Philip Maffetone - Get Strong

Edited by Hal Walter

2020 Phil Maffetone

The guidelines put forth in this book should only be used as a referenceand only used in the context of standard medical care with your physician.

I'vealways been very active. There was a point in my life that on anygiven day I might do any or any combination of thefollowing activities: Hiking all of the tallest peaks in NewHampshire (all 48 of them year-round), surfing, rock climbing, iceclimbing, running, biking, and CrossFit five days a week. And I didit all on just four hours of sleep nightly! But this was notsustainable. After having injury upon injury for most of my youngadult life, I did some self-reflection and realized there had to be abetter way to stay active and fit without being in pain or having tomodify my program because I was injured.

Mylife changed dramatically when I found the perfect balance of lessis better paired with smart strength training, as explained inthis book.

Wemodern humans live such stressful lives. We have busy work and familyschedules. Many commute through hectic traffic to our jobs, where wespend a lot of time sitting. Too often we eat poorly and then wedont get enough sleep. On top of all this we add anotherstress our workout program. Often this is accompanied byadditional stress going to the gym, where our workout justadds to the load. The body cannot differentiate between good and badstress. It can only quantify the amount. Most people have too much ofit, and it is difficult to improve your strength under suchconditions.

Thisbook takes the stress out of strength training by reducing thenonsense we so often associate with working out. In fact, you donthave to change clothes, travel anywhere, join a gym or even spendthat much time to get stronger.

Usingthis approach, my body composition has changed significantly. Iveeclipsed some of my previous records, and most importantly nomore injuries! All of these benefits were accomplished bydoing one movement over the course of the day, amounting to moretotal reps than what one could do in a typical workout session. Thefirst day I incorporated this program, I did five easy reps in eachset, which only took a moment. When I added up my daily total, Ithought for sure I was going to be sore the next day. To myamazement, I wasnt sore and was ready to do it all over againthe next day.

Ifeel amazing with this approach, with more defined muscles andstronger than ever. I have more time to do other things and I'm lessstressed because I'm not trying to find a spot in my day to cram in atraditional workout.

Whetheryou are an athlete or you want to age without becoming fragile,muscle and bone strength are extremely important loss of bothare large contributors to mortality and morbidity.

Dr.Phil Maffetone gives you everything you need in this book to help youbecome stronger and healthier with minimal time and minimal risk ofinjury. It does not matter what your fitness level is, or how old youare. Anyone can reap benefits from this program at home or in theiroffice with minimum equipment.

Everyonehas excuses before committing to a lifestyle change. With thisprogram there are NO excuses. Just get strong!

Kate Ouellette-Cretsinger

Certified MAF Health & Fitness Coach

Owner K8 4 Wellness

Ourancestors were physically active with strong muscles and bones.Today, most people on earth are no longer naturally active, orstrong. Most of us cant return to nature, so the next bestthing is strength training that produces very similar natural muscleand bone strength. This is much easier than you think. In fact, justpicking up a weight, standing and holding it, then placing it backdown begins the process of getting stronger throughout the body. Thissimple approach, along with other strengthening options, if you wantthem, is what this book is about.

AsI write this, my muscles and bones are getting stronger. Thatsbecause Im strength training. In between sentences orparagraphs, while pacing around the room thinking about the nexttopic, or waiting for the espresso machine, Im getting in aworkout. It may not resemble one most people recognize, but thissimple, quick, and easy routine is more than powerful enough to notonly develop stronger muscles andbones, but also benefitsthe ligaments, tendons, fascia, cartilage, joints and other bodystructures.

Moreover,a single movement will accomplish this task.

Afterpushing the button on the espresso maker, I go to the corner of myoffice and lift a barbell chest-high, and perform an easy squat,going down only as far as my body is willing to go at that moment. Imay do five more squats, and after placing the weight back down, I gograb my espresso and get back to writing. I may lift later on my wayto get a glass of water, or between phone calls. By the end of atypical day or week the amount of strength training may have exceededthat done by most people who go to the gym for their traditionaltwo-to threeper-week sessions. Andunlike most of those gym workouts, I have improved both muscle andbone strength throughout my body in a significant way withoutfatigue, soreness, pain or sweat.

Icall this particular workout MAFSlow Weights, and devote anentire chapter in this book to it. Performing this same routine whenI can, over the course of a day and week, will stimulate significantfull-body muscle and bone strength. This book is about why this typeof simple and easy strength training works so well and itgives you other options and knowledge to do it successfully.

Myworkout is part of my day. I dont change clothes, wear specialshoes, drive anywhere, pay a membership or even get sweaty. Itssimple: I dont want to bulk up or enter any weightliftingcompetition I just want to improve overall health and fitnessby making my entire body stronger.

TheMAF Strength Training method is simple, safe, easy, effective, fastand free (you might have to buy some weights, but look in yourbasement or ask a friend and you may find what you need). Itsa natural activity, developing strong muscles and bones similar tothose conditioned through outdoor work, such as lifting and carryinglogs or rocks, building a stone wall, or digging the garden. (Isometimes do that too.)

Theart and science of MAF Strength Training is one of the simplest waysto build or preserve muscle and bone strength no matter your age. Itrequires little or no extra time. In fact, while I was thinking abouthow to write this paragraph I just did another single set of sixsimple squats.

Variousoptional techniques are discussed throughout this book to help youchoose the approaches most enjoyable and appropriate for your bodysparticular needs.

Somepeople still prefer the popular traditional strength-trainingapproach. They want more muscle bulk, or like working out in a groupor using various machines, or other methods. Or, their muscle loss issignificant and they need to rebuild mass. Whatever the situation,you can still use the guidelines discussed throughout this book toobtain better health and fitness.

Weaknessis widespread. In fact, modern humans may be weaker than any of ourpredecessors. Its not just those who are inactive. The problemof muscle and bone weakness is even true for those who regularlyexercise, even athletes, competitive or recreational. This includesrunners, cyclists, triathletes, walkers, and those who participate inother aerobic workouts. Likewise, for most of those playing tennis,racquetball, golf and other sports.