Fitness means different things to different people, but there’s a place in every workout routine for strength training. Whether you’re working with bodyweight and trying functional fitness out or looking to add on the weights and pack on serious muscle, strength training can make a difference not only in your physique but also in your overall health.
What Is Weight Training?
Weight training works your muscles by providing resistance against them. This type of training may involve bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells and plates, or machines, and different workouts are designed to target different parts of your body. While weight training often gets a bad rap for creating loads of muscle, it’s this muscle that helps with overall weight loss. Muscle burns more calories than fat on the body, so the more you have, the more calories you’ll burn at rest, and the easier it is to keep the weight off.
This isn’t to say cardio and other forms of exercise aren’t important. Weight training just takes the cake for long-term goals and its ability to help you shape your body well.
What Are The Benefits Of Weight Training?
Lean muscle mass building is one of the life-changing benefits of weight training. It’s good for fat burning, but also promotes stronger, more dense bones which have a slew of benefits as we age. There’s also the bonus of reducing the risk of injury but working out the muscles that support the joints.
Weight training is also known as resistance training and any exercises within this group will provide benefits.
How Much Weight Training Do You Need?
As with any dedicated workout plan, there are moments where too much is too much. The general guidelines are that you should do resistance training at least twice a week to see the benefits of it. If you’re looking to aggressively make changes to your body or have specific fitness goals, you may want to do resistance training at least three or four times a week to start, with adding a fifth day when you’re up for it down the road.
The general consensus is to keep moving as much as possible. Whether it’s walking your dog twice a day or taking the stairs instead of an elevator, every little bit helps. Coupled with strength training, you’ll be well on your way to your fitness goals.
How To Get Started With Weight Training
It’s intimidating to start a new training regimen. Whether you’re familiar with workouts or not. But resistance training doesn’t have to mean piling on the weight and hitting all the powerlifts from the start.
Bodyweight training is a great way to get started and focus on form while developing good habits. When you start out with resistance training it’s more important to focus on form instead of overall weight, so that when you do start adding weight, you can target the right parts of your body with each workout.
Here’s a sample bodyweight split to get you started:
Warm-up:
10-minute walk or run
The Workout:
Bodyweight Squat – 4 sets of 15 reps
Push-ups – 4 sets of 15 reps
Mountain Climbers – 4 sets of 10 reps
Cooldown:
10-minute walk or run
A general rule of thumb in the weight training world is that 12 sets are a full workout. Complete these 12 sets and you’ve just done some solid resistance training.
Franklin Athletic Club And Weight Training
Not sure how your form looks, or interested in ramping up your weight training experience, Consider a session at Franklin Athletic Club. With free weights, resistance equipment and personal trainers available, you’ll build the muscle you want and set yourself up for strength training success.
Franklin Athletic Club
112 Rand Pl
Franklin, TN 37064
https://franklinathleticclub.com/
615.599.5544
