February 13, 2018

Why You Should Add Strength Training

Many people, particularly females, are intimated by strength training. A lot of it has to do with not knowing how to do it safely. Personally, I know how to do a lot of them but I still feel overwhelmed and want to make sure I don’t injure myself. Most gyms require you to hire a personal trainer in order to be taught how to safely and effectively use the weight machines. That is usually not an option for a lot of people.

Most people feel that cardio machines, group classes, and yoga are enough exercise. While these are all great options, it’s typically best to use a combination to reach peak fitness levels. Typically group classes are great to push your endurance and stamina. They also provide you with accountability and camaraderie. Women also mention not wanting to “bulk up” while lifting weights. Thankfully that is a very difficult thing to achieve with the way we are built. You would have to make that a goal in order for it to happen. We as women usually will see results more aligned with toning and definition over bulk.

So why should you add strength training into your routine? How often should you be focusing on it? We’ll discuss the reasons to add it below. How often you should be incorporating it is really dependent on what your goals are and what you’re already including in your exercise routine. Generally speaking, incorporating a strength training component into your routine 2-3 times a week. This will allow you to see the results and benefits.

Benefits

Weight lifting or strength training enables your body to grow stronger, develop lean muscles, and more.

Strengthen bones: they stronger while strength training in order to by increasing bone density. This helps reduce your risk of osteoporosis. The muscles around the bone also help to strengthen them.

Manage Weight by boosting your metabolism and help lose weight by making your body work effectively.

Quality of life is improved because you are becoming stronger. This can reduce your risk of fall over time and increase your energy with weight loss and increased metabolism.

Reduce stress and increased mood are also benefits of strength training. This is because of the endorphins released while performing the exercises.

Manage chronic illness: Since you are potentially losing weight, increasing your overall health, you will reduce your risk of illness. This includes heart disease and depression.

As always, remember to speak with your doctor prior to beginning a new exercise routine to ensure you are physically able to do so safely.

Where to start

Now that we have listed some of the benefits of strength training, where do you start? If walking into a gym setting is intimating to you, or you don’t have the ability to hire a personal trainer, that is okay! You can perform simple strength exercises at home to build your stamina and get used it. Using your own body weight is a great place to start, as you don’t need any equipment. You can also find light weights to simple exercises at home to get started. One to consider would be this one from Paleo Hacks. You may be ready to try out the gym equipment though and want to learn more about the safety of that. Nia Shanks offers some great insight on how to get started and what to avoid.

Are you ready to add strength training to your routine? Where are you going to start?