Transform Your Health, Sculpt Your Body, and Build Strength Through Strength Training!
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What if we told you that by following a singular exercise regime, you could drastically increase your heart health, reduce your calorie count, and shed those extra pounds? Wouldn’t you be up for that? Well, you are lucky because we are here to talk about strength training. It is a modern exercise that aims to lose weight by using resistance to strengthen the muscles and burn calories.
Let us know more about this beautiful way to lose those extra calories and become lean and muscular without running endless laps on the field. Let’s go!
What is Strength Training?
Strength training refers to using the body’s personalized strength against itself to counter calorie counts and increase muscle mass. It is most similar to natural physical training that humans evolved to do. Prehistoric humans were naturally strong and fit due to the intense physical workouts that they performed as part of their daily lives.
This lifestyle is still visible in tribal societies that live primitive lifestyles. Strength training is designed with the same idea, helping to emulate similar exercises that mimic the activities primitive men act out.
Resistance training and weight training are, thus, a large part of this kind of exercise regime. This type of exercise is part of anaerobic exercise, which means the body is made to exert large amounts of force and expound immense energy in short bursts. Isometric exercises such as planks and pushups are also part of this regime, as are plyometric exercises like jumping and skipping.
What Are The Benefits Of Strength Training?
Strength training exercises have a whole host of benefits that trainers can experience. They can help improve your muscle tone and texture, aside from making you more robust than ever. We will take a look at a few:
- Increases Bone Density and Strength
While regular cardio exercises are designed to improve heart health and shed weight slowly, strength training helps in the overall development of the body. This includes your bone health and its density. Decreasing bone density over time is one of the leading reasons for a debilitating life later.
- Weight Management
You can practice strength training for weight loss for marvelous results. This training type uses the body weight against itself, which helps to cut down on fat and reduce your weight radically.
- Postpone Chronic Diseases
It can help keep several chronic diseases at bay by improving both your physical and mental health. Some common age-related diseases you can block include arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, obesity, back pain, and heart disease.
- Develops Better Body Mechanics
Strength exercises help you develop muscle memory, resulting in better posture and balance. You will see your hand-eye coordination improve radically, and your body will feel more responsive.
Getting Started with Strength Training
If you are looking to get into strength training yourself,
You do not need much in terms of equipment. These few simple items will more than suffice at the beginning to get you started:
- Exercise mat for a soft surface when you do planks or lunges
- Resistance bands for a variety of resistance exercises
- Dumbbells and kettlebells as extra weights
- Stability balls to build balance and coordination
- Medicine ball for warmups
Bodyweight Strength Training Exercises
Take a look at a few strength training exercises that you can easily do yourself at home:
1. Lunges
A lunge is designed to train the lower part of your body and stress your thighs and legs. It puts all the muscles, including the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes, to work. See how it works:
- Stand straight, with feet a few centimeters apart, and keep your shoulders level.
- Perform a squat with one foot forward. Your leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your knee should not exceed your toes.
- Keep your spine level and hold the position for a few seconds.
- Come back to the original position and repeat with the left leg. Repeat ten times, rest, and do another rep.
2. Squat To Raise Overhead
If you are a complete beginner, this is one of the best exercises. Follow:
- Stand straight with your feet apart. Perform a straight squat and sit down.
- Rise again and repeat 20 times. Your hands should be by your side. You can hold a weight after you have gotten some practice.
3. Planks
A plank is one of the most straightforward ideas but the most challenging to execute. Take a look:
- Lie down on your front and put your weight on your elbows, arms, and toes only.
- Put your abdominal muscles to work, and try to hold the position for around 30 seconds at first. It may not happen the first time, so keep practicing!
4. Pushups
Pushups are one of the oldest exercises in human history. This is how you do it:
- Hold your body in the plank position, but rest your weight on your palms instead of your arms.
- Slowly lower your torso toward the ground while keeping it straight. Hold for a few seconds.
- Raise your body again to its original position and repeat ten times before going higher.
Strength Training For Weight Loss
If you want to lose weight through strength exercises, do not start with bodyweight exercises, as it can be difficult if you are overweight. Instead, start with functional strength training exercises. If you wish to know what is functional strength training, click here to read a detailed article!
Strength Training Dos and Don’ts
These are some things to keep in mind when starting with strength training:
Do’s
- Talk to a trainer first, even if you practice primarily at home.
- Get yourself some simple weights to start with.
- Always perform your warmup to get those muscles fired.
Don’ts
- Don’t overexert yourself at any point. Take a break if needed.
- Do not start with a considerable weight right away. Give yourself time to adjust.
- Do not forget to hydrate yourself. It will help your cooldown periods.
FAQ’s
- Does strength training burn fat?
Of course, it does! It is one of the fastest ways to burn fat, using the body’s weight against itself.
- How do I know if strength training is working?
You will surely see some results in a few weeks if you are doing it right. If not, consult a professional trainer, and they will help you out!
Conclusion
That was all about strength training in a short article. We hope this was enlightening and that you will use the exercises given to improve your health and increase your strength. Keep following this space for more informative and exciting content on health and fitness!
