Doug Kelsey's Blog

Can You Get The Body You Want In Twelve Minutes A Week?

Dr. Doug McGuff, in his book "Body by Science: A Research Based Program to Get the Results You Want in Twelve Minutes a Week", suggests that if you exercise once per week for about twelve total minutes, you'll burn fat, add muscle, gain strength and get the body of your dreams. He backs his claims up with a lot of factual, scientifically true information on how your body reacts to exercise, how hormones alter your ability to burn fat, has plenty of testimonials and runs a successful gym in South Carolina.

If you want to shape your body, his program might work for you. If you want to get in shape, you'll need other elements.

Dr. McGuff's program uses high intensity training which is why it takes only twelve minutes and why he suggests you perform the drills once per week. And, when I say high intensity, I mean high. This is muscle training at the top end of the load spectrum. For example, his typical prescription is to use a weight that causes maximal fatigue within 40 to 90 seconds completing a repetition in 20 seconds. You continue until you simply cannot move the weight one more time. In order to follow this program though, you use mostly exercise machines like a leg press, shoulder press, biceps curl, etc. 

His routines are scientifically sound but have two drawbacks. One is that you must use a gym (or build on) and the other is that his routines provide little to no challenge to balance, coordination, speed, or agility. If you expect to keep your speed, you need to train for speed; keep your agility, train for it. You become what you do and do often.

So, why only once per week? When you tax fast twitch muscle fiber to their max, your muscles will need at least between three and five days to recover (or longer depending on the intensity and duration of the activity). This is why many bodybuilders exercise the arms on Monday and not again until the following Monday. If you try the same routine, same intensity on Wednesday, you won't be able to lift the same loads and could easily injure your self.

Exercising once per week is tantalizing and I'm sure works as described by Dr. McGuff. But for me, it's boring. I want to move. I want to challenge my balance, speed, agility, coordination as well my strength, flexibility and power. I want athletic conditioning; not body building.

But, that's just me. For you, this might just the thing you need. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something you can create a lifestyle around, enjoy, and look forward to. You're not training for six weeks or even six months. You're training for your life.

Ankle Ligament Sprain: It's About Time

I was jogging along a trail in the woods and as I rounded the corner, a dog with his owner, distracted on his cell phone, lunged at me. I sort of hopped to my right to get out of the way but I didn't see the tree root bulging out of the ground. My foot hit the root at an odd angle and in a flash, I turned my ankle.

The dog was barking and jumping. The owner yanked the leash, kept talking on his cell phone and walked on.

I walked and limped along for about one hundred yards. Gradually, the pain subsided. I was lucky. No significant damage. Had it been my left ankle, I might have had to hop home on my right leg.

Scientists have recently discovered that people who have had prior ankle injuries seem to have a slower muscle response time to an inversion injury like the one I had on the jogging trail. In fact, it's about twice as slow. When you turn your ankle, the reaction time is in milliseconds; a lot faster than you can think.  Your body responds to the sudden perturbation without you having to think about it but if you've had a prior injury your body seems to be on a coffee break. The typical response time by people without a prior ankle injury is 55 milliseconds. Those with an injury, 90 milliseconds (and for reference, an eye blink takes about 300 milliseconds).

A common approach to rebuilding a sprained ankle is to use strength training exercises using elastic bands for resistance on the foot and ankle in an open kinetic chain. The thinking is that the lateral muscles (peroneus longus) are weak and that by strengthening them, you'll recover function more quickly and reduce the risk of re-injury. But, the science behind this idea suggests that strength of the muscles isn't the main problem*. It's the reaction time.

Many clinicians understand this and use training techniques on an unstable surface such as an inflatable disc, foam roller, wobble board, etc. to address reaction time deficits. And, although unstable surface training may not be helpful for some other problems (such as squatting on foam pads to increase core strength), for chronic ankle sprains, it helps.

But, there are two other problems that follow an ankle sprain that sometimes are overlooked: weak hip abductors and loss of plantarflexion flexibility**.

Many of the clients we see at Sports Center with the diagnosis of an ankle sprain are well past the acute stage. They no longer battle swelling or an obvious loss of motion and most can function in day to day life reasonably well. The problems they face involve more dynamic tasks such as jogging, running, cutting, and hopping. So, they no longer have an ankle sprain. They have functional limitations of the lower extremity and sometimes the trunk. Many of them will have associated hip weakness and ankle inflexibility.

To solve this, we first collect certain information. In addition to standard orthopedic tests, we also often complete the following tests and procedures to help us better understand the person's functional capability and to direct our programming:

• Single leg stance. This should be at least 30 seconds.
• Single leg squat load tolerance. Expected values are 20% over body weight for 30 repetitions.
• Hip abduction strength measured with a digital muscle tester in an open kinetic chain.
• Hip rotation strength measured with a digital muscle tester in a closed kinetic chain.
• Plantarflexion flexibility. Active and passive. 50 degrees is expected.
• Hip rotation flexibility. 45 degrees is expected (external rotation).
• Running load tolerance. This is tested with the Newton Speed Trainer. Full body weight is the goal.
• Proprioception. Match the opposite side.
• Core endurance. We use the plank drill. Three minutes is the goal.
• Sweeper excursion. A "Sweeper" is a reverse lunge while sweeping the leg around behind the weight bearing limb. Full body weight with a squat of at least 70 degrees of knee flexion and equal excursion is the goal.
• Single leg hop for distance. 85% of the uninvolved side is the goal.

Once we have the data, we design the training program. The training programs are focused more on coordination, balance, reaction time than on strength although there are a few strength drills in the program. Some of the drills we use:

• Single Leg Stance. Play catch. This creates unexpected perturbations but can be kept within a "balance envelope" by how far away from the center of gravity you toss the ball and how heavy the ball is. If the Single Leg Stance Test is less than 30 seconds, we would add a light vector of force connected to a waist strap directed laterally (to the involved limb). This provides some assistance during the stance. If you apply a vector that runs toward the opposite hip, you make the drill considerably more difficult.
• Single Leg Squat. This is a strength drill so the repetition count is less than 15 reps per set. The load level is determined by the test. We start with a stable base and progress to less stable. And, there are variations off this that include adding vectors from a variety of angles to increase load and perturbation. 
• Single Leg Squat and Reach. This is a squat with cones placed in a semi-circle. The client squats and touches a cone. We'll use anti-gravity equipment if needed.
• Sweeper. This is the same movement as in the test. We'll use anti-gravity equipment if needed so the client can perform the drill, control the motion and not hurt. As with the Single Leg Squat, progression moves toward an unstable base.
• Hip Burner. This is a classic hip abduction drill done in sidelying. The client lifts the involved limb up into abduction and then lowers only to the point of the leg being parallel to the floor. The drill is to repeat this small range of motion until the hip muscles "burn" - hence the name "hip burner".
• Perturbation. This is a variation of the Single Leg Stance. The client stands on the involved limb and holds a staff in both hands in front of his or her chest. The clinician gently and sporadically pushes the client from different directions. The client keeps track of how many "faults" he or she has in a defined period (a "fault is losing your balance).
• Sidelying Squats with a Training Shoe. I picked up this shoe from a equipment rep in California about 20 years ago. It is really a metal sandal that straps to the bottom of your shoe. On the bottom of the sandal is a metal hemisphere. This creates an unstable base - similar to a wobble board. Protruding from the toe area of the sandal is a small metal rod. You then add a small cylindrical weight to the rod. You perform the squats on a Total Gym lying on your side (involved side up). Place your foot on the platform of the Total Gym. Because the weight is attached to the metal rod, the sandal creates torque through the leg into the hip loading the external rotators. So, with this drill, you load the evertors of the foot and the external rotators of the leg.
• Superman with a Twist. This is a Yoga drill often referred to as Warrior III. We use a special portable pulley system known as an OnX to create a counter balance from behind to help the client balance on the involved leg. Then, the client turns his or her body right and left. As this the body turns, the foot inverts and everts and has to learn to stabilize itself.

Then, as their metrics improve (re-testing the above tests), we often add:

• Hopping. Four square, forward back, star drill. Anti-gravity if needed.
• Slide board. Start with a short distance and easy off the blocks. Progress to longer distances with explosive moves.
• Treadmill Drills (would prefer to have an indoor running surface but space always is an issue). This includes sideways, backward, skipping backward.
• Agility drills. Cone drills, three-line side to side drills.

Sometimes a client will need manual therapy; usually muscles in the hip or foot are too tight. But, if a client needs manual therapy after a session on in between sessions, then the session is probably too demanding.

There are a lot of drill choices. It comes down to matching the degree of difficulty of the drill with the capability of the client and making sure you "edge" both the drill choice and the client. Edging is critical. A client's ability can improve quickly. The drills need to keep up with the pace of improvement.

And, I'll offer one other drill I really like: Walk the Plank. Place an eight foot 2 x 4 on the ground. The client's challenge is to walk foot over foot down the 2 x 4. This may not seem hard but with after having had an ankle sprain, it's tough. You can frob the drill (and the first person who sends me the definition of the word "frob" gets a free copy of my book - make sure you send your contact info) with distractions, play catch, carry objects, squat up and down. Let your imagine go on this one.

We like our clients to reach certain functional goals (most of which are listed above in the section of tests and procedures) prior to discharge since many of them are not symptomatic in day to day life. Sometimes this can happen in 4 to 8 weeks and sometimes it's 6 to 8 months or longer. It depends on a number of factors such as the chronicity of the problem, are there other problems, how fit is the person, what's the objective long term (pro sports or run around the block), how adherent will the person be (that's code for following directions).

There are a lot of options when it comes to designing programs for people following an ankle sprain. My advice is to organize the drills around balance, reaction and timing and not worry about open chain ankle strength drills so much. I think you'll find that clients enjoy the sessions more, show up more often, and when you have those things going for you, the outcome is usually better.

DK

*Munn, J., D. J. Beard, et al. (2003). "Eccentric muscle strength in functional ankle instability." Med Sci Sports Exerc 35(2): 245-50.
** Friel, K., N. McLean, et al. (2006). "Ipsilateral hip abductor weakness after inversion ankle sprain." J Athl Train 41(1): 74-8.

Five Ways to Toughen Your Spine

Most symptoms of lower back show up because of your inability to produce and / or absorb sufficient force. Even in situations where you've herniated a disc, the bottom line is that the reason you hurt when you sit, for example, is because your body is unable to absorb or distribute the force.

So, here are five ways to create a tougher, more resilient spine.

1. Brace your self. There's a lot of argument in the personal training and physical therapy professions about whether you should consciously contract your abdominal muscles when you lift or do some type of physical work. My position is this: if you've had back pain or surgery, the muscles you need the most are not under your conscious control (multifidus being one of them) and these same muscles are shut off following the injury and do not re-engage without some help. So, yes, you need to learn how to brace your self using your "core" muscles. The simplest way to learn this is to ask a friend to punch you, gently, in the abdomen. You'll reflexively brace your abdomen. Then, practice creating that same tension or feeling without actually being punched. Adjust the intensity of the effort based on the difficulty of the task. If you have to pick up something heavy off the floor, brace a lot. If you're sitting at your desk, brace a little.
2. Sit less; walk more. The more you move, the better. The enemy of the spine is static loading: sitting, standing. When you walk,use your understanding of bracing. This turns walking into an endurance exercise for your spine. Get a pedometer and aim for 10000 steps per day.
3. Stop doing sit ups. I've written about this before. Technically, if you can perform a sit up correctly, which virtually no one can, it's ok. But why do that to your self when you can perform a plank and get not only great abdominal training but also arms and buttocks?
4. Squat. The best friend of the spine is your butt and one of the best ways to build a stronger butt is to perform squats. You can start, usually, with body weight as resistance and then progress to above body weight. You should feel fatigue in your legs and spine between 15 and 20 repetitions. If you don't, it's time to increase the load.
5. Plant your self with the plank. The plank is a great drill for improving spinal muscle endurance and it's spine friendly with low levels of disc pressure. Start with 30 seconds and work your way up to 120 seconds.

If you can practice these things, your spine will get tougher. And a tougher spine is tougher to hurt.

Question From A Reader: Dislocating Patella

Hi Doug,

I have been reading your blog and have found it extremely informative, so
thank you!    I have struggled with recurrent patellar dislocations of my
left knee since I was 10 years old (I am now 24 and it has gone out upwards
of 30 times) and recently had surgery to try and correct the situation.  The
problem as far as I understand it is that I have extremely shallow grooves
and my patella sits on the outer edge of my groove (the deeper edge).
Because it's not in the groove, it obviously sIips out of place often.  I
was told by my orthopedic surgeon that he tightened the ligaments on the
inside of my knee and moved my patella slightly to the inside to try and
prevent further dislocations.  Obviously without a full reconstruction of my
joint, I am dependent on my muscles to keep my kneecap in place.  In place
of the exercises my physical therapist has been giving me (short arc quads
are one example), what exercises would you suggest to try and keep my
kneecap from sliding out of place?  Any suggestions you might have would be
GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you!

H

---

Thanks for your question. A couple of things first before I go over the basics:

• Make sure you talk about your concerns with your therapist. Ask him or her the same question you asked me.
• I cannot give you specific advice so what I describe in this blog is for educational purposes.

With a shallow groove, you'll want to optimize your lower extremity biomechanics. This means excellent motion and strength in the hip, especially external rotators, and good control of the foot. Yes, you need strong quadriceps too but a dislocating patella is a problem during weight bearing; not while lying on your back or sitting in a chair.

But, the solution is more than a series of exercises. You have to develop a fluid, elegant motion through the trunk, hip, knee and ankle. All of the joints should work together and when this happens you'll feel more in control of your knee. This though depends upon your joint strength, flexibility, timing, and awareness.

I tell my students (and clients), "Give your intention your attention." Being aware of how your body moves in and out of positions, what seems to be working and when, can help reduce the incidence of subluxations or dislocations (and this is my experience - not a scientific study). How to do that - increase awareness and adjust to it - is beyond what I can tackle in this post but methods such as Feldenkrais, Alexander, Pilates, and Yoga offer insights and strategies on how to improve movement.

One example of "Give your intention your attention" is how you walk. We all have the same bones, joints, ligaments, muscles yet none of us walk exactly the same way. Some people sling their feet out in front of them with such force that the knee snaps into its end position with the force of a slamming door. Others, slink along shuffling their feet as if at any moment gravity will suck them to the ground. For a chronically locating patella, you want your feet to strike the ground softly with the knee joint stopping short of full extension. It is an acquired, practiced form of walking. It will not feel natural for some time.

But first, there are things I would want to know:

• Is your foot overly pronated? If so, you may need at least off the shelf orthotics such as Superfeet.
• What is the strength of your hip abductors and external rotators? Measure this in both a supine position and in standing.
• What is your Single Leg Squat Load Tolerance? You need to know this in order to get the correct dosage for your drills.
• What is your Single Leg Step Down Load Tolerance? Often this is below body weight not because of pain but either a sense of impending dislocation or inability to control movement of the leg.
• What is your ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (and this should be talocrural motion not motion of the ankle and forefoot combined)? If you're limited, then when you walk or squat or go up and down stairs, you'll drive the tibia into internal rotation too soon and force the patella out of the groove.
• What is your hip extension range of motion? You need about 20 degrees of hip extension to produce the 5 to 10 degrees of internal and external rotation that normally occur during the gait cycle. A lack of extension can shift when in the gait cycle the rotation motions occur and can contribute to a poorly tracking patella.

The training program is then built with these things in mind. If you have flexibility limitations, I would address those. So, for the ankle, I would add some long duration, low load flexibility drills but I would "lock" the forefoot by placing a wedge under the navicular bone to prevent early pronation during the stretch. For the hip, you have to make sure that the stretching does not also include the lumbar spine and you'll have to keep the knee relatively straight or run the risk of forcing the patella out of the groove.  Most of the common stretches people use for hip extension are for the iliopsoas and rectus femoris muscle and you would want to concentrate more on the iliopsoas since this does not require any knee bend. The image to the right usually works well since the lower back will be slightly flexed by the maximum hip flexion of the opposite leg. 

For strength training, the goal is of course strength but even more important is resting tension level of the muscle. If you think of muscles as springs, you want a tight, tough spring attached to your patella.  I often use single leg squats but with hyperirradiation or what we call a "sizzler". Hyperirridation is an application of neurophysiologic law called Sherrington's Law of Irradiation. What this law states is that as neighboring muscles contract, the primary working muscle contracts as well. So, the more you tighten muscles around the knee - the hamstring, the hip muscles, and even the abdominals, the more your quadriceps will tighten. You can feel this easily by making a fist. Clench as hard as you can. Now, tighten ALL of the muscles in your arm. Notice that the harder you tighten the fist and other arm muscles, the tighter your fist becomes. Now, keeping this tension in the arm, straighten your elbow but fight against your self at the same time by maintaining the tension in the arm. As you do this, you'll notice that the muscles in your chest and abdomen will contract. So, with any squat exercise, you add a "sizzler". You tighten the hamstrings, hips, calf muscles and "fight" against the motion.

The benefit of this kind of training is that you'll increase your squat strength but will also increase the resting tension level. Your leg will feel tighter.

In addition to squats in supine (which are often at first done on a Total Gym because most people cannot tolerate body weight forces), I also use squats in a side lying position and will add weight to just above the knee (the weight bearing leg will be the leg on top). This increases the work load for the hip rotators and abductors yet respects your Single Leg Squat Load Tolerance.

On a treadmill, I would use walking forward, sideways, backwards while adding a "sizzler".

In addition to lower extremity training, I add core training:

• Plank
• Side plank
• Pull ups
• Push ups
  
  • Yes, the last two are upper body drills as well but they happen ot be great core drills.

I work on step down function using a small step - 6 inches or less - and in an anti-gravity device (pulley, etc). I adjust the load on the leg so that you (the client) can control the motion and feel confident. This drill is as much motor learning as anything else. You have to gain confidence in controlling the leg. To increase the muscle work, add a sizzler.

These are some of the basics. Probably the three biggest mistakes I've made are not testing the leg correctly to identify the load level, not appreciating how to alter movement and create a more fluid motion, and not making the program demanding enough. This is a muscle training program and you (and your leg) should be tired when you finish it.

Cardio Is No Longer King

Cardio is the King of the Fitness Jungle. Rows and rows of cardio machines - ellipticals, treadmills, bikes, stair steppers, have a huge foot print in commerical gyms. Spin classes, Step Aerobics, BodyPump classes are usually full.

But Cardio's days as King are numbered.

"Cardio" is a generic, over-used, misunderstood word that has become firmly entrenched in the fitness vernacular and in the mind of the public as a "thing". "I'm going to do some cardio" or "I hate cardio" now carries its own meaning.

The term usually means exercise on a machine - elliptical, cycle, stair climber, treadmill - for 30 minutes or more, trying to achieve a certain heart rate and whose purpose is to burn fat. There's a misperception that this type of exercise somehow targets your cardiorespiratory system better than other types of exercise when the truth is that all exercise engages your cardiorespiratory system. The difference between exercising on an elliptical machine and lifting weights is in the type of energy you use to get the job done; not whether your heart and lungs work more or less in one exercise or the other.

There are three main energy systems: Adenosine Tri-Phosphate / Creatin Phosphate (ATP/CP), Glycolysis, and the Krebs Cycle. The first two are anaerobic and the last one is aerobic. The ATP/CP system can fuel about 15 seconds of high intensity work - like a sprint. The Glycolysis system fuels about 30-40 seconds of work and as you pass about one minute, the Aerobic system begins to take over. Now, these systems do not work in isolation of each other. Based on the intensity, you may need a burst of energy and you get this from the anaerobic system even though you might be performing a sustained exercise like cycling.

Why this matters is because of the effect that training has on the muscle, nervous and energy systems. Conventional "Cardio" uses mostly Slow Twitch Fiber (STF) and the Aerobic energy system. In addition, the nervous system is not taxed greatly with a repetitive motion like an elliptical machine or a bike. But, what you really need, especially as you age, is to train Fast Twitch Fiber (FTF) and the Anerobic energy system and to stress the nervous system (balance, agility, etc). To train FTF you have to perform some type of strength training at a moderate to high intensity (and intensity is highly variable by individual). It's the FTF that gives you strength, speed, reaction time etc. and as you spend more and more time on an elliptical machine or jogging or swimming thinking that this will keep you fit, what you're actually doing is teaching the FTF to work like STF. You may burn calories and lose weight but you will gain very little strength and strength is something you need for not just recreational sports or hobbies but for life.

Some people get concerned that if they don't do "cardio" that they are somehow not going to have a healthy heart and lungs. This is just not true. You can maintain your cardiorespiratory fitness by doing things such as lower intensity circiuit strength training where you use loads around 30-40% of your maximum, perform 15 to 20 repetitions per drill and move from one drill to the next with little to no rest. Or, you can use high intensity interval training as well. Cycle as hard as you can for 15 seconds then peddle easy for 45 seconds and do this for 20-30 minutes.

So, is there anything good about "Cardio"? Well, first let's call it what it really is - either Endurance Training or Distance Training. Of course, there is nothing wrong with Enurance Training / Distance Training as a vehicle to tax your heart and lungs. And, there are some other benfits as well:

• Increase in capillary density
• Improved nutrient delivery and metabolic waste removal
• Improved psychological well-being
• Improved insulin sensitivity  
• Decreased blood pressure
• Improved glycemic control
• Reduced body fat
• Improved foundational level fitness

Just recognize that while you're Endurance or Distance training, you are not taxing other parts of your muscle and nervous and energy systems and that those systems need your attention too.

Exercise Is Exercise; A Calorie Is a Calorie?

A few years ago, I bumped into a friend in the lobby of a theater. While we waited for the show to start, he asked me what I was up to. I explained I had just finished a DVD on fat loss. He laughed and said, "Is there something new? Like something other than eat less and exercise more?"

And that is the perception of many people. If you want to lose weight (meaning fat), all you need to do is cut calories and increase your activity. And, this is a true statement. You will lose weight. But, the question is, what kind of weight have you lost?

The combination of what you eat and what kind of exercise you do makes a big difference in weight loss. People who eat a higher protein, lower carbohydrate diet and lift weights lose mostly fat. People who eat a higher carbohydrate and lower protein diet who lift weights also lose fat but they lose more muscle as well. And people, who only walk for exercise lose the most muscle - up to 35% of the drop in weight (diets higher in protein lose less muscle at about 20%)*.

Not all exercise is the same and not all calories are the same. You can cut calories and even add exercise to shape your body but end up with a body out of shape.

*Layman, D. K., E. Evans, et al. (2005). "Dietary protein and exercise have additive effects on body composition during weight loss in adult women." J Nutr 135(8): 1903-10.

Question From A Reader: Strength Training Without Weights

Hi Doug,

I'm a big fan of your blog and have another question for you. What advice do you have in regards to progressive resistance for someone who is limited to working out at home with minimal equipment. If I were at a gym I could incrementally add 5lbs, 10lbs, etc to consistently overload the muscle, but I find this difficult to replicate at home when I'm doing mostly body weight exercises i.e. push ups, squats etc. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
F

---

Thank you for the question. It's a great one.

A couple of questions  to ask your self first are, "What's the point of my exercising? What am I trying to achieve?"

If the answer is to increase muscle size (this is often the goal for men; for women it usually is to lose fat and increase muscle tone), then you have to, at some point, use heavier loads.

Muscle hypertrophy comes from recruitment of mostly fast twitch muscle fiber (FTF). When you begin an exercise, for example a push up, the recruitment of muscle fibers follows a specific sequence from Slow Twitch to Fast Twitch. As the intensity of the exercise increases, you recruit more FTF. But, you have to train for nearly twenty weeks to get past a neuromotor learning phase where your body gets smarter at performing the movement before it alters the muscle fiber size.

Now, in the push up example, the very first time you try them, you might fatigue at 10 or 12, for example. And, then the next day or so, you might be sore. But, eventually, you'll no longer fatigue at 12 reps but rather at 30 or 40 reps which means you recruit fewer FTF.

At this point, you can increase the load of a push up by doing a few things:

• Place your feet on a chair to increase the effect of gravity.
• Use a weighted vest.
• Place a weight on your back.
• Wrap heavy resistance bands around your upper back and under your hands.
• Perform one hand push ups.
• Place you hands together during the push up.

You can also add higher speed, eccentric motions to the movement such as a push up - clap your hands - land in the push up position. The higher speed of contraction (catching your self as you land) increases the force (F = mass x acceleration). Higher force means more FTF recruitment but this may not deliver much change in muscle size since you're not recruiting as much FTF as you would during a very heavy bench press, for example.

For the squat, you can increase demand by:

• Using a single leg squat.
• Holding a dumb bell in the opposite hand of the single leg squat leg.
• In between sets of squats, hold an isometric squat position for 10 seconds or more. This increases the rate of fatigue and therefore increases the perceived load.
• Increase the speed of the squat.

You can develop significant strength though for daily life and recreational activities without significant changes in muscle size (and even in athletes in some sports this happens like the high jump).

I would first answer the question, "What am I trying to achieve with my exercise?" and then decide the best path. If you want functional strength, you may not need much in the way of additional resistance beyond dumb bells. If you're after size, you'll have to go to the gym or buy some weight / resistance tools.

DK