If you’re looking for a way to improve your fitness level there’s one type of training that hands-down creates results – that’s strength training.
You’ll definitely break a sweat and will still get your heart rate up like in endurance training, only with the added benefit of toning your body.
What is strength training?
Strength training, or resistance training involves using your own bodyweight or tools, like dumbbells or resistance bands to build muscle mass, strength, and endurance.
If you’re new to the weight room, you might feel a little intimidated to start strength training. Not to worry, this type of training can be combined with your preferred workout.
Start by practicing resistance training just a few times a week, says Sarah Revenig, CSCS, trainer at Soho Strength Lab. “As you adapt, you can increase your frequency of training.”
Have you been to one of our free MoveCamp workouts yet? This is a great way to get into resistance training in a group setting, where our coaches are by your side to answer any questions you have. Check out our calendar of events for a free MoveCamp workout near you.
Within a few weeks of consistent training you’ll start to see results in the tone and strength of your muscles. That’s great motivation to keep you coming back to your workouts.
Strength training also keeps your system burning calories even after you’ve left the gym– a benefit that makes strength training worth it for those with weight loss goals.
Ready to get started? Here’s a quick guide on strength training to help you begin.
What are the Benefits Of Strength Training?
Stronger bones: “Over time strength training programs increase bone density and increase overall stiffness of the connective tissues,” Revenig says. “As we age, especially women, this is especially important because, while it might sound undesirable, these two things are critical to injury prevention. We need the body to be able to stiffen and stabilize upon impact or against an external force.”
Improves body image: Beauty comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. When you invest time in your health, it improves your confidence. Several studies have looked at the relationship between body image and strength training and found that women who strength train self-report more positive feelings about them bodies after completing resistance training programs compared to those who don’t.
Builds lean muscle and decreases body fat: As muscle mass increases, so does your resting metabolic rate. “A higher resting metabolic rate means that your body burns more calories at rest to just maintain essential functions of the body,” says Revenig. Consistency is important here because this won’t happen overnight. It’s also important to pair your strength training with proper nutrition in order to see the results you’re looking for.
Can boost your mood: A meta analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry looked at 33 studies (a total of almost 1,900 subjects between them) to see if resistance training had any sizable positive impact on alleviating depressive symptoms. It determined that not only does strength training boost physical strength, but it also improves low mood, loss of interest in activities, and feelings of worthlessness.
What are Different Types Of Strength Training?
Muscle Endurance Training: If you’re a beginner, a good place to start is by lifting a higher volume; meaning more reps and sets, of lighter weights. This allows your tissues to build up tolerance for more intense training programs. As your body gets used to it, you’ll be able to move more weight without getting out of breath.
Hint: this is the type of workout we do in our MoveCamp outdoor fitness series. Check out our calendar of events for a free MoveCamp workout near you.
Circuit Training: Involves going through a series of several exercises, until you reach the last one, resting, and then repeating all the moves again (and potentially again, and again). This can be a great way to give yourself a break (increase your rest periods) or challenge yourself (decrease your rest periods), it’s totally customizable!
Hypertrophy Training: No need to worry that you’ll end up looking like a bodybuilder… Strength training does build muscle, and it can be used to increase the size of your muscles, but only if you’re doing a type of strength training called hypertrophy. You’d have to lift medium to high reps of a moderate to heavy weight consistently to see significant changes to the size of your muscles, and adjust your nutrition program to put on mass. In other words, this won’t happen to you by accident.
Max Strength Training: This kind of training involves bringing your number of repetitions down to about 3–6 and increasing the amount of weight you’re lifting. You can transition into this type of training once you’ve built up your muscle endurance and mastered basic form.
Explosive Power Training: This type of training isn’t for beginners. It involves training at maximum intensity for short periods of time. Olympic lifts and the push press are examples of common explosive exercises.
Tips For Strength-Training Beginners
Start with a weight that feels manageable. Use your judgment (or consult a personal trainer) to figure out what works for you. Find a weight that you can use for 8–10 reps and still feel challenged, but able to complete the exercise. As you start to build strength, you can gradually increase your weight load from week to week. It’s a good idea to match or slightly increase the weights you used the week before. Carry a notebook with you to the gym to record your weights and watch yourself progress!
Make time to warm up properly. We don’t recommend going from sitting at your desk to lifting weights without warming up. You wouldn’t expect your car to start up and go on a cold winter day without warming up first, don’t expect it from your body. Try doing dynamic stretches as your pre-strength training warm up. Exercises like deadbugs, hip bridges, and birddogs will help your body warm up. Also try and get in 5-10 minutes of light cardio to lubricate your joints and increase your heart rate.
Stop before exhaustion. It’s most effective to end your set just before you completely drain your tank. In fact, working out to exhaustion was found to be unnecessary in order to increase muscle strength, according to a 2016 study.
How much time should I put into strength training?
First and foremost, always listen to your body. If you’re feeling extra tired one week, rest. If you feel like you haven’t properly recovered from your workout, rest. And if you’re going through a stressful time and you’re dragging yourself to the gym, perhaps you should rest?
On the other hand, if you’re feeling energized, well rested and ready to be consistent in your workout routine, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), you should actively strength train at least two times per week. It’s important to remember to engage all the major muscle groups. That includes the legs, hips, core, chest, shoulders, and arms.
There’s no specific time that you should be training for, but the exercises should be performed until you feel it’s difficult for you to get another rep in. As you workout, your muscle strength and endurance will increase over time. Gradually adding to the amount of weight and the days you workout will result in even stronger muscles.