Basics: Strength Training (2 of 2)

Yesterday we discussed the why of strength training.  Now we’re going to talk about how.

Pick up weight.  Put down.  Repeat.

 

Just kidding, mostly.

 

We need to make sure we work out our whole bodies.  That means we need lower body exercises, upper body exercises, abdominal exercises, and exercises that work both the back and the front of the body.  A good basic list includes squats, deadlifts, bench press or pushups, rows, pretty princesses, and supermans.

 

When we start out lifting weights, we want to build some endurance and stability first.  That means we lift relatively light weights a lot of times and we incorporate some balance challenges (throw in some single leg exercises or do those squats on a BOSU, for example).  The best way to figure out the right weight is to experiment.  We want a weight we can use with good form for 15 to 20 reps.  As with all strength training, as we get stronger, we will need to increase the weight, dialing the reps back down to the low end of the range and working our way back up.  We can do two or three sets of reps for each exercise.

 

Once we’re more confident about the whole idea of weightlifting, we can choose a variety of goals.  Maybe we want to build big muscles or get as strong as possible.  In the first instance, we want to choose slightly heavier weights and work in the 8 to 10 rep range.  In the second, we want to work in sets of up to 5, continually increasing the weight until we can complete only one good-looking rep.  Another possible goal is power, which means lifting a whole bunch of weight really fast.  We want to do that after we have mastered form and we’ve worked on max strength for a while.  Power strength training is best done with a trainer for safety.

 

For folks just getting started, commit to one strength training workout a week.  When that habit is ingrained, we can add a second weight workout.  That is enough for most people, but those of us who get really into it can add more.  We need to keep in mind, however, that we don’t want to work the same muscle groups two days in a row.  This is why some people do lower body work on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays and upper body work on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, keeping Sunday as a rest day.  (Bad news:  it is ok to do ab work every day.)

 

Still have questions?  That’s what I’m here for!  Ask me!