- DEVELOP STONG BONES – by stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis
- CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT – you burn calories during strength training, and your body continues to burn calories after strength training, a process called “physiologic homework.” More calories are used to make and maintain muscle than fat, and in fact strength training can boost your metabolism by 15 percent — that can really jumpstart a weight loss plan.
- REDUCE YOUR RISK OF INJURY – building muscle helps protect your joints from injury. It also contributes to better balance, which can help you maintain independence as you age and reduce risk of falling.
- BOOST YOUR STAMINA – as you get stronger, you won’t fatigue as easily.
- MANAGE CHRONIC CONDITIONS – strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis.
- SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS – research suggests that regular strength training helps improve attention for older adults.
- PROMOTES A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE – Numerous studies have linked strength training to increased health-related quality of life. This has been defined as a person’s perceived physical and mental well-being.
How often should you do resistance/strength exercises and for how long?
- A beginner needs to train two or three times per week to gain the maximum benefit. Those who are more advanced may train more often.
- Rest each muscle group for at least 48 hours to give muscles time to rest and repair, and to maximize gains in strength and size.
- A beginner workout will be 20-40 minutes. Those who are more advanced may train longer.
What type of exercises should I be doing?
Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. Different forms of resistance training include using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, suspension equipment, and your own body weight. The type of training (strength, power, endurance, and/or hypertrophy) you do depends on your exercise goals (ie. improve athletic performance, rehab/pre-hab/post-rehab, or basic body shaping/toning).
Tips for getting started
- Keep a good, positive attitude!!
- ALWAYS maintain proper form: shoulders back, chest lifted, core engaged.
- To have the most effective strength training workout, it is important that you are actively engaging the muscle group that you are focusing on rather than passively going through the movements.
- Warm up with brisk walking or another aerobic activity for five or 10 minutes. Cold muscles are more prone to injury than are warm muscles.
- Choose a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles when there are about 3-6 repetitions left of the exercise.
- Varying your workouts can help you push past a training plateau.
- When you can easily do more repetitions of a certain exercise, gradually increase the weight or resistance. Remember that the point of resistance training is to OVERLOAD the muscles. Muscles will only get stronger with progressive training.
- Make sure you are advanced in your training program and are well prepared for overloading by being engaged in an on-going exercise program.
- Participants at a Beginner and Intermediate level or those who had longer breaks in their program are advised to first consult a fitness specialist before engaging in intense overloading of the muscle.
- Stretch after your workout to bring your body and your mind back to a relaxed state.
- Put it in your schedule. Treat it like an appointment. DO NOT CANCEL!!
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