Strength training is beneficial for everybody! It doesn't matter whether you want to be a competitive athlete, be healthy enough to play with your grandchildren, or just lose weight.
That's right...I said lose weight! Many people who want to lose weight are afraid of building muscle. They think that strength training will make them look big and bulky. This couldn't be further from the truth! By strength training you build muscle, which increases your metabolism. That means that your body will be burning more calories even when you're resting. By strength training you are actually transforming your body into a lean, mean, fat-burning machine!
So if you really want to "lose weight" don't focus on losing weight, focus on losing body fat and building muscle. Muscle is active; it never stops burning calories for you! Fat, on the other hand, is inactive. It just sits on your body and does nothing for you, so get rid of it. And the best way to get rid of that fat is to surround it with fat-burning, metabolism-boosting muscle!
Strength training is also important for anyone who wants to be an athlete or anyone who wants to reduce the risk of injury in their everyday lives. So, now that I've convinced you of the importance of strength training, where should you start?
1) Figure out what your goals are and what your current fitness level is. Any personal trainer can help you with this.
2) Start by balancing out your body. People usually want to jump right in to lifting heavy weights...BAD IDEA! You should spend you first few weeks doing "stabilization" exercises to strengthen your core and develop your balance, so you don't hurt yourself.
3) Work on "muscular endurance." For the second month of any program, I usually recommend that clients do a combination of "strength exercises" followed by "stability exercises" to help them build up their endurance.
4) After about 8 weeks you can really start focusing on building strength and even explosive power if you're a competitive athlete. This is when you can really start having some fun with some real high-intensity workouts!
Now that you know the basics of strength training, get started!
Showing posts with label strength training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strength training. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Strength Training for Weight Loss - Improving Overall Balance
Whether you're planning on doing squats, standing shoulder presses, jogging, or just walking around in the winter....if you don't have balance, you have a very good chance of injuring yourself.
For years people thought of balance as something you either had or you didn't. Now a days, we know that you can actually improve your balance significantly by doing certain exercises.
So what exercises should you do?
My favorite exercise for balance is the "single leg squat". It is just like a squat, except you do it on one leg. It is an exercise that requires that you already have very good balance. I will typically only have a client start with this exercise if they are a competitive athlete or if they already exercise regularly. For most clients, we will typically spend 4-8 weeks progressing to the single leg squat. Here are 3 balance exercises we would do in the meantime:
1) Stand on 1 leg and move the other leg to the front, side, and twisting to the back
2) Step up on a step and balance on 1 leg for 3 seconds
3) Do a squat with and exercise ball between your back and the wall this will help to increase your range of motion on you squat.
If you want more details on any of these exercises, just ask!
For years people thought of balance as something you either had or you didn't. Now a days, we know that you can actually improve your balance significantly by doing certain exercises.
So what exercises should you do?
My favorite exercise for balance is the "single leg squat". It is just like a squat, except you do it on one leg. It is an exercise that requires that you already have very good balance. I will typically only have a client start with this exercise if they are a competitive athlete or if they already exercise regularly. For most clients, we will typically spend 4-8 weeks progressing to the single leg squat. Here are 3 balance exercises we would do in the meantime:
1) Stand on 1 leg and move the other leg to the front, side, and twisting to the back
2) Step up on a step and balance on 1 leg for 3 seconds
3) Do a squat with and exercise ball between your back and the wall this will help to increase your range of motion on you squat.
If you want more details on any of these exercises, just ask!
Strength Training for Weight Loss - Improving Core Strength
When most people hear "core strength" they think of those 6-pack abs they're hoping to get. That's not what we're talking about. Our first goal is to strengthen our "inner core" or our "seat belt" muscles. These are the muscles that stabilize our spine and hold our bodies together. Believe it or not, everything we do uses our core. If our core isn't strong, and we try to strength train or lift something heavy, our chances of injury go through the roof!
So how can you strengthen your core?
Easier than you think. When I design a "phase 1" program for a client, almost every exercises is a core exercise...even though we don't do a single sit-up! It's true, here are some examples of exercises that will increase core strength:
1) Instead of doing a bench press lying down, do a cable press standing up. Concentrate on keeping your head, shoulders and hips in line with each other by tightening your core muscles.
2) Instead of doing a seated rowing exercises, do a standing cable row, using the same "core stabilization" technique you used with the cable press.
These are just 2 examples, there are plenty more! If you want more exercises, just ask!
So how can you strengthen your core?
Easier than you think. When I design a "phase 1" program for a client, almost every exercises is a core exercise...even though we don't do a single sit-up! It's true, here are some examples of exercises that will increase core strength:
1) Instead of doing a bench press lying down, do a cable press standing up. Concentrate on keeping your head, shoulders and hips in line with each other by tightening your core muscles.
2) Instead of doing a seated rowing exercises, do a standing cable row, using the same "core stabilization" technique you used with the cable press.
These are just 2 examples, there are plenty more! If you want more exercises, just ask!
Strength Training for Weight Loss - Correcting Muscle Imbalances
Like I said in my last post, an initial strength training program for weight loss should have 3 goals; correcting muscle imbalances, improving core strength, and improving your overall balance. In this post we'll be talking about how you can correct muscle imbalances. Our next two posts will discuss the other two goals.
If you're like most people, your body is like a shopping cart with one wheel that sticks, continually drifting to the right.
In your body, your muscles are always working together. If one muscle does less work than it should...because it is weaker or not as flexible as it should be....other muscles will compensate for it. This may be good initially, because it "gets the job done", but after a while these muscle imbalances get more severe. Your overactive muscles get stronger and your under active muscles get weaker.
Why is this a problem?
Let me give you an example. You are always using your leg muscles...to lift things, walk up stairs, etc. If your glutes (butt muscles) and hamstrings are under active you will over compensate with you quads (thighs) and your lower back. Over compensation with your quads will put extra stress on your knees, and over compensation with your lower back could lead to back problems.
So what can a strength training program do to correct these imbalances?
Simply put, you need to do exercises that won't allow stronger muscles to compensate for the weaker ones. This can be achieved by doing exercises like the 2-arm cable press, which requires you to use both arms equally; or a single leg squat (with the correct prompting from a trainer) that will allow you to correct some of the imbalances in your leg muscles.
If you're like most people, your body is like a shopping cart with one wheel that sticks, continually drifting to the right.
In your body, your muscles are always working together. If one muscle does less work than it should...because it is weaker or not as flexible as it should be....other muscles will compensate for it. This may be good initially, because it "gets the job done", but after a while these muscle imbalances get more severe. Your overactive muscles get stronger and your under active muscles get weaker.
Why is this a problem?
Let me give you an example. You are always using your leg muscles...to lift things, walk up stairs, etc. If your glutes (butt muscles) and hamstrings are under active you will over compensate with you quads (thighs) and your lower back. Over compensation with your quads will put extra stress on your knees, and over compensation with your lower back could lead to back problems.
So what can a strength training program do to correct these imbalances?
Simply put, you need to do exercises that won't allow stronger muscles to compensate for the weaker ones. This can be achieved by doing exercises like the 2-arm cable press, which requires you to use both arms equally; or a single leg squat (with the correct prompting from a trainer) that will allow you to correct some of the imbalances in your leg muscles.
How to Start Strength Training for Weight Loss
So we've discussed the importance of strength training if you want to really lose weight for the long haul, but where do you start? When you're starting a strength training program it's important that you build a strong foundation. Nothing could be worse than going to the gym, doing the same workout you used to do in high school, only to injure yourself and never exercise again!
First, you should definitely talk to your doctor and ask if there are any types of exercise that you should not be doing. Then, I'd recommend meeting with a certified personal trainer. Most personal trainers will be able to design a strength program specific to your particular needs and goals.
The program that your trainer designs may be less intense than what you may be expecting...don't worry! Long term weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint! Typically, your first 4-8 weeks should focus on 3 main goals:
1) Correcting muscle imbalances.
2) Developing core strength.
3) Improving your balance (so you don't fall over)
If your program does these 3 things, it is a good one, and you are on your way to building that muscle you need to lose that fat and keep it off!
First, you should definitely talk to your doctor and ask if there are any types of exercise that you should not be doing. Then, I'd recommend meeting with a certified personal trainer. Most personal trainers will be able to design a strength program specific to your particular needs and goals.
The program that your trainer designs may be less intense than what you may be expecting...don't worry! Long term weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint! Typically, your first 4-8 weeks should focus on 3 main goals:
1) Correcting muscle imbalances.
2) Developing core strength.
3) Improving your balance (so you don't fall over)
If your program does these 3 things, it is a good one, and you are on your way to building that muscle you need to lose that fat and keep it off!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Weight Lifting and Weight Loss
My clients will sometimes ask, "Why do I have to lift weights if I want to lose weight?"
This is a common question, epsecially since people often associate lifting weights with "getting bigger", while the goal of weight loss is to "get smaller." Just about everyone knows the benefits of burning calories through aerobic exercise, but it sometimes takes clients a little while to warm up to the idea of strength training.
Strength training should be an important part of anyone's weight management program. By strength training (a.k.a. lifting weights) you'll be building muscle. Muscle is "metabolically active", meaning it burns calories even when you're not exercising. By improving your body composition (by losing fat and gaining muscle) you actually speed up your metabolism, turning your body into a more efficeint fat burning machine!
This is a common question, epsecially since people often associate lifting weights with "getting bigger", while the goal of weight loss is to "get smaller." Just about everyone knows the benefits of burning calories through aerobic exercise, but it sometimes takes clients a little while to warm up to the idea of strength training.
Strength training should be an important part of anyone's weight management program. By strength training (a.k.a. lifting weights) you'll be building muscle. Muscle is "metabolically active", meaning it burns calories even when you're not exercising. By improving your body composition (by losing fat and gaining muscle) you actually speed up your metabolism, turning your body into a more efficeint fat burning machine!
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