In the midst of hosting our first Strength Training 101 session yesterday, lots of information was shared, and several great questions were posed by those that attended, which I would like to use here to create a go-to guide for general strength training programs.
Frequency: Strength gains can be made by committing to as little as twenty minutes, two days per week. If you're aiming for efficiency, plan to incorporate exercises that recruit large muscle groups, as well as multiple muscle groups at one time, such as lunges with bicep curls.
Choosing Equipment: There are many kinds of equipment that are useful for building a strength training program - everything from resistance bands to medicine balls, dumbbells, barbells, and even large pieces of selectorized equipment that focus on isolating one muscle group at a time. But even if you don't have any equipment, there are ways to use your body weight only to create resistance for strength training. There is no wrong choice, but there is a lot of value in building a routine that uses several modalities, especially if you've reached a plateau in your results.
Choosing Sets/Repetitions: The amount of sets and repetitions you use in your routine should depend on your goal. Typically, when beginning an exercise program, two sets of 15-20 repetitions works really well for establishing good form, muscle memory, and muscular endurance. Once you are comfortable with the exercises you are doing, three sets of 8-12 repetitions is a good general rule for improving both strength and muscular endurance. I like this guide for choosing the set and rep range that will work best for your goals.
Choosing a Weight: When you are first incorporating strength into a workout routine, start with low weight, focusing more on learning proper form. Once you are comfortable, you want to work to maximum effort (failure), within your repetition range. For instance, working in the 8-12 repetition range, if you find you can lift a given weight more than 12 times, you'll want to increase your weight the next set, so that you settle on a weight that you can lift at least 8 times, but no more than 12.
Rest: After working a given muscle group to maximum effort, it will need to rest before being able to complete another set. Like sets and repetitions, your amount of rest time should depend on your goal. If you're aiming for maximizing your strength, a longer rest period (3-5 minutes) is necessary to go along with your smaller repetition range and a higher weight. For muscular endurance, allow your muscles 45 seconds to no more than two minutes between sets.
You can minimize your rest periods to maximize your workout efficiency by opting for a circuit-style workout routine. In this case, you would move from one exercise to the next, to the next, before circling back around to complete your next set. You can stagger your exercises so that you are using different muscle groups. Rather than having to stand around and wait for your biceps to recover after doing curls, you can rest them as you are working a different muscle group, like your triceps.
Understanding Muscle Contraction: There are three ways a muscle contracts during movement, which are helpful to know when you are strength training.
Breathing: In order to keep your blood pressure from spiking, from holding your breath while exerting force (a mechanism known as the Valsalva Maneuver), focus on exhaling while you are in the concentric phase of your movement. Inhale to provide your muscles with much needed oxygen in the eccentric phase. If you are working isometrically, just be sure to maintain a steady breathing pattern.
What Exercises to Include: As I mentioned above, the most efficient way to train your total body is to select exercises that work large muscle groups and/or multiple muscle groups at the same time, and to pick at least one exercise for each main muscle group in your body. The main muscle groups include glutes, legs (hamstrings & quadriceps), chest, back, biceps, triceps and shoulders. To find exercises for each muscle group, and for every type of equipment, my favorite resource is the Bodyspace app, by Bodybuilding.com. You can build a custom workout by searching in multiple ways for exercises that will work with what you have at your disposal.
While these are great general tips for strength training, I recognize that strength training is an exercise component that needs a lot of personalization and can be pretty overwhelming. Luckily, I'm here to help on a more individual basis. If you are interested in learning more, or in having a program pieced together for you, please contact me at ext. 2137 or lauren_almdale@fwymca.org.
Frequency: Strength gains can be made by committing to as little as twenty minutes, two days per week. If you're aiming for efficiency, plan to incorporate exercises that recruit large muscle groups, as well as multiple muscle groups at one time, such as lunges with bicep curls.
Choosing Equipment: There are many kinds of equipment that are useful for building a strength training program - everything from resistance bands to medicine balls, dumbbells, barbells, and even large pieces of selectorized equipment that focus on isolating one muscle group at a time. But even if you don't have any equipment, there are ways to use your body weight only to create resistance for strength training. There is no wrong choice, but there is a lot of value in building a routine that uses several modalities, especially if you've reached a plateau in your results.
Choosing Sets/Repetitions: The amount of sets and repetitions you use in your routine should depend on your goal. Typically, when beginning an exercise program, two sets of 15-20 repetitions works really well for establishing good form, muscle memory, and muscular endurance. Once you are comfortable with the exercises you are doing, three sets of 8-12 repetitions is a good general rule for improving both strength and muscular endurance. I like this guide for choosing the set and rep range that will work best for your goals.
Choosing a Weight: When you are first incorporating strength into a workout routine, start with low weight, focusing more on learning proper form. Once you are comfortable, you want to work to maximum effort (failure), within your repetition range. For instance, working in the 8-12 repetition range, if you find you can lift a given weight more than 12 times, you'll want to increase your weight the next set, so that you settle on a weight that you can lift at least 8 times, but no more than 12.
Rest: After working a given muscle group to maximum effort, it will need to rest before being able to complete another set. Like sets and repetitions, your amount of rest time should depend on your goal. If you're aiming for maximizing your strength, a longer rest period (3-5 minutes) is necessary to go along with your smaller repetition range and a higher weight. For muscular endurance, allow your muscles 45 seconds to no more than two minutes between sets.
You can minimize your rest periods to maximize your workout efficiency by opting for a circuit-style workout routine. In this case, you would move from one exercise to the next, to the next, before circling back around to complete your next set. You can stagger your exercises so that you are using different muscle groups. Rather than having to stand around and wait for your biceps to recover after doing curls, you can rest them as you are working a different muscle group, like your triceps.
Understanding Muscle Contraction: There are three ways a muscle contracts during movement, which are helpful to know when you are strength training.
- Concentric contraction occurs when the muscle shortens during work. For example, when doing a bicep curl, the concentric contraction occurs as the arm raises (the bicep shortens during this movement). A more simple way to think about concentric contraction is that it occurs when you are exerting force against a resistance.
- Eccentric contraction occurs when the muscle lengthens. In the same example as above, the eccentric phase of a bicep curl occurs as the arm lowers back to its starting, straight position.
- Isometric contraction occurs when the muscle is neither shortening nor lengthening. One example of an isometric exercise is a plank, where you are holding yourself in a single position.
Most exercises that come to mind when people are strength training involve a concentric contraction, but you can use eccentric and isometric exercises to build strength as well. In fact, the body tends to be stronger in its eccentric phase, so if you find that you struggle with an exercise like a pushup or a pullup, you can eliminate the concentric phase and build strength eccentrically. In both of these examples, this would mean starting at the top of the movement and lowering yourself down as slowly as you can.
Breathing: In order to keep your blood pressure from spiking, from holding your breath while exerting force (a mechanism known as the Valsalva Maneuver), focus on exhaling while you are in the concentric phase of your movement. Inhale to provide your muscles with much needed oxygen in the eccentric phase. If you are working isometrically, just be sure to maintain a steady breathing pattern.
What Exercises to Include: As I mentioned above, the most efficient way to train your total body is to select exercises that work large muscle groups and/or multiple muscle groups at the same time, and to pick at least one exercise for each main muscle group in your body. The main muscle groups include glutes, legs (hamstrings & quadriceps), chest, back, biceps, triceps and shoulders. To find exercises for each muscle group, and for every type of equipment, my favorite resource is the Bodyspace app, by Bodybuilding.com. You can build a custom workout by searching in multiple ways for exercises that will work with what you have at your disposal.
While these are great general tips for strength training, I recognize that strength training is an exercise component that needs a lot of personalization and can be pretty overwhelming. Luckily, I'm here to help on a more individual basis. If you are interested in learning more, or in having a program pieced together for you, please contact me at ext. 2137 or lauren_almdale@fwymca.org.
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