Strength Training is For Everyone

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When most people hear the word strength training they think of lifting weights and bulking up. While that is a form of strength training there is so much more to the equation here at hand. Strength training has many health benefits and is great for anyone at any age.  It can improve...

- Bone Health: After puberty you start to lose about1% of bone and muscle strength each year. Adding strength training helps control and can reverse that process.

- Control your Weight: Muscle burns more calories than Fat, so the more muscle your body has the higher your metabolism will be resulting in a more controlled weight.

- Boost your Endurance: The stronger your muscles get the longer they can handle work without showing signs of fatigue.

- Manage major Chronic Conditions: Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and back pain all can be improved or prevented by strength training.

-Improves your quality of life: The stronger your muscles are the more your body is capable of doing functional things which will improve your outlook and confidence of your self.


Now that we know some of the benefits of strength training lets now see how we can achieve it. There are many choices of strength straining and ways that it can be done. You are recommended to exercise for at least 30 minutes 3-5 days a week.   You can either do...

-Free weights: Lifting dumbbells, barbell, kettle bells or any other form of free weight that will cause your muscles to do increased work. Using free weights forces all of the work on to your muscles causing even supporting muscles to be worked. You have to lift in a 3-dimensiaonal plane using all functional muscles. Lifting using free weights does not allow your body to rely on the machine for support.

-Weight Machines: Machines are great at allowing the desired muscle that you are working to handle more weight than it would by using free weights. With Free weights you can only lift as much as your weakest point in that rang of motion can handle. When using a machine it changes the displacement of the load allowing you to lift a heavier weight providing optimal resistance throughout the entire range of motion. 

- Resistance Tubing: Is a great way to add strength training at home for a cheap and easy storage option. It is a lightweight tubing that provides resistance when stretched

- Body Weight: Without any equipment at all you can still perform a great strength training workout. With just using your own body weight you can focus on stabilization and control while performing strengthening movements. Examples would be: pushups, squats, crunches, lunges, planks, and many more.

Strength training is such an important part of exercising and you should not overlook it and leave it out of your routines. Remember to switch up your routines often so not to see a plateau and have your muscles get used to the movements it is demanded to perform. Try increasing your weight or using all of these different methods of strength training in your workouts. You can also even try using free weights with your body weight movements to increase the intensity even more.

Let me know how your strength training programs are going and what type of exercises you like to perform.

Have a fabulous Friday and weekend :)
- Shauna