Here are the core details of strength training, the one thing you need to make sure that you are eating the muscle building foods and of course lifting heavy stuff too.

However, what does this infer?

Are you wondering how to get started on it?

We did speak about it in some way or the other; however, now is the time to actually divulge the main details and show you how things truly work. The previous thing we spoke about above is known as strength training. Today, we are going to deal with the dynamics of the same and we will explore why the strength training program assumes the highest importance.

Why Strength Training?

It is no surprise that we all love being strong. Whenever you are stuck in problems that require physical application of force, you can always fall back on strength training. If your car is stuck in snow, you can use your strength to get the car out of the driveway.

Further, even if you are obese, it is strength training that will turn out to be the best choice for you. It helps in burning all the extra fat deposits and simultaneously, it will help you in building muscle as well.

Even when you are lifting stuff, you will find that the effect of sarcopenia is going to stop. Sarcopenia is the process by which the skeletal muscles get reduced as we get older with time. Now that you are aware of a few points, let us get started on the main benefits which strength training workouts have to offer.

Lifting Weights to Lose Weight

Strength training isn’t just about losing weight; it is a smart method wherein you lose weight, but retain your body muscles. This in turn, helps you in getting the good physique. Further, when you are strength training, you will find a higher level of PEOC which is post-exercise oxygen consumption. It is even better than aerobic exercise.

After you complete a workout; your body needs to get back to its normal state. This will take time and energy. Strength training is one such method that helps in improving the metabolism as it enhances the Resting Metabolic Rate. This is an important parameter because you need to know that the number of calories required to maintain muscles is more than the ones required for maintaining fat. So, you will overall get an attractive physique and feel like a million bucks.

Strength Training Program And A healthier you:

Strength training doesn’t work on one specific part of your body. It increases the bone density. It will also help in improving your heart and the resting blood pressure is going to be reduced as well. The flow of blood will improve and loss of muscles is halted as well. Apart from this, there are other health benefits too which can bring you other benefits.

Feel better:

With the increasing levels of stress in life, it is very common to find people being bereft of confidence and even energy raise. These exercises will actually help you curtail your stress level, take care of anxiety issues and at the same time help you have a better mood as well. It is also believed that those who make it a point to exercise early in the day can help in getting rid of insomnia and other sleep-related disorders as well.

Prevents diseases:

We are all aware of the number of deaths that occurs because of heart problems. With the help of strength training, a lot of people can prevent heart troubles. These exercises help in preventing the problems related to cholesterol deposition, high blood pressure, diabetes and even obesity. All of these are main factors that lead to heart diseases. Even cardiologists have been recommending little strength training workouts for heart patients under strict monitoring.

With so many benefits under its use, why shouldn’t you strength train?

Give me one reason, why you should not! We understand there are always a few objections and this is why I am going to deal with those first.

The objections to strength training

Here are a few people who come with such senseless reasons to avoid strength training. I am going to bust their myth right here.

“I am too old for this workout. It won’t be safe for me.” Age is nothing but just a number. It is all about how old you truly feel. I have also heard a 30-year-olds say that they are too old to train. In fact, I must be quick to add that a few studies have also stated that strength training program can actually delay Alzheimer’s and even dementia. So, get some other excuse to save your lazy ass from training hard. You are never too old for

Age is nothing but just a number. It is all about how old you truly feel. I have also heard a 30-year-olds say that they are too old to train. In fact, I must be quick to add that a few studies have also stated that strength training program can actually delay Alzheimer’s and even dementia. So, get some other excuse to save your lazy ass from training hard. You are never too old for strength training.

“My main focus is on running and staying slim, why should I strength train?”

There are studies that have proved that strength training actually boosts the endurance limits of your muscles which in turn will help you run faster, longer and even get better at games and other sports too. These exercises not only tone your muscles, but they also activate the motor units which are present inside the muscles and this will improve the endurance limit. Also, they play a critical role in helping you stay slim and we will talk about it later.

“Look at my weight. All my focus should be on shedding weight.”

Seriously, you are the best candidate for strength training. Trust me; you are going to thank me for this recommendation. When you want to get thin, you want to lose your fat and not your muscles and this is why strength training workout is your best choice. It will improve your metabolism, shed the fat and retain your muscles. So, now that we have defied all reasons, let us get started.

Muscles and Strength Training

There are different types of muscular fibers that make our muscles. Based upon the type of fibers you have, you need to decide the kind of training you should have.

The Common Fiber Types And Weight Lifting Workouts

• Slow twitch (type I fibers): these fibers are mainly used for aerobic exercises as they help in converting oxygen into fuel and that too for a longer time duration. They do not get tired very fast but they may take some time before they begin to show signs of movements. These are best for long distance running.
• Fast twitch (Type II fibers): these fibers fire up very quickly, but they can get tired very fast as well. These muscles will not last long and are a little more complicated. These muscles in itself are further categorized into two types. The type II A fibers have better endurance and they are best suited for sprinting. Similarly, the type II X fibers are actually the superfast muscles and are best used when you need extremely high performance for very short duration like a 100 m short race or even sprint race.

The percentage of type I and II muscles differ from person to person and this is why some people are better at long running as compared to sprinting and vice versa. Strength training help you in improving the performance of both these muscles.

Hypertrophy

There are a lot of people who are of the opinion that weight lifting workouts can help you in increasing the total muscle fibers which are present in your body. However, this is a myth. What you need to know is that weight training doesn’t increase the number of fibers; it merely increases their size and consequently the total mass. This increase of mass of muscle fibers is known as hypertrophy. There are different types of hypertrophy and we will talk about them here…

• Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: in this category, the focus is mainly on increasing the amount of sarcoplasm which is the fluid present inside the muscle. This accounts for nearly 30% of your total muscle size.
• Myofibril hypertrophy: myofibril is the contractile part of muscles and this form of hypertrophy emphasizes on strengthening the myofibril. This will aid you in building strong muscles.
• Transient hypertrophy: this is just a temporary size increase which happens just after weight lifting workouts. This mainly occurs because of the accumulation of fluid in the intracellular space.

When you choose to strength train, you will mainly be able to work on these points.

1. The muscle tissues are broken down and your body needs to be healed and you will have to once again build the muscles again. Our body is equipped to recover from the damage we too often inflict on it.
2. When you are increasing the repetition, the amount of glycogen which is stored in the muscles starts increasing; this helps in increasing the muscle size.

So, by now you must have got an idea that strength training is so much more than merely lifting things. You need to learn how to start lifting weights and the different dynamics before you work upon other ways to excel in the art of strength training. There are specific repetitions and numbers of times you should carry out the different exercises so that you can get the most out of strength training.

When you want to work on your muscular strength, you need to keep the repetitions low, but the weights you are using must be heavy. At the same time, if you are looking to work on the size of your muscles, you should keep the weight to be a little lighter but the number of repetitions that you carry out must be high. Mostly, when you choose to carry out weight lifting workouts, you will be developing both strength and size simultaneously as they go hand in hand.

Your recovery time

An extremely important thing you need to know is that you must give your muscles the right time to recover. It is absolutely ridiculous to tire your body to an extent that you cannot tolerate it any further. This is why you need to time your body training in an apt manner. Leave a few cushion days in between because these are the days when your muscles will actually begin to build and gain in size and bulk up. Ideally, before you start working on the same set of muscles, you should have a cushion period of nearly 48 hours. This is important because it is going to give you the right time for the muscles to build all over again.

When you are questioning as to how to start lifting weights, you need to follow some specific exercises and routines. There are a few definite programs that you need to follow and it is your duty to ensure that you are following it in an apt manner. You can find beginner weight training methods too which will help you start from scratch and then successively progress ahead such that you can develop the perfect body.

Regardless of the programs you are choosing, you have to be sure that you are following all the main points using the right equipments and carrying out the exercises in the manner it is supposed to. Do not rush and do not get in a panic. Strength training as an exercise method is going to be really helpful and it will yield the best kind for results as well.

Conclusion

All you need to do is believe in it and keep on following the points because when you do so, it will help you in ways more than one. Shed the extra pounds and get the good muscle tone for your body, which will lead to tons of strength as well.

-Terry Asher