Chances are, if you're comfortable with going to the gym how many of you go in there and just hit the cardio machines? I used to be one of those people. I think when people see the words 'resistance training' one of two things come to mind - either 'wtf is that?!' or 'no way am I doing that, I don't want to bulk up!', Women in particular tend to not want big muscles.
I'm hoping that I can answer some questions for you:
Firstly: what is it?
Then, why it's important
And lastly, why you won't bulk unless that is a specific goal for you
What is it?
Most commonly referred to as weight training in short, resistance training is where you use either your own body weight, specific machines or things such as dumb bells & resistance bands to resist or pull against in order to increase strength and endurance.
Why it's important
It's absolutely worth including a couple of resistance sessions in your week! The benefits are huge! Here are just a few:
Increased strength and muscular endurance
Stronger tendons and ligaments - therefore protecting your joints
Improved body composition - less fat, more muscle! 💪
Improved posture
Increased metabolism
It can even reduce the effects of ageing on the body!
Why you won't bulk?
It's literally the most common question or phrase I hear: "I don't want big muscles" or "if I weight train, does that mean I'll end up with big muscles?"
No, it doesn't.
Training for size is called Hypertrophy and is a very specific type of resistance training, designed to specifically grow the size of the muscles which are being trained. You can't do this on it's own though, you also need to increase the amount of protein and carbohydrate that you eat. It's an advanced training technique and is only advisable after building a strong foundation in resistance training first.
The type of resistance training which is suitable for pretty much everyone, is where you train for endurance and increased strength. It typically involves high reps with short rest periods - 20 repetitions with 30 seconds rest between sets for example.
If you're going to have a bash at adding some resistance to your workouts here are some things to keep in mind:
Ensure you warm up and cool down. It is essential in order to minimise injury, that you warm up and prepare your body for exercise. Cooling down will also help to reduce the likelihood of injury as well as helping to reduce the soreness you might feel the next day or two.
Make sure your session is balanced, for example: if you do some chest presses or press ups (where you're pushing away), be sure to include an exercise where you pull as well (a bent over row for example - google it if you're not sure 🙂), or if you do some bicep curls, make sure you also work your triceps (backs of your arms).
An idea of which order to do everything: start with chest (e.g press ups) and back (e.g bent over rows), next shoulders (e.g shoulder press) before doing things like bicep curls and tricep extensions, next your legs (e.g. squats) then lastly core.
Rest! This is essential to get maximum benefits from any kind of exercise, because the changes you effect during training actually happen when you rest. Always ensure you leave 48 hours between full body resistance sessions.
The last thing to look at is how to choose the right weight. This is a little bit of trial and error to be honest, however as a starting point head to the lighter weights, if you can easily get to the end of your reps then try a heavier one on the next set. You want a weight that means the last few repetitions that you do in each set should be a challenge. If you find you can't keep a good technique, however then you need to go lighter. Technique is always number 1 focus and by far the most important thing.
If you want to get into resistance training but are still uncertain you could always book one or two one off sessions with a trainer who can guide you on what to do and help you nail that technique 💪. Most gyms offer a couple of free training sessions when you join.
Just ping me a message if you're not sure on anything. I'll be happy to help and offer advice or guidance 🙂.
I really hope that this helps and as usual and as I've said above, please please please just message me if you're not sure about anything or have any questions. I'm always happy to offer advice.
C xx
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