This post will be a brief update on how Jim is getting on with his strength training program.

Recap

I have been seeing Jim since the end of October. He wanted to share his progress with you as he hopes to inspire others to take action and incorporate strength training into their lives.

Jim’s goal is to improve his running times, which took a knock following an illness and a prolonged period of recovery. He is looking to break 60 minutes for a 10km by the end of the 12-week program.

As a reminder, here is the video of the program Jim has been working on since his last session.

If you have not followed Jim’s story so far, take a look at the following links.

• Jim’s Story (Part 1)
• Check out Jim’s progress after just 3 weeks

What have we changed this time?

There was no need to add or change any of the exercises this time around. Given that the routine so far has not flared up any symptoms for Jim, it gives us the green light in starting to add more load to the movements.

The aim is now to use a higher load in order to reach failure at a lower repetition range, ideally between 3-5 reps. This will be more conducive to the muscles becoming stronger. For more information on reps and sets, read What are reps and sets?

Jim managed incredibly well in the session. He weighs 73kg and he was able to squat with 75kg, more than his body weight. We still used the box to limit how deep his squat was. Jim had previously experienced knee pain in deeper positions. However, that isn’t a reason not to load his squat in a comfortable range of movement.

We also added weight to the deadlift, increasing to 55kg. The single-arm shoulder press remained the same and the TRX rows were made more challenging by changing the starting position of his feet.

What’s next?

We will catch up again, 2 weeks on from this session, where we will continue to increase the weight of the movement patterns above as appropriate.

Jim will also start to work into a lower postion during the squat, so that his knees begin to tolerate that position with some load. Once we have increased his tolerance to load in a deep squat, we can increase the weight throughout the full range.

Equipment

Don’t like going to the gym and wanted to get some of this equipment for your own home gym? Click the pictures of the equipment below to find it all on Amazon.

This post was written by myself, Chris Tiley, a physiotherapist based out of Movement Therapy Clinics in Harborne, Birmingham. For more information on how I can help you visit christileyphysiotherapy.com