Strength Training 101

Reasons to do it

For years, when most people think of strength training, they think of Arnold Schwarzenegger and think that they’ll suddenly get massive as soon as they pick up a dumbbell! Or they think it’s just for men aged about 18-30 who want the big biceps and rippling abs to look good when strutting about on the beach!

But that couldn’t be further from the truth!

So who should be strength training and why? To answer it simply- everyone, and because it makes life easier when you’re strong!

A load of shopping to carry in? One trip!

Children to carry? No problem

Need to open a tight jar? - Light work!

And there is a load of other benefits as well! Whether you want to lose 100lbs or just 10lbs, strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build muscle. If you only have a short period of time to exercise, strength training is the fastest and most effective path to success. And if you want to live longer, it helps prevent sarcopenia (which is the reduction of skeletal muscle as we age) which then helps us stay independent and active as we get older.

And here are some of the other benefits:

Preserve muscle- Strength training helps us retain the muscle we have if you are someone who is trying to lose weight. And keeping/building muscle while losing body fat will help to give you the toned look that most people strive for.

Boost your metabolism- Most people stick to doing only cardio workouts as the calories burned during the actual session can be high. But the ‘after effect’ for calorie burn is low i.e your metabolism goes back to its normal rate straight after. However, with strength training, although the calories burned during the actual session is lower, the after effect is much higher. This then means that your metabolism is boosted for up to 38 hours after you finish your workout i.e more calories burned long-term! Strength training helps to speed up your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) as it takes your body more calories to maintain/ build muscle as it does to maintain fat. It’s estimated that for every 1lb of muscle you gain, your RMR increase by about 30-50 calories.

Get healthier- Strength training increase bony density, builds a stronger heart, reduces your resting blood pressure, improves blood flow, stops muscle loss, helps control blood sugar levels, improves your cholesterol levels, and improved your balance and coordination. Need I say more?!

Feel better- Not only do most people find themselves with more energy and confidence, less stress and anxiety and an overall better mood, strength training has also been proven to help increase cognitive function so you’ll actually begin to think better! And exercising earlier in the day has been shown to help prevent sleep apnoea and insomnia. It can even improve your posture so technically make you taller!

Fight off disease and degenerative conditions- Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for both men and women. But strength training can help fix issues related to cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes which are all factors for heart disease.

It has also been proven to help manage and improve the quality of life for people with arthritis, osteoporosis, Parkinsons, lymphedema, fibromyalgia and depression as well as those who’d had a recent stroke, spinal cord injury or cancer!

It’s fun!- Strength training is one of the most effective forms of exercise to suit most goals- whether you’re after something quick to do in just 20 mins, want to feel more confident naked, or are looking to get into something where you can see progress between ever session, strength training is the one for you!

Now I’ve hopefully convinced you to start strength training, so how do we go about doing it?!

What is it?

There are loads of different ways to do strength training such bodyweight/ calisthenics, gymnastics, CrossFit, gym classes, circuits/ bootcamps, at home workouts, Pilates etc. The main one I like to focus on is lifting weights at the gym or at home (like in the monthly workouts!)

But which is best for you? Realistically it’s the one you will actually do and enjoy doing!

Barbell training may be the best when it comes to gaining strength, but if it doesn’t work in your routine to be able to get to a gym, it may be worth choosing something else.

Similarly, bodyweight training may be the most convenient, but if you’re someone who can’t motivate themselves to train at home when a comfy sofa is right there, it also may be worth choosing something else.

Often, the situation may dictate what you do. E.g if you travel a lot with work, bodyweight exercises to do in a hotel room will likely be the best thing. And when you get home, getting back to a gym to go heavy with the squats and deadlifts will work again.

And that’s why I’ve provided both home workouts where all you need is a couple of water bottles and a bag, and the gym workouts with access to barbells, dumbbells and machines. You’ll be able to pick the right option for you, depending on your schedule and equipment.

And I like to stick to the basic exercises and movement patterns- hip hinges, knees hinges, pushes, pulls and core exercises. These will get you 95% of the way to your goals and provide the perfect building block if you wanted to add anything after.

Reps and sets?

A ‘rep’ is the term used to describe a single execution of an exercise e.g A single squat

A ‘set’ is a collection of reps. E.g. A set of 10 single squats

My general advice for how many reps and sets to do is:

Big (Compound) exercises e.g A squat- 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps

Small (Isolation) exercises e.g A bicep curl- 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps

Core/ Ab exercises- 1-2 sets of 10-20 reps

When to progress:

To get stronger, you need to be using a principle called ‘progressive overload.’

This can be done by: Increasing the weight you’re lifting, slowing down the reps, adding a pause to the exercise, or adding more reps or sets of the exercise.

I generally recommend that once you can comfortably lift 3 sets of 12 reps of an exercise without feeling too fatigued, you can apply one of these ways (most commonly is to slightly increase the weight)

And then we just repeat this again and again! This may sound boring but I promise you that, once you start seeing your strength increasing, it may get very addictive!

And that’s all you need to know about the basics of Strength Training – so now you just need to make a plan and get started!

The easiest options are:

- Choose either one of the home workouts or gym workouts from the Kickstart Continued google drive!

- Book yourself in for a gym class- most of our PureGym studio classes include weight training!

- Book yourself a PT session! (I know someone pretty cool who can help here!)

Have fun with it, ask questions and let me know how you get on!