Build Power, Not Bulk

IF YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING our Pillars of Fitness series ("Building a Base," March, and "Speed Up," May), congratulations. By now you've dedicated yourself to sustainable, year-round conditioning and pushed yourself harder in pursuit of your summertime endurance goals. As the dingos say, good on ya, mate. (Need to catch up? Check out our previous installments at outsideonline.com/bodywork.)

Now, with the cooler, shorter days of autumn approaching, and your long summer runs and rides coming to an end, it's time to rebuild the muscle mass that atrophied while you focused on endurance. Here's why: As any contestant on America's Gargantuan Loser could tell you, lean muscle burns more energy. You'll keep the weight off easier this fall and winter if you remember that. More important, as the seasons change, so do your athletic needs. That 50-mile bike ride won't be much help when you need to hold an icy edge on the steeps at Killington. Fall soccer, skiing and snowboarding, surfing vacations, drunken pond hockey—they all demand strength that an exclusive cardio routine won't give you.

The good news? Building real strength no longer means paying membership fees and standing in line for a sweaty Nautilus machine glistening with staph bacteria. This month, our experts have designed a mobile strength routine—envision the athletic form of Jackie Robinson, not the 'roided-up Barry Bonds—that challenges your balance more than your biceps and delivers total-body power. All you need are a few simple pieces of equipment (see "Create Your Own Fitness Center," opposite) and a couple of hours a week. It's time to awaken your dormant athleticism.