Including strength training sessions in your fitness routine can help improve the strength of your muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones, assist in weight management, prevent and alleviate the symptoms of depression, arthritis and osteoporosis, reduce your risk of injury and boost your stamina and mental alacrity. Understanding the fundamentals of strength training will help you plan a safe and effective program.
Repetitions and Sets
The number of sets and repetitions you complete each session will depend on your fitness goals. If you want to build up endurance, aim for one to two sets of eight to 15 repetitions. For greater strength gains, try two to three sets of 12 to 16 repetitions. If you want to increase the overall size of your muscles, perform three to six sets of six to 12 repetitions.
Frequency and Recovery
The American Council on Exercise recommends training each major muscle group with one or more exercises at least twice per week. Each muscle group needs at least 48 hours between workouts for recovery. If you plan to perform full-body workouts, you'll be limited to three each week. By training on a split program, where you train one or two muscle groups at a time, you can train more frequently without compromising your recovery time.
Choosing Exercises
When designing your strength training program, choose one or more exercises for each muscle group in your body. Compound exercises that involve more than one joint will train multiple muscle groups at once, saving you time at the gym. For example, the leg press, squats and lunges all work your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes together instead of having to perform separate exercised for each muscle. Machine exercises offer greater stability and ease, but free weights give you a full range of motion while strengthening your stabilizer muscles.
Nutrition
Proper nutrition plays as important a role in building muscle as the exercises themselves. Your body requires adequate calories, protein and carbohydrates to repair damaged muscle tissue and build new tissue as it adapts to the stress you're putting on your muscles. Keep well hydrated, and avoid high-fat foods. Eat a small meal containing simple and complex carbohydrates before each workout to keep your energy up. Eat a combination of carbohydrates and protein after your workout to help replenish glycogen and amino acids in the muscle tissue.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training -- Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
- American Council on Exercise: When Strength Training, Is it Better to Do More Reps with Lighter Weights or Fewer Reps with Heavier Weights?
- American Council on Exercise: What Is the Difference Between Total Body Strength Training Routines and Split Routines?
- University of Wisconsin-Stout: Nutrition
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