Why is it that when we speak to people about strength training the vision is the ‘bigger peeps’ in the weight’s section?
Whilst the look may not be to our liking (or maybe it is!) as with all things human we can learn from methodologies and processes.
Strength training or resistance training from here on in, helps us in many more ways than looking good in front of the mirror (although we do want you to feel good when you do look!)
What should we take from the body building community then?
Working all muscle groups, tensioning of the muscles and small increments over time.
Nice short one, get into resistance training, it’s the old, new thing!
Evidence continues to mount for resistance training, Harvard studies show that 30-60 minutes of resistance training per week can be enough to reduce death from all premature causes by up to 20%, specifically cancer and heart disease – I had to read that twice and triple check the sources.
There are many others, such as balance in females (65-82) improving by over 70% following a 12 week resistance program, just going to slide in a say never too early to get ahead.
Resistance training can give up to a 58% increase in functional capacity in older adults, again should we be waiting to see this increase?
Let’s talk getting into resistance training then, shall we?
Lots of bars, machines, plates, dumbbells and kettlebells – what order, when and how many?
Start off small, pick 3-4 exercises that work multiple muscles at the same time (we’ll touch on compound movements in a few weeks).
Creating the right shapes and movement patterns are the first stop, ideally we want to be doing 12-15 reps of a light to moderate weight – this gives us more opportunities to learn the movement whilst the weight is more manageable.
Speaking of manageable, once we have the right form we can then look at increasing the weight to a point where the last 2-3 reps are a challenge to complete with good form.
It’s better to slow the movement down and control it with good form then to chase lifting a heavier weight.
Increase rest breaks if we need to, when we first start out, there is lots to think about, this combined with lifting will lead to being fatigued, we want to give our muscles enough time to recharge without getting cold, this can be up to 3-5 minutes if required, for most 1-2 minutes is the sweet spot.
Try to train in size order, our bodies are amazing and they will function as we ask – we can help the process along though.
When we use our back our biceps have to assist the movement, with that they get fatigued. As a back movement typically requires more weight than a bicep movement it is better to work the back before the biceps.
Chest and triceps are the same and legs well, just do them first and get them over and done with!
What would a simple resistance workout look like?
Warm up – 5-10 minutes
Leg press/squats (bar/kettlebell/TRX/bodyweight) 3-4 sets 12-15 reps
Row movement (cables/machine/dumbbells) 3-4 sets 12-15 reps
Chest movement (cables/machine/dumbbells/bodyweight) 3-4 sets 12-15 reps
Bicep and triceps movement (cables/machine/dumbbells) 3-4 sets 12-15 reps
Optional core movement – bodyweight to start, something like a reverse crunch as it allows for progression and regression either for reps or time, 3-4 sets 12-15 reps or 3 45second rounds.
You’ll notice that every exercise is 12-15 reps, easy to remember and plenty of practice, should the reps change with the exercise and weight – absolutely in time, we should get a good baseline first before over complicating things.
Keeping to a simple full body plan will allow you to gain confidence, build good form and understand how your body responds. Undertaking this 2-3 times a week will also give a good balance of work to recovery.
Looking to add in some resistance training or want to change up what you are doing? Speak to a member of Team SF on info@spikefitness.co.uk or 07597215652.