Many get strength training confused with weightlifting or muscle mass building. The three are very different and depending on how you train, you will obtain different results.
Getting your body toned, mobile and functional is the goal of strength training. Strength training can look like several things. It can be lifting weights, using cable weight systems, machines, or even body movements. The focus is on becoming stronger to enable a better quality of life.
In muscle mass building, we explored how to create larger muscles. This does not necessarily mean that a person who has larger muscles has more of a capacity to handle everyday physical situations.
When it comes to strength training, the goal is to be able to be stronger to enable yourself to be more functional in daily activities. This style of workout requires moves that are consistent with life. Lifting boxes, squatting down to reach something, lifting something over your head. Strength training will allow you to be able to achieve these things with much more ease.
When taking on this transformation, having a variety of exercises both with weights as well as aerobics and flexibility are important. Lifting weights or doing body resistance exercises should be equal with cardiovascular training. Do your cardio training on off strength training days.
On strength training days, work out your whole body. Do this two to three times a week with a 24 hour span in between each workout. Weights should be light enough to be able to do 15-20 reps per exercise.
Shoot for about one hour of training in order to get in the full body workout. Start with your larger muscles first so that you are able to focus on the smaller muscles at the end of the workout. If you were to do your leg exercises last, they take the most energy, and therefore you will be worn out when it came time to do them and wouldn’t have an effective leg workout.
Cycle your movements so that you are doing one leg exercise and then with minimal rest, do a chest exercise followed up with back and then cycle again to another leg exercise, chest, and then back. Do about 2 exercises per body part so that when you are done with these you can move on to shoulders, abs, calves. Then after that cycle, finish up with biceps, triceps, and glutes. Then you have completed a good sequence of exercises that will also keep you constantly moving for maximum fat loss as well.
Great exercises for function are having a medicine ball in your hands and bending down and to one side and then up and your arms over your head to the other side. Wall squats are great at isolating the quadriceps and are a great move to mimic everyday activities. For your abdominals, use that medicine ball again and move your body side to side to work the obliques. Grab a set of dumbbells and lift them above your head and back down to your shoulders.
There are many options when it comes to strength training and many ways to incorporate function with building a stronger body. The combination of exercises you choose should reflect as much as possible, the way in which you live in order to be cohesive in a well rounded program.
Courtesy of Hyperstrike
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