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Making Muscles That Can’t Be Ignored: Getting Started with Strength Training

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Making muscles that can’t be ignored: getting started with strength training

You’re dedicated to going to the gym.  You’ve decided to engineer your workout to focus on strength training. While some things are uniform regardless of your ultimate goal, strength training calls for specific actions and habits. Here’s how to get started.

Warm Up

You don’t need to be training to be a marathon runner or to box 10 rounds, but you should always warm up no matter what kind of exercise is in your future. Allow your muscles to get warm for up to 20 minutes (depending on chosen activity). Now, you’re ready for strength training.

Technique

Strength training’s intent is to make your muscle stronger, not necessarily bigger. Therefore, you’ll need to learn technique since that’s the most efficient way to hit your target. When you have great technique, you don’t need to lift heavy weight to get strong. Strength comes from breaking down the muscle and then allowing it to build back stronger.

Options

Getting stronger does not necessitate free weights, body weight, bands, or machines. It requires that your muscles go through trials and then recovery. Find a routine that is comfortable, one which is challenging yet does not place undue strain on muscles, joints, etc. Start slow with low weight at first; as mentioned, get the technique down as you slowly add weight and repetitions.

Weight

You’ll need to experiment a bit to find your sweet spot for the right weight. Remember, that strength training means you’re going to work your muscle to exhaustion. However, it’s better to go longer than try and tire your muscle out after one set. Choose a weight that is comfortable, allows for proper form, yet is challenging to use for more than 10 to 14 reps.

Isolation

When you’re benching two dumbbells, can you really tell if you’re lifting them equally? Many people are stronger on one side versus the other. That’s why some prefer to challenge muscles in isolation, working one side and then the other, paying better attention to maintaining the same rhythm and rep count. Find a quality dumbbell set online.

Evolve

The body is smart and quickly adapts to routine, the reason athletes eventually evolve routines. There’s a need to keep the body challenged and guessing without placing yourself in danger or neglecting periods of rest, which brings up the next point.

Rest

You’ll never get stronger without proper rest. No matter how much you hear about being tough and being able to go longer, there’s no way you can get around the need for proper rest. This means giving each body area adequate rest as well as nursing any sore muscles, etc.

Commitment

You can’t get stronger by being committed one week and getting lazy the other. It’s a journey, one that requires increased stamina and weight. You won’t get the results you want without the dedication and ability to show up to the gym almost every day. Are you mentally and physically ready for the challenge?