things that stood out to me. They quote a heart expert, Todd Buckingham, a professor of exercise science, who explains why your heart rate improves on runs in general if you run every day. It comes down to your heart's left ventricle — the chamber that forces oxygenated blood into your aorta, which carries blood across your body. As you run every day, that chamber actually increases in size. There's more space for blood, and it becomes stronger, so it can pump out more blood with each beat and your heart doesn't have to work as hard. That's really why you see better heart health and lower heart rates if you run every day. I thought that was fascinating — it's the physiological explanation for the data I saw on my run streak.

Abbie: Yeah, but that's only really looking at one aspect. Nobody's ever argued that running isn't great for cardiovascular health, but there's the opposite side — the impact of repetitive running on your muscles and your overall system.

Alex: Yeah, they talked about that too, and about how it can bring you better body awareness because you become more in tune with your body and your fatigue levels. With daily running, they cited some signs that you might need a break: low energy, a higher resting heart rate during the day and night, and slower run paces. Those are indications you might be doing too many miles. And they say don't push through pain just to maintain a daily habit.

Abbie: Yeah, that's good advice. I think sometimes people get locked into these things and keep running even when they're feeling pain, and that's never a good idea.

Alex: Yeah, the reason I stopped was low energy. Sitting on that plane on the way to New York, I thought, I don't think I need to run this week — I'm exhausted. So good advice from Runner's World: if you're doing a lot of running, listen to your body. Next up is another running publication — not Runner's World this time, but Running Week.

Abbie: Yeah, and I found this article really interesting, because if you're a woman over 40, you've probably seen numerous videos or pieces of advice about moving away from cardio and toward lifting. I've seen that a lot in different places — that standard advice of "run less and lift more." But this article actually argued that you don't need to reduce your running as much as is being touted — lift more, but keep running the way you are. It looks at the decline in estrogen and hormone balance women experience through perimenopause and menopause. Estrogen is so important because it protects bone density, supports muscle repair, and helps oxidize fat — all really important if you're going to be running. What the article said is you can still run, but make some minor modifications: keep your long run and your quality run — like a tempo or interval run — and then swap one of your easy runs for a hard strength training session, and add another hard strength training session on top of that. So you're looking at two hard strength sessions alongside a long run, a quality run, and an easy run. I thought that was fascinating, because you see a lot of much more binary advice — "stop doing cardio, start lifting." And if you're anything like me, I don't want to stop doing cardio. I don't do it just to lose weight or to check a box — I do it because I like it, and because it's good for me both physically and mentally. It also talked about fueling alongside that, which tied into something you were talking about last week, Alex — protein and creatine.

Alex: Oh, right — yeah. It touched on the importance of protein, saying you need at least 1.6 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight, spread throughout the day. This was clearly a European or UK-based article, so I converted it to pounds if you're curious. If you weigh 130 pounds, that's 95 to 118 grams of protein per day. At 150 pounds, it's 109 to 136 grams per day. At 180 pounds, it's 131 to 163 grams per day — so roughly the majority of your body weight, in grams, per day. And you mentioned creatine as well, being helpful for women moving into menopause. Really interesting article — if you want to read it, it's titled "The Training Change Every Woman Runner Over 45 Is Getting Wrong."

Alex: Last one — I read this in the paper this morning. It's by a Wall Street Journal columnist named Jamie Waters — yes, I read this on an actual physical newspaper this morning, very "analog" of me. The piece is called "I Traded Coffee for Energy Drinks and Nearly Lost My Mind." I'm fascinated by people who drink a lot of energy drinks — I did, some, when I was younger. Abbie, did you ever dabble with energy drinks?

Abbie: Not very often. I might have had a Red Bull once or twice. But like I said on the last episode, I don't do a lot of caffeine — I drink tea — so I don't love the impact of them.

Alex: Yeah, I drank energy drinks when I was younger. I actually started because of a close call I had driving in the morning — I had a long commute in Dallas traffic, got really close to rear-ending someone, and felt like I was falling asleep at the wheel. I started trying Red Bull, and I'd also get these drinks from Costco — organic energy drinks called Sambazon, in this giant case because it was Costco. Since it was organic, I figured that was better than Red Bull. But after drinking a lot of those, I felt like they were having a negative effect on me — giving me an irregular heartbeat and stuff like that. That's when I switched to coffee. I didn't start drinking coffee until my late twenties, but I made the switch because I didn't think energy drinks were very good for me. This columnist, Jamie Waters, wanted to see what it would be like to drink these daily. He lives in New York and has seen a lot of fitness folks drinking them, especially Celsius, which is super popular right now. I love this quote from the beginning of the article: "I have such a high caffeine tolerance," he announced to his partner as he cracked open a can of Celsius. "These probably won't really affect me." He mentioned he's Australian, and apparently — did you know this? — Australians drink a lot of coffee. He talked about drinking a lot of lattes throughout the day. But I also love this quote from Natalie Bochi, a publicist in New York. She says a Celsius is, quote, "a productivity symbol in my eyes. I'll have a can and I'll get the job done."

Abbie: That reminds me of college — people drinking Red Bull to pull an all-nighter.

Alex: Or even the '80s and early '90s, with Diet Coke in the financial world — you had to drink Diet Coke. Apparently, sales of energy drinks have risen 42% in the latest data from 2025 compared to 2021. People are drinking a lot of these. The author found that by midweek, he had nearly, quote, "lost his mind." It's no wonder, given how much caffeine is in a can of Celsius — or even, I guess, in Alani Nu, which they may also own.

Abbie: Oh, that's really trendy right now.

Alex: Yeah. Guess how much caffeine's in one of those?

Abbie: No idea.

Alex: 200 milligrams in one can — a little less than two Red Bulls, or about five Diet Cokes, and roughly 50 to 80 milligrams more than a latte. There's even a label on the cans that says not to drink more than two per day, which lines up with the general guidance that 400 milligrams of caffeine is considered safe. But this doctor, Rika Kumar, who's quoted in the article, says, "We have 50 years of safety data on coffee. We have excellent marketing data on Celsius."

Abbie: Yeah. And it's not just the caffeine, right? Because if you drink coffee — especially black, like my parents always did — that's all you're drinking. There's nothing else in there.

Alex: Right. I put a splash of almond milk in my cold brew. But these energy drinks don't have sugar — they have sucralose, the artificial sweetener, which is 600 times sweeter than table sugar. There are new federal guidelines recommending limiting intake of these sweeteners, but then we also approve all these foods that have them. The government's approach is interesting to me — on one hand we're told this stuff is really bad for you, but on the other hand it's not really regulated. I'm not necessarily saying it should or shouldn't be, but how many people are actually paying attention to government guidance on sucralose? They're not going to read the FDA's website. They'll go to the store, see a product on the shelf, and assume it's generally safe. But sucralose has been linked to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A Celsius spokesperson said sucralose has been determined safe for its intended uses by the FDA — and they're not wrong, even though federal guidelines suggest limiting it. So you see my point — it's confusing for the consumer. Really great article if you get a chance to read it. The author noted that while he lost his mind, the drinks did give him a kick of energy, though it came with a headache and even slightly sore teeth — not sure if that was the sweetener or something else. He had one before a run and said it gave him an energy kick, though I'd be curious what his heart rate data looked like compared to a normal run. But my favorite passage, and we'll close out with this: quote, "One afternoon, halfway through the week, I realized why people get hooked on these. After crushing two Celsiuses in four hours, I reached a state that could be called euphoric. I had no idea what flavor the Cosmic Vibe one was evoking beyond, quote, 'red, very sweet,' but by the time I'd finished it, I couldn't have cared less. I was on the moon. I sat through a pitch meeting. I wasn't exactly jittery, but I was able to open my eyes extra wide. I swear my hair got bigger too, but that may have been a coincidence." So, I guess if you have a big pitch meeting or presentation, try a Celsius? Do you think I should try that before my next talk?

Abbie: No. No, you do not need that. Even when you came home the other day having had an afternoon espresso, I could tell. So let's not add more caffeine to the mix.

Alex: All right, I'll take that under advisement. We'll let you know if Alex ever tries a Celsius.

Strength Training: Then vs. Now

Abbie: Okay — well, let's move on to strength training, the topic of today's episode. We wanted to talk about strength training now versus when we were younger, and how our approach has changed or adapted. What's shifted in your strength training over the years, Alex?

Alex: Oh, that's a great question. A lot has changed for me. I did a little in middle school and high school for basketball, but honestly we were more focused on getting out of the strength training — even faking our logs at the time. That was my first introduction to it.

Abbie: You had to keep an "analog" log.

Alex: Yeah, we had to keep a paper log and turn it in. Sometimes we'd write fake numbers on there, and then we'd have to do an actual max test — and it was very clear we couldn't lift the amount we'd written down. Not the smartest move as a teenager. Over time, I learned how to lift weights from a buddy in college, and my orientation was what you'd see in men's magazines or bodybuilding magazines at the time — very standard workouts popular in the 1990s and 2000s, where you'd divide your body parts throughout the week. Chest day, and you'd do a bunch of chest-focused exercises.

Abbie: Well, that's still pretty common, right? People like that standard.

Alex: Yeah, more like bodybuilding workouts. I'd say a lot of the fitness industry has moved away from that, toward more total-body or compound movements in recent years. For me, I think strength training is absolutely vital, but I'm also aware of the impact it's had on my body — I've had injuries over the years from lifting really heavy. I hurt myself deadlifting once — hurt my groin and lower back. So now I'm more careful with it. My mentality isn't "go lift the most weight possible" anymore. Lately I've gotten really into calisthenics — I love the challenge of using your own body weight to get stronger and work toward more advanced movements. I've moved toward that in recent years. What about you? How do you feel about strength training compared to your 20s, 30s, and even your 40s?

Abbie: What I have consistently done, and always go back to, is yoga — which involves a lot of body weight work, especially in the more challenging poses, so it's similar to calisthenics in that way. I've practiced yoga since my early twenties, and it's been a constant that's supported both my flexibility and strength. But I've only really picked up weight training in the last few years.

Alex: Yeah, and I think for me, the thing I love about calisthenics is that it really helps with your joints and connective tissue. Compound movements do that too — like compound barbell training — better than, say, weight machines. But that's one of the reasons I'm a big fan of calisthenics. Do you think there are any mistakes you've made as you've learned more about strength training in recent years? Anything you'd go back and change?

Abbie: I think the mistake would be not starting it earlier. That's the only thing I can think of.

Alex: Yeah, I think for me, maybe the biggest mistake was focusing too much on certain vanity exercises. I think you tend to do that when you're younger. Guess what the most popular vanity exercise is for men, in my opinion?

Abbie: I don't know — bicep curls?

Alex: Oh, that's a good one. I was thinking bench press, though. It's a compound movement, but guys love to talk about their bench press — "how much can you bench" was the question when I was a kid, not "how much can you squat or deadlift." Aldus says that all the time. I felt like I wasn't very good at benching and was pretty weak when I was younger, so I always tried to avoid that conversation — which meant when I started lifting, I focused a lot on bench pressing. Now I do a lot more push-up variations, which hit the same muscles, but bench press is one I don't do as much anymore, especially since I switched to calisthenics. Is there anything you were doing a couple of years ago that you're not doing now? How has it changed for you?

Abbie: I don't think there's anything I've moved away from — there are just things I can't do, or don't enjoy. The other day I was in the garage with our eldest, and he said, "Do a pull-up," and I said, "I just can't — I don't have the upper body strength." He loves doing pull-ups. So it's not that I've abandoned it, it's that there are other things I'd rather do than something I don't have the strength or build for.

Alex: That's actually one where, while I was over there doing all those bench presses, I never did pull-ups. At some point I looked at it and thought, I should be able to do that. Back then we did a lot of weight machines — lat pulldowns and things like that, very '90s and early-2000s. At some point I told myself, I'm going to train myself into a pull-up. I had a pull-up bar in the garage, and nobody was around to see that I couldn't do it. You start by jumping up to the bar and doing negative reps, lowering yourself down slowly. You do Australian pull-ups, parallel to the floor, pulling yourself up on a bar. Eventually I remember doing my first real pull-up, and once I did that, I could just do more and more. One of my favorite exercises.

Abbie: What about something you do now that you didn't do before?

Alex: Again, I'd go back to restraining myself and being smarter about it.

Abbie: That's not an exercise — that's just a state of mind.

Alex: No, but it's part of it, right? You have to be really careful, especially as you age. If you keep the mentality you had in your 20s and 30s once you move into your 40s and 50s, it can be risky. My thing used to be trying to beat my PR every week on these lifts, which is how I hurt myself deadlifting — I just kept pushing and pushing, and one day I did a rep at a heavier weight and felt my back go. So I know it's not a specific exercise, but just the approach of being safer has been really important for me — which leads to another discussion. Let's talk about how much weight you're lifting, or how hard you're going. Abbie, do you think people over 40 — women, specifically — are lifting heavy enough?

Abbie: I think it's super confusing, because people just tell you to "lift heavy," and you're like, what does that actually mean? Without more specific guidance, you don't know. I think it's very personal and relative, and there's also an element of enjoying pushing yourself to lift heavier. The way I've looked at it is: if I'm doing ten reps and the last three feel hard, I'm probably lifting about right. If I get to the end of ten or twelve reps and it feels easy, like I could go again right away, I'm probably not lifting heavy enough.

Alex: Yeah, and as a guy, I always associate "lifting heavy" with barbells specifically, so that factors into it too. I think it's good for women to try barbells, but you also want to be careful, because you could accidentally start with too heavy a load. For folks just getting into barbells at our age, make sure you have somebody around to help you if you're going to try that. The good thing about dumbbells is you can start lighter, have better control over the weight, and it flows more naturally with your body's movement.

Abbie: Yeah, but the other thing — and this is where it's good to go to a gym if you're starting out — is having access to different weights. When I first started, I just had one set of dumbbells. But what I've come to realize, like everyone, is that my lower body is a lot stronger than my upper body, so I need much heavier dumbbells for lower-body work than for upper-body work. I think it's really helpful to go to a gym and also to have a friend or personal trainer — someone with more experience — give you some guidance and tips. That's invaluable.

Alex: Yeah — start light, focus on your form, then build up. What's "heavy" is relative, right?

Abbie: Right, but what I meant is you shouldn't be using the same dumbbells for, say, a bicep curl or an overhead press as you would for a deadlift.

Alex: Right, right — like a shoulder press or something. The other thing is there used to be this trend of "toning" exercises, which I think was very gendered back in the day. A lot of the women's workouts when I was growing up focused on toning — lighter dumbbells, simplified movements, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, that kind of thing. Now I think there's a lot more advice for women to do similar workouts to what men have typically done.

Abbie: Yeah, I think so too. But also, I think everything's valid, right? Pilates, toning workouts, yoga — they're all still really good. Sometimes it feels like there's so much out there that it can be overwhelming and a little confusing, and the risk is that you end up doing nothing. So I also think that whatever you're doing — yes, they say you should lift heavier if you can, you should build strength — but also, just do something. That's good for you. That's part of my approach, because the idea of going to the gym for two hours felt overwhelming to me, but doing fifteen minutes at home feels very doable. Fitting it into your lifestyle, whatever that looks like, is a positive — you're still moving your body.

Alex: Yeah — and by the way, I've heard Pilates is really hard.

Abbie: It is really hard.

Alex: What do you think is the biggest obstacle to maintaining consistency with strength training?

Abbie: Like I said, I think it's just — don't make it into this big thing. Even if you're only doing ten or fifteen minutes, it's a bit like the run streak, right? In my head, when I was younger, if I didn't run four miles it wasn't worth going for a run — that's genuinely how I thought, not trying to be obnoxious about it. Even recently, if I went out for a run it would normally be about three miles. But during the run streak there were days I was just running a mile. I think it's the same with strength training — it doesn't have to be a 45-minute or hour-and-a-half session. Great if you can do that, but it's also great if you can just fit in fifteen minutes. You're still working your muscles. If that makes it an easier bar to fit into your week — say, three fifteen- or thirty-minute sessions — that feels doable and fits around your day. I think the biggest obstacle is when you turn it into this big thing you have to carve out all this time for. And like that earlier article said — if you're adding it into your running, just drop one run a week and replace it with a strength session, so it doesn't feel like you're overcompromising.

Alex: Yeah, I agree. With calisthenics, I've only been doing three 30-minute sessions a week. The movements are so challenging — that's one of the amazing things about it to me. I feel like I've stayed in great shape without these grueling hour-long sessions. I also laugh at influencers who say, "You don't feel good today? Doesn't matter, get in the gym, get your session done." I don't think that's the best mindset. I'd prioritize quality over quantity — if you're not feeling well, or feeling down, just do what you can that day and keep it simple.

Abbie: I agree. And I think the other thing is, it doesn't have to be complicated — if you find a routine you like, stick with it. I had one last year that I just did on repeat, and it might seem boring, but it's actually good, because you can see how you're progressing and building. So find a set of exercises you like and stick to them. Nobody's telling me what to do — I pick the ones I enjoy, and make sure there's a good balance across a full-body workout. If you enjoy the exercise, you'll look forward to it. I love the Arnold press — that's one of my favorites — so I'll often do that, or tricep dips, or chest press, or chest fly. Build in things you like, because then you'll look forward to it. A few years ago — not strength training — I did one of those three-week "beach body" programs, and I hated it. You puff your way through it, and sometimes there's satisfaction in just finishing, but for something like strength training, you have to find the things you enjoy and build those in. That's what makes you consistent.

Alex: Yeah, absolutely. I think the other challenge for me is balancing it with my cardio plan. It's surprising, but lately I've noticed I used to bias more toward strength training when I was younger, and now I bias more toward cardio. I've just accepted that I probably prioritize my running slightly over my strength training right now, and some weeks I'll only do two sessions instead of three or four — and that's okay. You just have to find the balance. How have you been approaching that lately?

Abbie: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. I'm trying to do a minimum of two strength sessions a week. But like you said, there have been times in the past where I did a lot more yoga, or other things — it depends on where your focus is, and your focus can't be everywhere. You can't be doing five strength sessions plus seven days of running — that's just too much. So if there's a period where I'm training for a race, or want to improve my 5K time, I'll probably scale back my strength training and think about what kind of strength training I actually need. That's been something I've focused on — what are good strength moves for runners. Lots of bilateral movements, things that strengthen the muscle groups you use while running. I've been focusing on split squats, deadlifts, bridges — those kinds of things that really strengthen the muscles you're using.

Alex: Well, let's come back to that in a second. The other thing I'd say about balancing these is — if you're running more during the week, on a day with an easy run, you can also do strength training that day.

Abbie: Especially upper body, for example.

Alex: Right — or you'll run in the morning and do strength training in the evening. So the balance can definitely be there, and you can even do both in the same day. Now, I wouldn't do a hard tempo run or a hard track workout and then do leg-focused strength training on the same day.

Abbie: That's a good point, actually — you asked earlier about a mistake I made. When I was training for a half marathon, I had a practice half marathon in that training cycle, and I'd done a full-body workout on, I think, the Wednesday or Thursday before a Saturday race. When I went into that race, I felt sluggish, and I realized that probably wasn't a good idea so close to race day. So if you've got a long run coming up, you want to protect it and not do a hard strength workout right before. Positioning it right in the week, like you said, Alex.

Alex: Yeah — even during that run streak, I was working on building up to pistol squats, which is very challenging for me. For those who don't know, that's basically a one-legged squat — really good for your balance, but very hard on your joints. I was doing that while also trying to run every day, and I ended up with tendonitis in the front of my legs, so I had to cut out the pistol squats. So if you're doing a lot of activities that use the same muscle group, you have to factor that into your strength training too. I wanted to go back to something you said, though — you talked about doing strength exercises that make you better at running. Do you think strength training has made you better at running, or at daily life and other activities?

Abbie: A hundred percent. And the same goes for yoga — I think they're complementary. Yoga is really good for stretching and flexibility. I used to be a horse rider, and yoga really helped with that. I think these things really do complement one another. When I was marathon training at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I started having a real niggle in my knee, and I realized I wasn't doing any strength training at the time — I'd come back from neck surgery and had been slow to reintroduce it. Once I added it back in and built back up, I really saw the difference those movements made in supporting my running.

Alex: Yeah, I agree — and you feel it in daily life too. I remember the difference I felt when I started working out, especially when I was younger. Things like people handing me jars to open, or carrying all the grocery bags easily, or climbing stairs — things that used to feel heavy just don't anymore. To me, that's one of the real psychological benefits of strength training.

Hot Takes

Alex: Let's talk hot takes — controversial strength training topics. Question one: home workout or gym? Which do you prefer, and why? Take a position, Abbie.

Abbie: I was going to say I like both, for different reasons.

Alex: No, you have to pick one — it's a hot take.

Abbie: Okay, right now — gym. We joined the local rec center, and I like the range of equipment there that we just wouldn't have at home. I've also found it helpful to do certain exercises in front of the gym mirror, since we don't have that at home — it helps me see if my form is off. And it's a very easygoing gym, not full of gym bros, so I don't feel out of place. A city rec center is a lot different from a hardcore gym — I feel pretty comfortable there. So, gym, for me, right now.

Alex: You know what I'm going to say — home workout. I don't like people. No, seriously — there are a lot of teenagers at the gym who leave weights out and stuff, though the one we go to is pretty good about it. But I do like home workouts because, if you're like me and you plan your workouts rather than just floating through them, at the gym you often run into someone using the equipment you need, or there's not enough of a particular thing you want to use, and it throws off your whole workout. I like the freedom of working out at home. I also enjoy buying home workout equipment — which I did today, actually. Surprise coming in the mail, Abbie. I ordered it to the right house this time, so that's good.

Alex: Let's take another controversial topic. With all the fitness media out there now — YouTube, fitness apps, we've talked about Runna and Garmin before, AI, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, whatever, we don't need to advertise every AI app, I'm just listing them — are personal trainers worth it?

Abbie: I think they are, if you're starting out. Whether it's strength training, learning to ride a horse, or learning to do anything, it's worth having somebody with expertise guide you. There are great workouts on YouTube, but there's no feedback — you have no idea if your form is off, and you could end up hurting yourself. So yes, I think it's worth it if you're starting out with no experience.

Alex: Yeah, I can't responsibly disagree with that. I agree with you — if you're new to working out, it's always good to consult somebody. I know personal trainers can be expensive, but there are more accessible options, like at a rec center, where it's cheaper.

Abbie: Yeah, I saw the personal trainer flyer at ours, and it was pretty reasonable for a one-off session.

Alex: Yeah, often if you sign up for a gym membership they'll give you a free session, just to show you the form — because it's really hard to watch a YouTube video and replicate everything exactly. So I agree, a hundred percent, personal trainers are worth it and important, and AI and everything else can't fully replace that. Okay, next one: if you could do only one strength exercise for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Abbie: You should answer first this time — I've gone first on the last two hot takes.

Alex: I have to say pull-ups. There's just something about pulling yourself over that bar — it gives you confidence, makes you feel strong. It's a great overall upper-body exercise. And I think some things we do because they make us strong, but they're also good for how we look — pull-ups help you get that V-shaped upper body. So yeah, pull-ups for me. What about you?

Abbie: I think squats, because there are so many different varieties you can do, and I think they're really good for longevity. If you just think about wanting to be able to get up and sit down when you're older, that's basically what a squat is training you to do.

Alex: Yeah. What about this one — is there a useless exercise you've done religiously? Something that's almost useless?

Abbie: I haven't done strength training long enough to know what I'd put in that category.

Alex: I don't know that I'd call it useless, but I'd flag bicep curls — the one you mentioned.

Abbie: You loved that. When I first met you, you used to love doing bicep curls — we've still got so many dumbbells lying around the house because of it.

Alex: But I wasn't just doing them for bicep curls — I did a lot of them after I broke my leg, because there were only so many exercises I could do. I just believe you can build your biceps through other things, like pull-ups and chin-ups and compound movements — that's maybe why I'd flag curls as more useless. Some people take it to the extreme, and I've even seen people inject steroids directly into their biceps. Calf raises would be another one I might have called useless, but I actually think they're really good for mobility. When I was younger, people viewed calf raises as a purely aesthetic exercise, but I don't think that's true at all — they're good for your ankles, tendons, and joints.

Abbie: I mean, generally every exercise is doing something, right? There's nothing that's completely useless. Even just lying on the floor relaxing at the end is part of what you should do. So — lastly, Alex, would you skip leg day?

Alex: Oh, you're asking the classic meme question about skipping leg day. Lately I haven't been great about it, because I've been running so much, and honestly I'd rather do a hill workout than a leg day. I don't enjoy squats, to be honest.

Abbie: Coming from the man who did non-stop squats when I first met you.

Alex: That doesn't mean I liked it. You know why I did that? Because I hated it so much that I actually did a program at one point — there was a book about it — based on squatting every day, this idea of "greasing the groove." Honestly, it wasn't as bad as doing squats once or twice a week, because my legs never got that sore — you spread out the volume. But it's still not my favorite workout. So there are times I might skip leg day, especially since I do so much running, and I feel like the running contributes to my legs anyway. Running uphill is great for your legs. Yes — you caught me. I occasionally skip leg day.

Wrap-Up

Alex: There you go — nice discussion on strength training. We shared some of our hot takes with you. It's really important to make sure you're working strength training in as you age. There's a lot of great research and information out there, but we wanted to share our own experiences with it. I've been doing it since I was younger, Abbie's picked it up more recently, but it's important for both of us on a weekly basis. That wraps up today's episode. As always, if you enjoyed this episode and the conversation about strength training, please share it with your family and friends, and leave us a review or comment.

And if you've got a story to share about your own strength training journey, send it over — you can reach us at alex@practically.fit. Abbie, what's our next episode going to be about?

Abbie: We're going to talk about sleep, and its relationship to health and fitness.

Alex: I'm looking forward to this — we're pretty obsessive about our sleep scores.

Abbie: Some of us are very obsessive about sleep environments too.

Alex: Yeah, the first thing you text me every morning when I get to work is your sleep score.

Abbie: I do not text that every day — that's such a lie.

Alex: We'll talk more about that.

Abbie: He's just feeling sore because he doesn't generally get a higher sleep score than me.

Alex: Yeah, yeah — we'll talk more about it next week. You can definitely be competitive about your sleep score. So stay tuned for that. Until then — remember, when it comes to fitness, you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be practical. We'll see you on the next one.