Put simply, its exercise with load, being either external (bars, weights, plates, dumbbells) or your own bodyweight. We practice movements and either try and improve how we’re moving, how much we’re moving and/or how many times we’re moving said load.
What makes it a fantastic training focus?
-Superior movement- It (ideally) makes you focus on how you’re moving, this requires some attention to be given to your mobility and gives you achievable movement goals that over time and with practice will improve.
-Performance/Skill Based Goals > Aesthetic ones-By focusing on moving more load over time we can see improvement in our performance! This means we are achieving goals more frequently! Funnily enough by applying this idea (known as progressive overload) and getting stronger, we often see a change in our bodies to adapt to what we’re throwing at it!
-More Muscle- The muscle you carry, the more calories you burn at rest, this is known as increasing our metabolic rate! Adding muscle has the potential to change our body composition without spending hours on the treadmill.
On top of the aforementioned points, strength training has a host of health benefits including promoting bone development (very important for older individuals), injury prevention/rehabilitation, it has also been shown to have a positive impact on mental health in several studies through sleep quality, self-esteem and anxiety symptom improvements.
Who should be Strength Training?
This one’s easy! Everybody! (who has the means/resources to)
How do I Start?
Three fantastic movements to potentially start with are the Squat, Bench and Deadlift. Being strong in these lifts is a great reflection of total body strength.
For those without gym access Body weight squats, pushups and lunges are also great places to start!
When performing any form of strength exercise always focus on how well, not how much!
Start light, with a heavy focus on technique before you go throwing a load of weight on.
Stay tuned for upcoming content in regards to specific programming, feel free to reach out to us via Instagram or email.
