This article will detail exactly how you can add strength training to your workout or exercise routine. Strength training should be a key component of any exercise program. If you’re not using it, then you will need to know and follow this guide to get the best that you can from a fuller range of exercises. You can easily start this guide at any step in your health and fitness journey, as it is a simplistic guide to be used by anyone interested in accessing the benefits of strength training.
Determine the Why
What is it that you want from the strength training? There are several known scientific benefits that you will gain from strength training and you should, therefore, first determine exactly why you want to start strength training. Do you simply want to lose some abdominal fat and fit into a particular outfit or is the weight loss to be sustained over a longer period? Furthermore, you will also be able to build lean muscle and improve your balance and how you feel about yourself and the way you look.
It is at this stage in the process that you need to determine your goals for your overall workout and then see where strength training fits into this.
Do You Have a Budget?
How much do you have to spend, or do you want to spend on your exercise or fitness regime? You can start without a budget and simply use your body weight in the available space that you have at home. Run, skip, do pull-ups, and push-ups, and all this without the need for any equipment or specific financial outlay. Yet, if you do have the money to spend, then you need to think clearly and buy your equipment wisely.
Write it all down, as this will help you to see what you need for the addition of strength training and focus your buying to suit the overall fitness and exercise goals that you have identified in the first step.
Know What the Options Are
You now need to find the equipment or access to strength training equipment in the specific price bracket that you have determined. Can you afford the soaring prices of a gym or would one of the many home gyms and cable machines available at mirafit.co.uk be a better place to start in the comfort and privacy of your own home? You need weights and resistance to build muscular strength and, in the lifting and building of lean muscle, you will also be able to burn calories and change body shape and size.
So, do your research and read as many reviews as you can to establish exactly which machines or equipment will give you the best opportunity to lift weights and use resistance that suits your fitness and current strength levels. Preferably, choose one that can be adjusted as you improve your fitness and strength. The rise of the home gym or use of free weights in the home is a trend that continues, as people find the equipment and exercise tools more readily available and affordable.
Start Slow and Low
Including strength training in your workout will require you to plan for the long term. Only regular incremental changes to the weights lifted will be able to provide the stress and impetus for muscle growth and calorie loss. Machines that can be added to or weights that can be adjusted are the best way to start. Start by using weight or resistance that you can manage for 10 repetitions and then, as it becomes easier, increase the reps to, say, 15 per set, and only once these lifts are doable, look to increase the weight.
Watch Others for the Correct Form
The best way to get the right form and function of the exercises that you choose to do is to watch others who are more proficient and get tips and the correct movements from them. There are a vast number of free exercise apps that you can download and use or simply stream strength training exercise routines to your mobile phone to use in the gym. It’s also advised that you have mirrors in your exercise space or gym to be able to then check your form or techniques. How you lift weights, stretch, warm up and down and perform the repetitive movements intrinsic to strength training will determine how efficiently you build muscle and whether you get injured or not. Getting the range of movements and repetitions right is, therefore, an essential part of adding strength training to your workout.
Rest and Recuperate
Strength can only be increased with the addition of lean muscle mass, stronger bones, and better flexibility. This is all achieved in the process of weightlifting or resistance training, and yet, will not produce any results without the required rest and recuperation. The accepted guidelines are that each muscle group will require about 36-48 hours of rest to stabilize and recover. Once you introduce strength training to your workout, you will need to ensure that you follow this advice and rest the muscles that you intend to make stronger.
Hydrate
Wet muscles are strong muscles, or so the saying goes. It’s true, your muscles are predominantly fluid filled and, as such, the more water that you drink, the stronger the muscles and the better the ability to recover and grow.
Commit
Strength training by its very nature must be repetitive and, as such, you will need to commit. Have a plan and then by keeping in mind the why, and all the associated benefits you will be able to spend the requisite time regularly to build strength and develop muscle mass.
Final Remarks
Strength training has become one of the most widely used forms of exercise that have proven to have the ability to positively change your health and well-being. Not only will you build lean muscle, but weight loss and bone density are also positively affected by weightlifting and strength training.
