Element One: Strength Training

This week the focus is on strength. Strength training has proven to be an integral part of our weekly workout routine. The days of going to the gym three times a week to run for half an hour on the treadmill are no more. Let’s dive into some strength training!

Strength training is any workout that includes a resistance. Some call it resistance training, or weight lifting. Or simply "lifting." Strength training doesn't always occur at the gym. Did you pick up your groceries and carry them into the house today? That was a strength training exercise. Were they hard to carry and you found yourself out of breath after you put the groceries away? Then it's probably time to start strength training!

Strength training impacts the body and mind in so many ways. When you do any sort of resistance training—lifting weights, swimming, jumping, push-ups, pull-ups (the list goes on and on), the training actually breaks down the muscles used. Your body then takes the next day or two (or sometimes three) to rebuild those muscles and make them stronger than before, using nutrients you provide to your muscles through what you eat. So the more often you strength train (with ample rest in between working each set of muscles) the stronger you will become!

Strength training is important in building muscle first and foremost. But it also improves your bone density. This is a great piece about the importance of strength training for your bone density, and the importance of bone density itself. Your bones decay as you age; if you can reverse the decay and make them stronger, you are much less likely to break a bone down the road if you lose your balance (and we’ll talk about your balance later on).

Studies also show that strength training twice a week reduces your risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression, and osteoporosis. You’ll look and feel better, your brain will function better, and you’ll eat better. You’ll even lose weight faster, as muscles burn more calories than fat when the body is at rest. The rule of thumb is 50 more calories burned for every pound of muscles you have. So if you add two pounds of muscle, your body will burn 100 more calories per day, and you don’t have to do anything for that to happen. Pretty cool, huh?

If you’re a woman (or man) and are afraid of lifting weights because you think you’ll get too muscly or that you’ll increase the number on the scale, this is a great reference for your worries. If you don’t want to read it: in short, don’t worry. The benefits far outweigh the risks you feel apprehensive about, and I can tell you that it’s incredibly hard to gain weight with strength training. It takes a BIG change in diet to really make that happen. But there are so many benefits!

Ideally, strength training should be done three or four times per week. Make sure not to work out the same muscle two days in a row if you’re just starting out. If you’ve been strength training for a while, you can do the same muscle two days in a row but ensure that you’re hitting it in a different way. Your muscles need time to rebuild themselves so overworking can be just as bad as not training at all.

Most strength training days will combine with other elements of fitness (if you haven't yet, read the previous post about the six elements of fitness). Some strength training exercises include a cardiovascular workout. Many take balance (and core strength) and flexibility just to get into the workout. Almost all strength workouts take resilience. Remember, you really improve that muscle when you’ve hit the point where you don’t think you can do another repetition, and then you do another rep. In strength training, it sometimes really is no pain no gain (unless it’s actual pain. I’m just talking about muscle-tiredness pain. Don't actually hurt yourself! Which brings me to...).

The most important thing to focus on during strength training is not getting hurt. The last thing we want is for you to injure yourself and not be able to train next time, let alone for an extended period of time. Before starting any sort of strength training exercise, use light weights and ensure that you have correct form.

So get out there and try it out! You never know if you’ll like something until you try it. And give it a chance. It grows on you, I promise!