The Power Of Resistance Training
I often see women prioritizing cardio over strength training. Don’t get me wrong, our heart is a muscle and cardiovascular health is important. However, too much can work against you. If your goal is aging with strength and body re-composition (more lean muscle, less body fat) than you must add regular strength training to your routine. I’ve lost count of the number of women who have told me they want to tone up their arms; that is done through strength training.
Strength training is when resistance is used to challenge your muscles in order to gain strength and endurance. It can be performed with traditional weights, exercise bands, medicine balls, cable machines, sandbags, kettle bells or even just using your own body weight.
A multitude of strength training benefits have been proven, including:
• Strength and muscle tone
• Cardiovascular capacity
• Speed, Agility and Flexibility
• Resistance to injury and disease
If that’s not enough to convince you to include regular strength training in your fitness routine, then read on for the benefits of strength training.
Strength Training Builds Muscles. Don’t worry, ladies. This does NOT mean that you’re going to ‘bulk up’ or look too masculine. What will happen is that your arms, tummy and legs will become tighter, leaner and more defined.
Strength Training Burns Fat. When it comes to losing size, all that you want to see disappear is fat, not muscle. Strength training ensures that you maintain and grow those muscles and only lose fat. Our metabolism slows down as we age; we can help combat this by preserving & adding more lean muscle.
Strength Training Builds Strong Bones. The older we get, the more important our bone density is. A good strength training programme is one of your best defences against osteoporosis.
Strength Training Can Alleviate Anxiety, Stress and Depression. Strength training can be a natural tool without the pharmaceutical side effects.
Strength Training Promotes Better Sleep. Here’s another pill you can stop taking once you start strength training. Study after study have proven that strength training improves sleep.
Strength Training Can Relieve Chronic Back Pain. If you are one of the many who suffer from back pain then you’ll love the benefit of reduced pain. Strengthening your back and core can help prevent future back injury and pain.
Strength Training Contributes to Insulin Sensitivity. Today, diabetes is a huge threat. Minimize your risk by improving insulin sensitivity through regular, challenging strength training.
Strength Training Improves Good to Bad Cholesterol Ratio. Here is yet another pill that you could potentially stop taking while on a strength training routine. Blood pressure and heart health are of utmost concern, so why not give yourself the advantage of a strength training routine?
Strength Training Raises Metabolism. This helps to reduce body fat and to keep that body fat off, even on the days that you aren’t able to exercise.
A solid strength training routine will tone your legs, build your glutes and strengthen your core, and will result in inches and pounds lost. Why do we want more lean muscle? Why doesn’t thin equal fit? If your muscle percentage is low, then your fat percentage will be higher. This means your resting metabolism will be lower, since little muscle is present to burn calories at rest.
I include a comprehensive strength training program for all levels, both gym and home in my programs.
Our aim is to increase hypertrophy; the increase and growth of muscle cells. For muscles to grow, two things have to happen: stimulation and repair. We do this by targeting muscle groups.
If you are looking to achieve muscle growth, aim to add a minimum of 3 strength workouts a week.
If you are more advanced and really want to drive results, your week could look like this.
Monday – Back
Tues – Legs (Glutes & Quads)
Wed – Chest, Biceps/Triceps
Thursday - Rest
Friday – Shoulders
Saturday – Legs (Glutes/Hamstrings/Calves)
Sunday - Rest
Keep in mind, that success is 80% nutrition. As long as you have a solid nutrition program, you can still get results if you are short on time when it comes to working out, or perhaps you are nursing an injury.