Resistance training helps with bone density (something that women are more likely to struggle with down the line), increasing oxygen to blood, as well as "neural recruitment" which basically means you build a better connection with your body through proprioception or body awareness. Resistance training also helps to replace fat with muscle! This means that not only will you loose some jiggly bits, but you also increase your metabolism. A higher metabolism means you get to eat more food and that you have higher energy levels from day-to-day.
What happens during resistance development is your body increases its ability to adapt to stressors (weights, bands, medicine balls, etc.). The great thing about this is that it really never ends as long as you're living and lifting. The catch is that you can increase your strength in more ways than building muscle mass. You can build endurance, length, recruitment abilities, and so forth, through increasing repetitions, stretching more, adding more instability to the workout setting, etc.
Today we will start with building strength in general, where all people who are building a workout program should start. Once you're strong and stable you can build a very fancy and fun routine on that foundation.
So your first resistance experience should include a lot of slower reps that are on a more stable surface (if you're not training with a trainer). This means that typically you are standing on both feet, knees slightly bent, core engaged and mind on the prize. Your reps are usually "up two, down one" or "down two, up one" (the latter is actually better as you build strength).
You should definitely incorporate workouts where you use only one leg like single-leg squats, single-leg deadlifts, walking lunges. Otherwise, take your time to build your mind body connection by sitting while you do bicep curls or using the bench press bench and bar. When you master those things, next up is the stability ball (swiss ball...the big ball that you can sit on). Please don't make the mistake of staying in the first level for too long or by moving on too soon! The body typically takes 4-12 weeks to adjust to a new workout. Part of this is confidence, as well. Trust your body when it tells you that it's ready to move on but, it's better to start below and build than start too high and experience injury that you can't turn back from.
A nice pairing with the stabilization technique is building muscle endurance. So along with your slower reps and muscle recruitment, as you strive to build that lean look, you do 2-3 set of up to 12-15 repetitions more than once a week allowing 24-48 hours between weightlifting sessions so that the muscles can heal.
HERE'S probably THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: Do NOT stop when you experience DOMS. DOMS = delayed-onset muscle soreness! DOMS is normal. DOMS is good. DOMS does not mean STOP. Stretch, rest for 24-48 hrs MAX and repeat the same workout again. As you continue, the DOMS subsides because the muscle react less with alarm but more with familiarity. IT WILL GO AWAY! Now, if you experience PAIN that's one thing, but it if just feels like your body is mad you made it do something new w/o asking then 9:10 it's simply a little soreness that is very manageable.
We will revisit this topic in a few weeks and talk about the next steps which are: hypertophy (enlarging muscle fibers), maximal strength building and then POWER. Get excited!
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GREAT BASIC FULL-BODY STRENGTH WORKOUT:
Upper:
- push-ups
- bicep curls
- triceps dips/extensions
- lat-pulldowns
- rows (all types)
- chest press
- plank (variations)
- crunches
- rotational exercises
- sit-ups
- supermans
- squats
- lunges (forward, backward, side)
- leg press
- deadlifts
- fire hydrants
- step-ups
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Get a free consultation today! E-mail me at wellthandhealthcontact@gmail.com to set up your appointment.
**Always talk to your doctor about starting or changing a fitness routine. Also speak with fitness professionals face-to-face so that they can assess your body and let you know if there are more ideal circumstances for you to start in.
