Strength training: Get stronger, leaner, healthier

Looking to shed body fat, boost lean muscle mass, and rev up your calorie-burning engine? Look no further than the power of strength training! Strength training is an essential component of overall health and fitness that benefits people of all ages.

Use It or Lose It

As the years roll by, lean muscle mass naturally dwindles. Without proactive measures to counter this decline, your body fat percentage will inevitably rise. Strength training comes to the rescue by enabling you to retain and even enhance your muscle mass, regardless of your age.

Moreover, strength training offers a plethora of additional advantages:

1. Fortify Your Bones: By subjecting your bones to stress, strength training can boost bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
2. Weight Management: Whether you aim to shed some pounds or maintain your weight, strength training can be your ally. It elevates your metabolism, facilitating calorie burning.
3. Quality of Life Enhancement: Incorporating strength training into your routine can elevate your quality of life and enhance your ability to tackle daily tasks. It also plays a protective role for your joints, helping to prevent injuries. Building muscle contributes to better balance, reducing the likelihood of falls, which can be a crucial factor in maintaining independence as you age.
4. Managing Chronic Conditions: Strength training has been shown to alleviate the signs and symptoms of numerous chronic conditions, including arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression, and diabetes.
5. Mental Acuity: Some research indicates that regular strength training, coupled with aerobic exercise, may enhance cognitive abilities in older adults.

Exploring the Options

You have several options for engaging in strength training, whether at home or in a gym:

• Body Weight: Many exercises require little or no equipment, such as pushups, pullups, planks, lunges, and squats.
• Resistance Tubing: This lightweight and affordable option offers resistance when stretched, and various types are available at sporting goods stores or online.
• Free Weights: Classic tools like barbells and dumbbells are excellent for strength training. In the absence of traditional weights, everyday items like soup cans can serve as makeshift substitutes. Other alternatives include medicine balls and kettlebells.
• Weight Machines: Most fitness centers offer an array of resistance machines. You can also invest in weight machines for home use.
• Cable Suspension Training: This involves suspending part of your body (e.g., legs) while performing body weight exercises like pushups or planks.

Getting Started

If you have a chronic condition or have been inactive and are over 40, it’s advisable to consult your physician before embarking on a strength training or aerobic fitness program.

Before commencing strength training, a warm-up of brisk walking or other aerobic activity for 5 to 10 minutes is essential to prevent injuries, as cold muscles are more susceptible to harm.

Select a weight or resistance level that challenges your muscles within 12 to 15 repetitions. Gradually increase the weight or resistance as exercises become easier.

Research indicates that a single set of 12 to 15 repetitions with the appropriate weight can efficiently build muscle for most individuals. The key is to fatigue the muscle you’re working on—meaning you can’t perform another repetition. Fatiguing at higher repetitions often means using a lighter weight, which allows better control and maintains proper form.

To allow your muscles to recover, provide a full day’s rest between workouts targeting specific muscle groups. Listen to your body—if an exercise causes pain, cease immediately, and consider using less weight or retrying in a few days.

Proper technique is crucial to avoid injuries. If you’re new to strength training, enlist the guidance of a trainer or fitness specialist to learn correct form and technique. Don’t forget to breathe during your strength training sessions.

When to Expect Results

You don’t need to devote hours daily to lifting weights to reap the benefits of strength training. Just two or three 20- or 30-minute sessions per week can yield significant improvements in strength.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Aerobic Activity: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, or a combination of both. Spreading this exercise throughout the week is advisable, but even small bursts of physical activity throughout the day offer benefits.
• Strength Training: Engage in strength training exercises targeting all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Aim for a single set of each exercise with sufficient weight to fatigue your muscles within 12 to 15 repetitions.

With consistent effort, you can anticipate an increase in your strength over time. As your muscle mass grows, lifting weights will become easier and more enduring. Whether you’re starting from scratch or already in decent shape, persistence can lead to continuous strength gains.

Follow these youtube videos for your strength training!