Muscling up: Better health through strength training

Strength training is a system of conditioning involving lifting weights especially for strength and endurance.

Benefits of Strength Training aka Resistance Training:

• Increased metabolism
• Reduces body fat
• Prevents muscle loss due to aging
• Increases bone mineral density which helps prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures
• Prevents diabetes
• Speeds up your digestion which decreases you risk for colon cancer
• Reduces you resting bloodpressure
• Relieve lower back pain
• Reduces arthritis pain
• Good for injury prevention from strong muscles and joints
• Improved balance, flexibility, mobility, and stability
• Decreased risk for heart disease
• You will look and feel better

Guidelines to weight training:

• 2- 3 times per week doing
  8-10 exercises with one set of each at 10 -15 repetitions.
• Warm up by walking on the treadmill or riding the bike before you lift weights.
• Slowly work up to lifting heavy weights otherwise you may injure yourself.
• Go through a complete range of motion, move slowly, and with control, breath, maintain a neutral spine. Don’t sacrifice your form just to lift heavier weights.
• Unlike aerobic training heart rate is not a good way to determine your intensity during weight training so listen to your body and base it on how much you are exerting yourself.
• Strength training is recommended to be one hour of less.
• Each muscle you train should be rested for one to two days before being worked again so the muscle can rebuild itself.
• “No pain, no gain” This is not necessarily true and can be dangerous.  Know that your body will adapt to strength training and body soreness will reduce each time you work out.
• Always breathe rhythmically, exhaling through the mouth as you perform the work.  Holding your breath can increase your blood pressure.
• Always make sure you stretch after your workouts.

Exercise Prescriptions and Programs Call Nick @ 919-805-1111  or
email: Nick@primepersonaltrainer.com