What is strength training?
Strength training workouts are designed to help you build strong, lean muscles. You can implement resistance via weights, resistance bands, or even just your body weight.
Why should you strength train?
1. It boosts your metabolism
As you build lean muscle, your metabolic rate will increase. What this means for you in simple terms is the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns at rest. Ever wondered how some people are able to remain so lean even when it seems as if they eat anything they want? Well, that’s because they have a large amount of muscle on their frame, and you can too if you start strength training.
2. It can help reduce the risk of injury
When you strength train, the muscles aren’t the only thing being strengthened. Strength training also helps reinforce your tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues surrounding your joints. Strength training also helps increase your bone density which is why it’s important for people of all ages to strength train especially if you are at increased risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia. This helps reduce your risk of injury which is why strength training is an important tool in any fitness program.
3. It’s amazing for your general health
Strength training has multitudes of health benefits, including strengthening your heart, regulating blood pressure, and managing blood glucose levels which is important for mitigating your risk of developing diabetes.
4. It helps improve your self-esteem
Strength training is a great way to boost your self-esteem because it helps you feel amazing! The more muscle you have the more toned you look which can do wonders for your self-confidence (ladies, don’t worry about getting “bulky”, for the vast majority of women it would take insane amounts of performance-enhancing drugs to look masculine).
5. You get stronger
This benefit is the most obvious of the bunch, but it’s certainly not the least on this list. Strength training helps you get stronger not just physically, but also mentally. Nothing beats the feeling of breaking a personal record in the gym and then going home and being able to get all the groceries in the house in one trip using the functional strength you’ve built!
How do I get Started?
The best way to start strength training is to start small and work your way up. If you’re totally new to any form of strength training or even if you’re too nervous to join a gym a great way to get started is by using just your bodyweight to get a feel for it. After you’ve gotten comfortable working with your bodyweight you can slowly start to introduce dumbbells, barbells, or even kettlebells!
Pick 1 exercise for each of the 5 movement patterns to focus on being push, pull, squat, hinge, and press. Do 2-3 sets of each exercise in the 8-10 rep range. Once you are able to hit 10 reps increase the weight you’re using for that exercise by 5lbs total.
If you need some more guidance or help developing a custom plan feel free to contact me!
P.R. Performance
