Our bodies and brains are meant for strength training. How do we know? Science shows us that by incorporating strength training on a regular basis into our activities, we increase cognitive function, emotional regulation, metabolism AND maintain bone density. That’s a lot of benefits! In addition to strength, Threes believes that having joints that move well before you pick up heavier weight is important for injury prevention. This is why we teach mobility alongside strength. Active mobility means activating muscle tissue so mobility training can feel a lot like strength training. You don’t have to have perfect mobility in order to strength train – both can be done together.

Strength training also increases our tissues tolerance to load. The term ‘load’ refers to how much force is being applied to an area of the body. For example, when you pick up a weight and lift your arm up over your head, you are loading the shoulder by adding external weight. Muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments ALL get stronger by adding load, and therefore when we get into situations where they COULD get injured (a fall, twisted ankle, or weird tweak), we recover instead of getting really hurt- thanks to our tissues’ strength and resilience.

If you are new to lifting weights, the key is to start with a weight that feels reasonable and challenging for you – a variety of weights is ideal since different weights/resistances are needed for different muscle groups. The ‘right’ weight to use for an exercise is one with which you can do the movements with calm and steady control, yet be fatigued by the last few reps/movements. The right weight is also the amount that calls your attention to the exercise. In other words, if you mentally check out during strength training, it could very well be a signal to increase the weight.

If you are in the process of creating habits around strength training, please keep this in mind: consistency is more effective than the length of your workout. Ten minutes twice a week will yield better results than 90 minutes every other week. Don’t worry if you don’t have time for a longer workout – just choose a few moves to do or take part of a class on the days where you’re short on time. Consistency is key.

About this program: 

Length of program: 4 weeks or more. Week 1 begins with 2 short informational classes, then each week includes: 3 classes for strength/mobility, plus 1 class for relaxation and stretching.

Types of classes:  Conditioning, Mobility, Physiyoga Strength, Physiyoga Flow, Stretching/Relaxation

Class Duration: Classes range between 8 and 40 minutes

Equipment and Space needs: Long resistance band, mini loop resistance band, light, medium, and heavy hand weights, yoga blocks, 1 blanket, 1 bolster or pillows, chair, wall, 1 quarter or nickel, 1 pen or pencil, release ball, yoga strap

Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate, classes move from Level 1 to Level 2

Instructor: Multiple 

Choose this if: You are new to strength training and want a gentle place to start with classes that are low impact and moderately paced. You have done some yoga before and are reasonably familiar with poses like downward dog, lunges, and plank pose (high push-up). You are looking for instruction and information around maintaining joint mobility in addition to strength.

Skip this if: You’ve had a lot of experience lifting weights, and/or you want high intensity faster movement. You don’t want much talking in class and you’d rather just get to it. For more complex movement classes, try out level 2 or 3 Strength classes or Full Body Strength + Stability Level 2/3 Program

How to use this program: 

Classes are numbered in the upper left corner of each thumbnail above. Classes 1 and 2 are to help you get started – think of these as precursors to the actual program. The first 3 classes of each week are strength and/or mobility based while the 4th class of each week is designed for stretching and relaxation. Feel free to do the stretching classes any time you want and as many times as you like – they don’t necessarily need to be the 4th class of each week.

• Week 1 classes: 1 and 2 can be done at any time. Begin program with 3, 4, 5, 6
• Week 2 classes: 7, 8, 9, 10
• Week 3 classes: 11, 12, 13, 14
• Week 4 classes: 15, 16, 17, 18

Though this program is listed as 4 weeks, you can absolutely repeat this program as long as you want until you feel ready to move on.

What’s next: Full Body Strength + Stability Level 2/3