As you get older, your body naturally loses some of its muscle. Consequently, you might notice that you can’t lift some of the heavier objects you could when you were a youngster. Because of a sedentary lifestyle and/or the aging process, your muscles may have gotten weaker over time. Almost everyone can benefit from strength training, not just athletes or professional body builders. Active muscles not only provide you with more strength, but they also increase your overall health, both physically and mentally.
Before you even lift a weight, though, you need to warm up your muscles. For example, you may want to jog for a few minutes to get your blood flowing. Warming up allows your body to deliver blood and nutrients to your muscles and joints, improving your circulation. The next step to take incorporates stretching your muscles. Not only does stretching decrease your risk of injury and prevent your muscles from getting strained and sore, but it also increases your flexibility and range of motion. When you stretch, your muscles prepare to move in motions as efficiently as possible.
When you head into the weight room, you should always work the larger muscle groups first, and then the smaller, more isolated muscle groups. For example, do your pushups – which work many muscles in your body – before you do tricep extensions. When starting training, you should also concentrate on the larger muscle groups, such as some of the following:
- The glutes (the muscle that covers your butt) will get a workout when you do exercises such as squats, lunges and box step-ups.
- You will also work your quads (the muscle on the front of the thigh) by doing squats and lunges, as well as the leg extension and leg press machines.
Also, when working out, make sure you always work opposite muscles so your muscles don’t get imbalanced. For example, if you do tricep extensions, make sure you also do bicep curls; and if you do crunches or another activity that uses your stomach or chest, make sure to do back extensions, as well.
You should focus on your technique when strength training, especially in the beginning. Remember that you should never sacrifice technique for extra pounds. Good technique means that you use a full range of motion and you have a straight spine. Also, go slowly and avoid fast, jerky movements. When you go too fast, the momentum does a lot of the work, and your muscles don’t benefit as much. Lifting at a good pace means one to two seconds for lifting up and three to four seconds for lowering. Also, breathe steadily and evenly — in through the nose and out through the mouth.
To know how much weight to use, you have to listen to your body. Your muscles will benefit most if you do repetitions of between eight and 12. However, you should feel a strain, and when you can easily do 12 reps, you should increase your weight by 5 percent. Experts have figured out that you benefit the most when training with 60 to 80 percent of your maximum weight. If you want to primarily increase your strength, then you should train with heavier weights. On the other hand, if you want to increase your endurance, then train with lighter weights but do more reps.
Remember to cool down before you finish, too. Allowing your muscles to gradually cool down prevents blood from pooling in the extremities, and you won’t feel as sore later on. With strength training as well as any form of exercising the actual muscle building doesn’t occur while you lift, but while your muscles rest in between sessions. You should always wait at least 48 hours between weight lifting sessions so your muscles have a chance to rebuild.
By Lisa Zyga