Does being strong mean;
- You are able to start picking up groceries from the back of the car?
- Help your parents move some heavy items in their household
- Maybe just get around and pick your kids up to play with them?
If getting strong is something along those lines, there are a couple of key things I want you to start working on to get those results of being strong. Before heading down into them though, there are two parameters to keep in mind. One is what is the type of equipment you’re using and second is how frequently you’re doing it. These are factors can alter the pathway taken.
Be consistent & regular
The big point with any training not just strength training, is have a regular and consistent routine. Using the framework of regular training & exercising with similar equipment, we can start to progress our weights training. It should take about roughly six weeks, if you are training at three or four times a week with the resistance training. But there are a couple of tips I’d like to share that can help you on your journey to becoming stronger.
Light load & high rep range
Our first tip is to use a lighter set of weights with a higher repetition range. What I mean is you’ll be using a lighter set, let’s say somewhere between three to nine kilos weights (depending on the exercise you are doing.) You will do multiple reps i.e.15-20, or going for time, like up to 45 seconds or 1 minute. Then repeat only a couple of sets. By doing the high repetition range with lower resistance, your muscles are going through a marathon. They are moving a load over & over again yet not pushing itself past 90% effort to lift the weight. If you begin using heavier weights, we want to do the opposite. Lower the rep range & increase the numbers of sets to manage the effort required with heavier loads.
Both will work effectively but the lower weights with higher rep range will really start to build that endurance. Which means you can maintain great form inside the higher weights with low rep range.
Control your movements
That being said, if you go through reps at a million miles an hour you may not benefit from lifting. Using the example where you’re doing shoulder presses as fast as you can. You may find your body starting to push back whilst your arms are going forward. Here your technique is everywhere & this will not lead to great results in the long-term just fast reps!
A reason why it isn’t beneficial to do this, is your body will start remembering this pattern. Here injuries & limitations on strength begin. If you take a step back, slow it down and you work on your technique, you’ll find better gains.
Limit the body parts in workouts
Knowing you’re training three-four times weekly is fantastic as your body will get variety. As long as you mix up what you’re doing your workouts. If you limit 1-2 of your workouts, to let’s say the lower body. Then some to the middle and others to include upper body or the whole body in focus. You will start finding you can go deeper in certain areas rather than only just skimming with minimal exercises. Whilst it may be exciting to change up body parts, prioritizing certain areas will provide good gains. All muscles need to be stimulated, honing in on selected muscles will encourage recruitment of more fibres to be used.
So those three tips again are;
- Having good technique whilst you’re doing any of your movements
- Limit the body parts that you do in your workouts to only a couple
- Try to use a higher repetition range with a lower set of weights so you can build muscular endurance
We hope this serves you well.
Recent Comments