Muscular conditioning is a great way to stay fit and healthy and has tremendous benefits for your overall health and wellness. These are just a few of the benefits of training with weights...
Reduces body fat and increases lean body mass (muscle mass)
Helps to keep bones dense and strong
Increases energy levels
Helps you to maintain correct posture
Increases metabolism and helps to maintain weight
Helps you to perform everyday tasks such as climbing stairs and lifting objects
Reduces your risks of being injured
Increases the strength of tendons and ligaments
In order to get the most out of your workout, according to an Exercise Physiologist with a Master's Degree in Kinesiology, follow these tips and tricks.
BALANCE. Design your workout to make sure that you are creating a BALANCED BODY. A workout without balance can increase your risk of injury and result in poor posture. Do this by always training with a focus on the relationship between agonist/antagonist or push/pull. For example, when you work shoulders make sure your work your lats; when you work your chest make sure you also work your traps and rhomboids, when you work your abs make sure your work your low back; when you work your biceps make sure to work your triceps; when you work your hams and glutes be sure to work your quads.
ROM. Go through FULL RANGE OF MOTION as much as you possibly can. Extend fully and squeeze tightly at the beginning and end of each motion. Work FIRST on range of motion before moving on to heavier weights or faster movements. If you have movement limitations work slowly with weights that you can control as you put your mind to your form and control and get your range of motion as full as possible.
TEMPO. Once you've mastered the movement and you've increased your range of motion to your maximum potential without injury, THEN you can start moving through the movements faster - but ALWAYS with good form - for more challenge and results. Do not increase your weights if your form is not clean and under control.
MAX REPS and LOAD. When you can perform your desired amount of repetitions WITH GOOD FORM, then you are ready to increase your work load. If you want to build muscular endurance, you'll want to MAX OUT at 15- 30 repetitions. This means that you cannot perform more than 30 reps with good form because the weight is TOO HEAVY. If you can do more than 30 reps with good form then it is time to move to a heavier resistance. MAXIMUM REPS is the number of repetitions that you can complete in one set WITH GOOD FORM.
STRENGTH vs ENDURANCE. Wanna get stronger and build your muscles or tone and firm without bulk? If you're just starting out with your muscular conditioning program, start with lighter weights and 15-20 repetitions. As you get stronger and MASTER your form, start increasing your resistance. To get stronger and gain size, you'll want to MAX OUT at 8-10 repetitions of each exercise.
To keep your workouts interesting CHALLENGE YOURSELF by focusing on FORM; increasing your Range of Motion; increasing your speed or number of repetitions; or by increasing your WORK LOAD.
To get results from your weight workout, you'll need to push your muscles harder than that to which they are already accustomed. You can maintain your current level by continuing to do what you're doing, but to get stronger, you have to continue to PUSH HARDER. This will make your workouts more rewarding and enjoyable - and deliver you the results you're looking for!
To learn more about lifting with proper form and creating a balanced and effective workout, you'll find instructional videos along with additional training videos HERE.
You've Got This!!
P.S. Do you want a trainer to take you through your Weight Workout? JOIN US at Dry Creek Park in Clovis on Mondays and Fridays at 9am! BYOWeights! 😃