Strength training is beneficial. Research shows that virtually all the benefits of resistance training can be obtained from two 15-20 minute sessions per week.
Research proves that power training on resistance are the most useful! Do you want to lose weight or, on the contrary, gain muscle mass? Choose strength training! Smooth out age-related changes in the body, improve health, give your figure ideal proportions, improve your mood and strengthen your spirit - this is just a small list of the benefits that resistance training can bring you. By changing the number of sets and reps, weight and rest duration, you can achieve any goal! It sounds fantastic, but you will get amazing results from the training. Of course, if you have a clear guide to action: a personal trainer or a program tailored to your goals.
If you can’t afford a personal trainer yet, the training plan is replete with such unknown words to you as “”, “supinated grip”, and in general you have a vague idea about strength training, then this article is especially for you! Here we will tell you why, regardless of age and gender, it is worth including strength training in your program, and what basic principles resistance training is based on.
Full body strength training
Benefits of Strength Training
Strength loads have an amazing healing effect on the body: by affecting the musculoskeletal system, they help maintain functionality, and also prevent and reduce back pain, and help with diseases.
Propaganda healthy image life mainly comes down to simple rules: “To be healthy, give up bad habits, get enough sleep, eat right and exercise.” If the first points are more or less clear, the last one has caused a lot of controversy. Which sport is considered the most useful? What about fitness and? Dancing, wrestling or yoga? Of course, any of yours physical activity- already a huge contribution to your health. Ideally, your program should include components various types sports, thereby harmoniously developing your body and spirit. Today, two methods are most popular in creating an ideal body: which improves the condition of the cardiovascular system and lungs, and affects the physique, and strength training. With approximately equal effectiveness, it has been proven that resistance training has a deeper positive (provided the correct technique is followed!) effect on the body.
Health
Scientists have observed that strength training has a positive effect on risk factors such as insulin resistance, metabolic rate stabilization, metabolism, blood pressure, body fat and gastrointestinal transit time, which are associated with diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Almost all of these benefits of resistance training can be obtained from two 15-20 minute sessions per week.
- Increases good HDL cholesterol - high density lipoproteins and reduces bad LDL cholesterol - low density lipoproteins
- Increases good cholesterol and reduces bad cholesterol
- Reduces the risk of developing diabetes and insulin requirements
- Reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases
- Lowers high blood pressure
- Reduces or minimizes the risk of osteoporosis
- Reduces stress and anxiety levels
- Reduces the number of colds and other diseases
Girls should especially pay attention to strength training, if only because 2-3 vigorous workouts a week reduces PMS symptoms and reduces the risk of breast cancer.
Force
Strength training increases muscle strength, power, and size. Improves daily productivity. You'll be able to perform everyday tasks such as lifting, carrying heavy objects, or walking up stairs with greater ease.
Flexibility
By working muscles through a full range of motion, strength training can improve your overall body flexibility. Increased flexibility reduces the risk of muscle strains and back pain.
Possibility of injury
Strong muscles, tendons and ligaments are less likely to be strained and are less likely to be injured. Increased bone density and power reduces back and knee pain by building muscle in these areas.
Body composition
By training for strength and quality, you get an increased metabolism as a pleasant bonus. It means burning more calories at rest and, as a result, faster reduction of body fat. Your overall weight may not change, but you will build muscle and get rid of. It’s not for nothing that the best trainers recommend strength training as a means of losing weight! You will find all the information about it on our website!
Posture
The way you sit and stand is affected by the condition of the muscles in your neck, shoulders, back, hips and. Strong muscles will help you stand, sit up straight and more comfortably. With regular strength training, you will gain improved balance and stability.
State of mind
Once you start exercising regularly, you will begin to notice positive physical changes in your body and mood. Clinical studies have shown that regular physical exercise are one of three the best tools For effective management stress. Strength training can also improve your sleep, allowing you to fall asleep faster and sleep deeper.
Basic principles of strength training
To really get all the benefits from strength training, and subsequently learn how to create a training program yourself, it’s worth spending a little time and studying the principles of proper training. Many of them, by the way, are applicable to other types of programs due to strict control over the development of indicators.
Right on target
Tailor your workouts to target specific areas of the body. For example, if you want larger and Strong arms, it is necessary to use ones that target these specific muscles.
Make the most of it
There are several ways to increase the intensity, for example by changing:
- number of workouts or duration
- number of sets and repetitions
- working weights
- introduce new/replace boring exercises
By alternating these changes, you challenge your muscles and force them to adapt, increasing size and strength. Read on our website how else you can increase the intensity of a man’s training, and try something different from a professional!
Rest
If your training program specifies rest between sets, follow this rule strictly. When training for endurance or muscle size, rest for 30-60 seconds. If you want to increase muscle strength, your pause will take up to 2-4 minutes between sets.
After training, muscles need time to recover and grow. Good rule It is considered to rest muscle groups for at least 48 hours to ensure adequate time for recovery.
If you are interested in beautiful muscles and a slim body, not injuries and, pay attention to safety precautions. We will not draw boring instructions, but will simply talk about how to avoid injuries. This is really important.
Safety precautions during strength training
Now let's try strength training for beginners to strengthen the muscle corset!
Strength training for back muscles
* - The service is in beta testing
Make sure you use correct technique rise. If you're unsure, it's best to consult with a qualified gym instructor or sports physician to ensure your strength training is benefiting you rather than harming you. Improper technique can slow down your progress or even lead to injury.
Taking sports supplements - creatine, arginine, intra-workout, bcaa amino acid and pre-workout complexes will help you increase your strength. This sports nutrition specifically designed to improve sports and fitness performance for men and women. Just add it to your diet and go ahead to conquer new heights!
Strength Training Supplements
Basic set
Advanced
Basic set
Basic set
Advanced
Dymatize |
Elite Whey?
1 serving each.
High quality whey protein isolate, Dymatize ELITE WHEY PROTEIN is 80% pure protein, which is essential for fueling muscle tissue before and after training.
Dymatize |
Xpand 2X?
For more trained athletes, it is necessary to increase the dose to 2-3 measured
spoons ?
Dymatize XPAND 2X belongs to the category of energy pre-workout complexes that allow you to increase endurance during training, thereby building muscle mass most intensively.
Dymatize |
Super amino 6000
Take 3 capsules.
Super Amino 6000 amino acid complex maintains the necessary balance of nutrients to preserve muscle tissue during training and increase the rate of anabolic processes after completion of training.
Dymatize | ?
Z-Force?
Anabolic complexes
Take 3 capsules on an empty stomach.
BSN |
N.O.- XPLODE 2.0 ADVANCED STRENGTH On days free from training, consume 1 serving once a day on an empty stomach.. The fact is that any movement you perform, whether walking, climbing stairs, driving, or just standing, uses certain muscle groups. Muscles have the ability to contract and relax, and in doing so they produce energy. Muscles are metabolically active structures, meaning the more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate (the amount of energy needed) at rest and when moving.
What are the benefits of strength training and how will it benefit you?
With regular and properly selected strength training:
The size and strength of muscle fibers increases;
The skeletal system, ligaments and tendons are strengthened;
The risk of joint and muscle diseases is reduced;
The level of metabolism increases.
All this has a positive effect on overall physical fitness, appearance and activity level.
Why is strength training so important?
It has been proven that over time, without sufficient and regular power loads muscle strength and size decrease. If a person does not maintain a sufficient level of activity, then after 20–25 years of age, on average, he loses 200–250 g of muscle mass in one year, and after 50–60 years of age, the loss doubles. Along with a reduction in muscle mass, bone density also decreases and metabolism decreases, which can negatively affect a person’s health.
By developing a habit of strength training, you can maintain optimal levels of muscle mass throughout your life. This useful habit will help you not only stay attractive physical fitness, but will also reduce the risk of accumulation of fat mass, the excess of which is associated with ailments such as atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, etc.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that excessive involvement in strength exercises can bring not only benefits, but also harm, especially if the training program is drawn up without taking into account individual characteristics training. Strength exercises involve working using both your own body weight and additional weight (dumbbells, barbells, weights, etc.), so this type of exercise puts additional stress on bones, joints, ligaments, and large vessels.
Before going to Gym You should consult a specialist, especially if you have diseases of the musculoskeletal system, have previously had any injuries, have diseases of the cardiovascular system, or have ever sought help from a neurologist or psychiatrist. Beginners should also undergo a minimum medical examination.
To create an individual training schedule, you should hire a competent trainer who can assess your level of physical fitness and teach you how to perform the exercises correctly. When lifting weights, it is very important to have someone to insure you.
What types of strength training can be used?
Gymnastics that uses your own body weight to train muscles. This type strength training is perfect for beginners, as it perfectly trains the main muscle groups and is quite enough to maintain optimal muscle strength. Examples of such exercises can be: various push-ups and pull-ups on the bar, squats and lunges, abdominal pumping, etc. This type of activity is ineffective for deep muscle training, but to maintain general tone and a flat stomach, ordinary gymnastics will be quite enough.
Working with a fixed weight.
This training method allows you to strengthen all major muscle groups and involves the use of a fixed light weight throughout the entire exercise cycle. For example, if you perform an exercise with 2-3 kg dumbbells to work the triceps (flexion of the arm at the elbow joint), then the weight of 2-3 kg remains constant throughout the entire training cycle. A light weight load is used to perform the exercises. These can be dumbbells, expanders and some types of exercise equipment.
Variable load allows you to work the muscles deeply and contributes to a faster increase in muscle mass. With this training method, the load changes directly during the exercise. Some types of machines use different incline angles and gravity to create different forces when lifting and lowering the weight.
What are the basic principles of successful strength training?
For effective training The muscle load must be increased methodically, forcing the muscles to work harder and harder. The main task is to prevent the muscles from adapting to constant weight.
Variable load allows you to work the muscles deeply and contributes to a faster increase in muscle mass. With this training method, the load changes directly during the exercise. Some types of machines use different incline angles and gravity to create different forces when lifting and lowering the weight.
When strength training, you should pay attention to all major muscle groups. This is necessary for uniform increase and development of the muscle frame.
Periodicity.
For most people, there is no need to do strength training every day. The optimal frequency is 2–3 times a week. Another option is to work on different groups muscles in different days. It is advisable that strength training alternate with cardio exercises. However, you should remember that by taking too long breaks between workouts, you risk not only slowing down the rate of muscle gain, but also losing the results achieved: the muscles will begin to weaken after 7-10 days.
How to choose the right weight?
Determining the initial weight level is a rather complex issue. If you have just started changing your life with the help of strength training, then be prepared for the fact that it will take some time to select the initial weight and intensity of work. General principle- Focus on feeling tired. At the same time, when performing the last repetition, you should feel that the muscles are tired and loaded to such an extent that it is no longer possible to do another repetition.
The number of repetitions directly depends on what weight or load you are working with. For example, if you are doing an exercise to strengthen the triceps, then by extending your arms raised above your head at the elbow joint with dumbbells weighing 2–3 kg 10–15 times, you should not stop at exactly 10–15 repetitions, you should continue the exercise until you You will feel complete muscle fatigue and will not be able to do another repetition. The next time you perform this exercise, simply increase the weight of the dumbbells until you feel maximum fatigue by the 8th to 10th rep.
How many repetitions should you do?
There are two approaches, depending on what you want to achieve: build strength or increase endurance and tone. If you're looking to build strength, you should do fewer reps (8-10) with heavier weights. If you need to increase endurance and tone, then it would be better to perform more repetitions, but with less weight.
What is the optimal number of approaches?
* Activates specific and nonspecific immunity
Although strength training alone is often not enough, it is an important method of increasing power later on through more specific methods, which we will discuss below. We will talk about this in more detail in another article. Now, let's talk about the body's adaptations to strength training, and how they may (or may not) transfer to the development of power in sports movements.
2. Adaptations to Strength Training
What happens when your 1RM on the squat goes up? You have become stronger - obviously! But how? There are 4 basic ways to increase efficiency in power movements, with various transfers to other movements:
- Technique
- Intermuscular coordination
- Voluntary muscle activation
- Changes in the musculotendinous unit
Technique – this is an increase in force output WITHOUT an increase in joint torque/muscle strength. Also, this is often a reduction in external load due to more technical execution, reducing the amplitude of movement, or transferring the load to stronger muscle groups.
This adaptation is very specific and does not transfer well even to very close movements (barbell squats - front squats - box squats), let alone sports dynamic movements.
Intermuscular coordination – in this adaptation, the torque in the joints increases, but not due to an increase in the strength of the working muscles (agonists), but due to a decrease in the resistance of the opposing muscles (antagonists).
In strength movements, antagonists are forced to be quite active to maintain joint stability under high load.
However, the work of antagonists in sports movements is different: they relax at the beginning of the movement, and then their activity increases sharply to slow down the joint and prevent damage.
Voluntary muscle activation - how much effort a given muscle group can produce. This:
A) Recruitment of motor units (the ability to “turn on” as many muscle fibers as possible in movement)
B) Pulse frequency (the ability to maintain tension in the fibers for a certain time)
This type of adaptation carries over to other movements, incl. and sport-specific. However, if MU recruitment can be observed in both power and speed movements at approximately the same high level, then the impulse frequency in dynamic movements is much higher (up to 200 Hz versus 30 Hz in slow contraction)
Changes in the musculotendinous unit – adaptations of this kind are multifaceted, but we are primarily interested in hypertrophy of muscle fibers (myofibrillar hypertrophy).
It also contributes to success in sport-specific movement, however there are several points that have their own specificity:
A) Although the recruitment of motor units in dynamic movements is high, not all muscle fibers in these motor units have time to produce force due to the force-velocity relationship
B) For this reason, for sports movements (and the faster they are, the more important this factor is) the hypertrophy of fast-twitch type IIb fibers, which have best profile"strength-speed-power". In the case of power movements, this is not so important as long as the muscle produces the necessary force.
3. Various adaptations of strength and power training. Speed specificity, muscle contraction mode
So what we've learned is that some strength training adaptations have little to no effect on power gains, while others may carry over to athletic movements.
Lastly, I touched on the force-velocity curve. And I must say that this is one of the most significant factors influencing different styles training for strength and power.
The higher the speed of muscle contraction, the fewer actin-myosin bridges have time to contract, and vice versa. Therefore, the maximum manifestation of force is possible in an isometric contraction (where the speed is zero).
If we take two athletes with different strength indicators and compare the force output under different loads, we will see the following picture:
Although Athlete A exhibits much more strength with a load of 85% of 1RM, the difference at lower loads (which is typical for sports movements) is not so great.
Therefore, in power training it is important to consider speed specifics– the speed of the exercises that we use in training should be close to that in sports movements. However, it may still be slightly lower (or even higher) for a variety of stimuli.
Table 2 - Average vertical force, average vertical velocity and average power for two athletes performing jumps with external loads from 0% to 85% of 1 RM in squats
Note: 1RM – one rep max
Moreover, in sports movements there is another type of abbreviation. Characteristic is rapid stretching, followed by subsequent muscle contraction. It is called plyometric contraction, and the process itself is c ikl stretch-contraction.
With this mode of muscle work, the output force increases due to the stretch reflex of the muscles themselves, as well as the accumulation of elastic energy by the tendons and passive elements of the muscles themselves. Such a quality as rigidity - the ability of an athlete to exert a lot of force with a small amplitude - is practically not developed by classical strength training methods, but is an important factor for success in sports movements.
Development of rigidity(another term is reactive force) becomes more important as driving speed increases(reducing time to produce force). This can be either a factor of the nature of the movement itself (it is fast) or a factor of the athlete’s level (the more powerful the athlete, the faster his movement becomes - higher jump, faster start, sharper change of direction).
4. Basic training methods for developing power
There are several training methods for developing power, with their own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages:
- Dynamic method
According to this method, any classical movement (squat, bench press, deadlift, etc.) can be dynamic - for this, it is enough to select the appropriate percentage (50-75%) of the load and perform the movement as quickly as possible.
And this is true - the average speed of movement, as well as the displayed power, will increase. However, in any classical movement, the speed naturally goes to zero at the end of the movement, which is not the case in sports movements. The speed of execution is still much inferior to that in sports movements.
Also, this method is still not specific to what happens on the field - it is specific to powerlifting.
1A. Adjustable resistance
Adjustable resistance (resistance bands, chains) is designed to reduce the disadvantages of the dynamic method. It increases the load when lifting weights, which forces the athlete to exert more force, and reduces the braking phase. It also overloads the eccentric, which increases the training effect associated with the stretch-shorten cycle.
However, adjustable resistance does not eliminate the deceleration completely, and also does not change the specifics of the movement, nor does its speed become significantly higher.
- Weightlifting movements
Movements such as snatches, cleans, cleans and jerks are also considered useful for developing power in athletes of all disciplines.
An important difference from the dynamic method is ballistic the nature of the movement - you throw the barbell, and its speed does not decrease as long as you work on it. This is similar to the way muscles work in running, jumping and changing direction.
Also, since the TA movements themselves are fast, you can use a high % of 1 RM (up to 80-90%) without greatly reducing speed and power.
However, the speed of such movements, although higher than in the dynamic method, is still much inferior to that in sports movements at a high level. Also, the speed of the projectile and the speed of the body can be different in magnitude and even direction, which occurs in the phases of moving into a crouch and fixing the projectile.
In addition, TA movements are also not specific, and require a lot of time and effort to technically improve in them.
2A. Modified TA movements
Such movements that have maximum speed movements with a larger amplitude - jerks and cleans from hanging/from knee level to rack, push from chest/from behind the head to rack.
In these movements, the load (kg on the bar) will be less than in classical movements, since you are forced to throw the weight to a greater height.
For this reason, the speed of movement of the bar becomes higher. There is no strong difference in the speeds of the projectile and the body. Learning such movements is easier.
But other disadvantages of TA movements are also inherent in this type. It's still not fast enough, and it's still not specific.
- Ballistic movements
Movements where you perform a ballistic contraction in a more specific manner against a light load. An example is throwing a medicine ball, or jumping with dumbbells/barbell.
In this method, more specific movements can be used (loaded jumps, sled accelerations, etc.), with a load that only slightly slows down the movement itself.
This method is quite good, but does not cause strong overload in the eccentric phase. The development of rigidity is also limited.
- Plyometrics
The term “plyometrics” can be understood as any movement where there is stretching and subsequent contraction - this includes loaded jumps, dynamic squats, and even 1RM squats!
However, as for the training method, these are movements in which the eccentric phase is overloaded.
Such movements are also performed in a very short time (less than 250 ms).
Plyometrics can include all types of sports movements - running, jumping, changing direction. They are also as specific as possible.
Plyometrics more high level intensity - the shock method of Professor Verkhoshansky. In it, you use the kinetic energy of your body's fall to increase shock-absorbing force.
This method is as specific as possible; the speed and load correspond to those in sports movements. It is also best for developing muscle stiffness and the stretch-shorten cycle.
However, high intensity plyometrics (especially the impact method) puts quite a lot of stress on the musculoskeletal system, muscles, tendons and nervous system, therefore its use should be limited to reasonable limits.
The athlete must also be physically and technically ready for this kind of serious load.
As you may have noticed, there is simply no ideal method for developing power. Therefore, a competent training program should use several methods, depending on the level of the athlete, his strengths and weaknesses, as well as the phase of training and other loads.
Interesting theory "The weakest link." According to it, the athlete needs to work more actively on the quality and method to which he paid the least attention before. To this new method for him, the so-called. the “window of adaptation” will be as wide as possible, since the stimulus will be new.
For example, if an athlete has great experience in plyometric movements, constantly running and jumping, then this method will give him a slight advantage. Unlike, for example, the ballistic method, TA movements or the dynamic method.
5. Examples of power training for athletes
Training programs for developing power vary greatly among athletes of different training backgrounds. For example, Verkhoshansky proposed such a long-term progression for his athletes:
- Jumps of low and medium intensity (from a place, from a run)
- Heavy strength training (barbell squats)
- Ballistic training (barbell jumping)
- Impact method (depth jumps)
The higher the level of the athlete, the stronger and more specific stimulus is needed to increase his results. If it is enough for a beginner to simply perform sports movements (jumping, sprinting), then an advanced athlete who has been practicing this training style for quite a long time needs a new stimulus for new adaptations (neural and muscular).
If we talk about drawing up a training day plan that includes several methods, then the order of exercises should be:
1) From more specific to less specific
2) From faster to slower
In the end, it might look like this:
5. Conclusion
Developing power in sports movements is a complex process that involves selecting specific stimuli that best suit a given athlete at a given level. physical development, and in this moment time.
More accurate and detailed information on this topic can be found in “
Thanks to strength training that will make your gluteus maximus muscles work, your butt will become strong and elastic in record time. Also thanks to correctly calculated loads and competent exercises top part Your thighs will become thinner and your buttocks will appear more prominent.
Exercise: lunges with a barbell on the shoulders
Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Place the barbell behind your neck, holding it firmly at your sides with bent arms. As you inhale, take a step forward, keeping your back straight. The thigh moving forward should be parallel to the floor. As you exhale, return to the starting position.
Your back will appreciate it
A great option to forget about hours spent at the computer, hunched shoulders and poor posture is a simulator called “Row”. It can be found in any fitness club, and is great for developing the shoulders and muscles in the upper back, and at the same time improving posture. You sit facing the machine and move the horizontal bar away from you at arm's length. You press your chest tightly into the pillow, and therefore you immediately feel the intense work of the muscles running from the shoulder blades to the arms. If you have problems with the cervical vertebrae or pain in the shoulders, you should exercise on such a simulator in moderation.
Exercise: Pull-ups
Grasp the bar with an underhand grip, with your hands shoulder-width apart and slightly bent at the elbows. As you inhale, pull yourself up until your chin reaches the level of the bar. As you exhale, lower yourself to the starting position.
Your hands will be your pride
The most important thing about arm exercises is working the triceps. It is this muscle that shows age too early and sags, making the arms shapeless. The series of sessions should be long and the weight should be moderate. By the way, such activities are long and hard work. Remember to avoid bloating your muscles by using heavier weights and shorter series.
Exercise: Dumbbell Arm Extension
Take dumbbells in your hands and lie on your back. Hold dumbbells on straight arms raised up. As you inhale, slowly bend your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees. As you exhale, lower yourself to the starting position.
Hips will become slimmer
The treadmill, a cardio star that gets your heart and lungs working, can also become a real strength machine if you install it at an incline. In this case, the hips and buttocks work more. The greater the inclination, the more effective weight loss and muscle definition.
Exercise: squats with dumbbells
Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides and a dumbbell in each. As you inhale, slightly arching your back, squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. As you exhale, return to the starting position.
Abdominal muscles will become stronger
If you want your waist to become thin and expressive, you will have to get acquainted with the rectus abdominis muscles - singers are well known for them - or the oblique abdominal muscles. Remember, when training these muscles, you do not need to make sudden movements and you must constantly monitor every muscle tension.
Exercise: Bends
Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, one hand behind your head, the other hanging along your body, holding a dumbbell. As you inhale, bend your torso in the opposite direction from the dumbbell. As you exhale, return to the starting position. Do the same number of repetitions, changing hands with the dumbbell. Try not to take breaks between sets.
Breeches will leave
There are muscles called abductors. These are abductor muscles that are almost never used in women. They are a continuation of the gluteal muscles on outside hips. Properly designed abductors will give your legs and thighs a beautiful, neat appearance.
Exercise: Leg Curls
Lie on your back. Bend your knees and spread them apart, place your feet on the floor, place your hands on the inside of your thighs. Bring your knees together while simultaneously resisting with your hands.
“I’ll look like a man”, “this is harmful”, “exercise machines are only for jocks” - that just doesn’t stop girls from strength training. These exercises are surrounded by so many myths and rumors that it seems that as soon as you pick up dumbbells, the next morning you will wake up as Arnold Schwarzenegger in a skirt. Meanwhile, strength training is perhaps the safest and in a simple way get in shape without risking your health - provided you have either a good consultant or trainer, or a gym membership, where they will always help and advise. And even this does not limit the benefits of working with weights.
1. It is strength training that creates a beautiful figure.
You can lose weight from one hundred kilograms to fifty, but still be embarrassed to wear a bikini and tight leggings. The fact is that the shape of our body is determined not so much by the innate body type and the amount of fat in different areas, but by development and underdevelopment certain types muscles. Properly developed muscles look beautiful and toned, making “bulges” and roundness in the right places. Compare, for example, what the butts of tiny skinny girls look like and the pumped up round buttocks of athletes: getting a raised sexy butt without effort will not work, and squats and running alone are not enough to form bulging muscles.
Muscles in the right places will not only save the “fifth point”, but also tighten the rest problem areas and provide tone. This is especially noticeable in one of the most difficult areas to work on - the chest. When you lose weight, your breasts immediately begin to lose shape, and regular fitness does not quickly tighten the deep-seated muscles. You can’t do this without strength training to tighten your chest.
In fact, it is very difficult for a girl to develop her muscles to such an extent that she looks “like a jock.”
Women who compete in bodybuilding competitions have a hard time achieving impressive visual results. As a rule, they have to inject special drugs, and just before the start of the competition, they have to eat specially for several weeks and “dry”, evaporating water and part of the fat from the body, so that the muscles are clearly visible. This is a temporary and very difficult measure, and in their natural state, even highly developed female muscles look round and smooth due to the very structure of the muscle-fat complex.
2. They work well together
Running, fitness, Pilates, swimming and cardio are good. And with strength training - even better! If you do something “light” together with something “hard”, then the first and second types of training will reinforce each other and act faster. This is especially important if we need to quickly get into shape for something. If you practice on an ongoing basis, it will require less time and effort.
In a good way, every strength training should begin with cardio, and end with stretching or yoga. This is how the whole body will be used to the maximum. First, it will fully warm up and start all the fat-burning, calorie-burning and metabolism-accelerating processes. Then he will fill the muscles with strength and the body with shape. Then tired muscles will be stretched and massaged to relax. An ideal complex.
3. They give you energy for every day.
Let's be honest: running, tennis or an hour-long session of step aerobics can leave you so tired that you barely have enough energy for dinner and cuddling with a pillow on the sofa. They burn calories well, but in exchange for this they take a lot of energy. Strength training, despite its name, requires very little strength. It passes at a measured pace, so you are more charged with positive energy from the knowledge that you spent time usefully for yourself. So, no matter what time of day you start lifting weights, it will allow you to get a surge of energy and positive emotions. In addition, they improve the circulation of blood and air in the body, so that it is evenly saturated with them and gets tired less.
4. They are easier and healthier than most other types of physical activity.
Strength training looks very difficult on the outside. The reason probably lies in the visuals that pros love: muscular pros puffing and lifting huge barbells to raise eyebrows. In fact, strength training is far from this, because the weight is selected wisely depending on the abilities and capabilities of the trainee. And the types of training themselves are very flexible and allow you to load certain muscles more or less.
The process itself occurs gradually and at a pace convenient for you, so that you hardly get tired and only by the end of the workout you feel pleasant muscle fatigue, which has nothing to do with the fatigue of the body as a whole.
Your heart rate does not increase too much, and any difficult moments, for example, with sore joints or injured limbs, can be easily avoided by replacing some types of training with more gentle ones or taking lighter weights.
5. Healthy bones, heart and faster metabolism
The impact of weight training on the body is quite significant. First of all, they accelerate metabolism, provided they are carried out regularly. Healthy and strong muscles protect internal organs and do not interfere with the free flow of vital fluids. Moderate and uniform blood flow allows you to develop the heart without the risk of overloading it, but strength training works best on the bones. The bone structure of the body becomes stronger and more elastic, especially if it is possible to eat properly at the same time. No osteoporosis is scary!
6. The results are not only beautiful, but also utilitarian.
Regular training can do little to help us in everyday life. It's not often that we have to really run or bend somewhere. But the results of strength training are immediately visible, since in addition to external changes in the figure, we also become more resilient and in literally words are strong. We get tired less often, we can walk further and faster, we lift heavy things without effort and bring huge bags of groceries from the supermarket without any problems. We don’t need to ask a man for help to move a table or throw a bag of winter clothes onto the mezzanine. Life becomes much easier.
