Why You Need Strength Training (and how to do it)
17.05.22
Written by Molly Roper
What is your motivation to come to the gym?
Maybe you want to look better. Maybe you want to feel better. Maybe you want to live longer, stay healthy, lose weight, improve sports performance, recover from an injury, improve your cognitive function… For most people, it’s a combination of a few of these things. Well guess what - strength training will help you on your journey towards ALL of these outcomes!
So without getting too technical, let’s talk about what strength training is, why you should do it, and how!
What is it?
Strength training, or resistance training, is any movement where the muscles of your body have to contract to overcome an opposing force. The bigger that opposing force (i.e. the heavier the weight), the more it will cause your body to adapt (get stronger!).
Why it will help you reach your goals
Fat loss: Although diet is the biggest influence here, strength training can be a huge help! Losing unwanted fat is much easier if you’re burning more calories, and as you get stronger and build muscle, your body actually burns more during your workouts AND while at rest - win!
Living longer and stronger: Muscle mass declines as we age. If we don’t use it - we lose it! But strength training allows us to maintain muscle and even build muscle later in life, to protect us from injury and disability as we age.
Reduce injuries: Often sore and tight muscles are actually just weak muscles that need a bit of TLC - in the form of strength training! And don’t forget bones too - increasing your bone density will reduce the risk of fractures and breaks.
Increase your confidence: It’s scientifically proven - lifting weights makes you feel like a badass! Ok maybe the scientists don’t use those terms exactly, but working hard to overcome challenges in the gym will definitely make you feel strong and capable and this feeling transfers to whatever else you take on in life!
How to do it
You know that saying, “Growth only happens outside of your comfort zone”? Well, this principle applies to your muscles. You have to challenge them, outside of their comfort zone, in order for them to get stronger! As in, you gotta get a little uncomfortable ;)
If you’re someone that likes to do 3 sets of 10 reps of every exercise, you’re more likely training your ‘muscular endurance’. Which is ok, but sometimes we’ve got to challenge the strength a little more by lifting HEAVIER weight, for LESS repetitions.
Working up to a weight that is close to your maximum will lead to greater strength gains, leading to all those benefits discussed above! For example, if you are doing deadlifts, and you can easily reach 10 repetitions, your muscles are not being challenged anywhere near their maximum capacity. Try adding some weight until you are finding a set of just 3-5 reps is a real challenge to get through. Now we’re getting to business on those strength gains!
Getting started
At Phase 1, we’ve got everything you need to get started, even if you’ve never done any strength training before. Using our fixed-weight machines is a good place to begin. It’s always a good idea to start light if you’re trying an exercise for the first time, and once you’ve got your technique down, then you can start to increase the weight.
You’ll want to give your muscles a decent rest in between sets. A great time-efficient way to do this is to alternate an upper body exercise with a lower body exercise, so that one muscle group is recovering while the other is working, this will save you standing around twiddling your thumbs between sets!
If you want some help, book in for a Personal Training consultation and we’ll help you to get started. We’ll get you lifting weights, feeling confident and strong and ready to take on any challenge!
