20/02/2025
***What Is Strength Training?***
Strength training is a form of exercise that challenges your muscles through resistance created by weights, bands, machines, or even body weight.
***What Are the Benefits?***
Increased muscle growth, strength, power, recovery and endurance
Increased integrity of bone and connective tissues
Increased metabolism
Increased insulin sensitivity
Reduced rate of injury
Reduced lower back pain
Slowing of age-related declines like strength and bone loss
Having a base of strength ensures that your nervous system, muscular system, connective tissue, and metabolic processes can handle and recover from additional training loads. It increases bone density and improves connective tissue quality through the forces applied by muscle tissue. This type of training protects against age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), and improves joint health by strengthening tendons and ligaments, and allowing your muscles to take some load and stress off your joints. Plus, strength training is a potent way to increase confidence in your physical (and mental) abilities, appearance, and presence in the world.
***How Often Should You Strength Train?***
For most beginners, strength training two to three days per week is enough to gain some muscle and increase strength. By training this often, you should have at least one day of rest between sessions to allow your body to recover and feel fresh for your next workout. If you’re a beginner, it will be important to give yourself time to learn fundamental movements, and starting with two to three training sessions each week gives you room to progress to more in the future.
***What Should a Strength Training Workout Look Like?***
1. Start With a Dynamic Warm-Up!
A dynamic warm-up (check out the one linked here) gets your body ready for more intense training in your workout, and should include some breath work and movement prep. Breath work involves diaphragmatic breathing that helps improve postural alignment, deep belly breathing, and core and pelvic floor connection. Movement preparation involves moving through ranges of motion you’ll do in your workout at lighter intensities, which helps improve mobility, stability, and activation. Your warm-up should take you 5-10 minutes.
2. Perform a Full-Body Workout!
Doing full-body workouts is one of the most efficient ways you can maximize your time in the gym. Performing compound movements that involve multiple joints and large muscle groups is not only efficient, but helps you develop coordination and great exercise technique. Start with the largest movements first. These include:
Squat – a movement with a lot of hip and knee bend
Hinge – a movement with a lot of hip bend, less knee bend
Push – pushing away from you: horizontal, angled and or vertical
Pull – pulling towards you: horizontal, angled and or vertical
There are a ton of variations of each of these movements, but as a beginner it’s important you start with the basics. Here’s an example of some exercises we’d choose for a beginner:
Bodyweight squat to box (squat)
Dumbbell Romanian deadlift (hinge)
Half-kneeling overhead press (vertical push)
Half-kneeling one-arm row (horizontal pull)
3. Pair Exercises Together to Rest Appropriately!
In the example above, you’ll also see that we suggest pairing exercises together, often a lower body and an upper body exercise. This allows you to let either your upper or lower body rest while the other is working, and also helps maximize time in the gym.
4. Perform 2–3 Sets of a Moderate to High Number of Reps!
A set is how many times you’ll perform each exercise. Reps are the number of repetitions you’ll perform in each set. Starting with a larger number of reps for each exercise (10 to 15 per set) allows you to get more practice with each exercise so you can focus on technique first.
5. Choose Your Weights Wisely & Progress Over Time!
When selecting weights or resistance, pick a challenging yet manageable load for the given number of reps. Aim to feel like: You could complete two more reps with good form. The weight is tough, but achievable.
6. As you build strength, you'll find your current weights becoming easier!
That's when it's time to level up! Increase your load when: You can do 5+ extra reps with ease. You feel confident in your technique.
Gradually increase weights in small increments to stay challenged. Every 4-6 weeks, shake up your routine with: new exercises, heavier weights, different variations. Stay progressive, stay challenged, and watch your fitness journey soar!
7. Get Fit with What You've Got!
You don't need a full gym to get a great workout! As a beginner, you can start with minimal equipment. Try using: Bodyweight exercises, Resistance bands
Dumbbells, Barbells, Kettlebells, Medicine balls, Backyard Monkey Bar sets
Get creative and make the most of what you have available!
8. If You’re Nervous About Getting Started, Check This Out!
As a beginner, there’s no pressure to be great right away. Take your time with getting to know your strength training routine and equipment that’s new to you. Know that each time you workout, you gain valuable practice. Everyone was a beginner at one point.
***If you're excited but intimidated by the thought of training at a gym, join me for a 60 minute hands-on class where I'll provide personalised guidance as a qualified Personal Trainer. You'll gain valuable insights and confidence to navigate the gym like a pro!***
