STRENGTH FOR FITNESS
Strength training is the key to fitness! Everyone by now has read that doing cardio alone is not
the answer to becoming more fit. All the publications out there tell you to do some strength
training in addition to aerobic exercise when trying to lose weight or tone up. Have you ever
done one of those "routines" in the magazines? Most of them are A) ridiculously easy, so much
so that the author seems to think the readers aren't capable of any more than eating and
browsing the supermarket or B) totally fictional accounts from actual pro bodybuilders (if you
think those monsters only do what they mention in the articles...well I've got some real estate
for sale, just ask!)
One of the things I want to accomplish here is to teach more people WHAT THEY CAN REALLY
DO!
You are capable of much more than YOU think, and once YOU know that, YOU won't be stopped!
Benefits of STRENGTH TRAINING
- Increased metabolic rate (burn more calories, even while resting)
- Increased muscle tone
- CONFIDENCE!!
- keeps workouts new and challenging
Strength training is the lost element in most peoples' exercise regime. On any given day when
you walk into a commercial gym you will see tons of people doing different exercises and
routines, all in search of the ever elusive "fitness" goal.
Who's doing it right?
Here are some simple guidelines:
How many reps should I do?
This causes the biggest argument anytime it comes up. Ask two people in a
weight-room and you'll most likely get two answers, not similar to each other.
Some will say you have to do sets of 10 (or more)...Some will say you have
to do sets of 5, others will tell you to do only sets of 2-3. Here's a handy
guide to tell you what happens (generally) when you do 'x' amount of reps:
reps: 15+..........12..........10.......6..5...............1
result: cardio size zone-------------> strength
(12-6 reps) zone
(5-1 reps)
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How heavy should I lift?
Weight training works through the
process of ADAPTATION. Your body
will try to adapt to the forces acting
against it and will attempt to make
itself ready to repeat the effort.
Thusly, if your exercise regime is not
enough of a challenge, it won't adapt!
Simply put, if it's too easy, it's not
doing anything!
The flipside: if the weight you're
trying to lift is too heavy (or the
pace too fast, or the time too long),
your body will rebel against you
big time! Overtraining may occur
and at the least you risk not
achieving the goals you've set.
So what's the answer?
Multiple sets!
Doing more than one set of each
exercise lets you find out how
much you'll need to do in order
to properly fatigue the muscle or
system in question.
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How often should I work-out?
Another hotly debated question.
If you haven't been training long, 2 or 3 days a week is probably enough. For those who've been lifting consistently
for over 6/8 weeks, 4 days a week may be more advisable. Everyone's body is different; some people are able to
train more often than others.
WARNING!! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BEGIN THESE OR ANY OTHER
EXERCISE REGIMES UNLESS YOU HAVE PHYSICIAN'S CLEARANCE TO DO
EXERCISE! CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR FIRST!!!!!
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