The Correct Resistance Training Routine is Essential to All Fitness Goals

The importance of weight training has become widely known in recent years. No matter what your fitness goals, whether they include fat loss, muscle gain, or improved athletic performance, your workout must contain a comprehensive weight training component. Benefits associated with weight training include:

Increased Lean Muscle Mass:
Increased lean muscle mass leads to increased strength, power, and endurance. This improved muscular performance will allow the body to perform daily activities as well as athletic maneuvers with a higher level of proficiency.

Increased Metabolic Rate:
Developing lean muscle tissue will increase the body’s ability to burn more calories during all activities, including rest.

Increased Bone Density:
A comprehensive weight training routine will cause the body to send much needed minerals to the skeletal system. As a result of the increased mineral deposits, bone density will increase. This helps to prevent osteoporosis.

Enhanced Athletic Performance:
When the correct exercises are performed to strengthen muscles associated with specific athletic moves, the performance of those moves in competition will undoubtedly improve.

Injury Prevention:
When muscles around joints are made stronger, they provide support and stability for those joints. This support will provide the body with much needed protection during all activities.

Improved Balance and Flexibility:
Stronger, more flexible muscles improve the body’s ability to deal with daily imbalances and external forces. This leads to more fluid body movements and a decreased chance of falls.

Decreased Coronary Risk Factors:
Weight training has been shown to aid in decreased cholesterol levels, improve HDL/LDL ratios, and lower blood pressure.

Decreased Recovery Time:
Weight training strengthens muscles which surround injured areas. In addition to providing this added support, weight training causes increased blood flow to these areas. This increased blood flow speeds the healing process.

Improved Quality of Life for Senior Citizens:
Weight training will decrease and in many cases reverse muscle atrophy (shrinkage) associated with the aging process. This will allow for increased activity participation and decreased incidence of injury.
Increased Self Image and Confidence:

Weight training is the only true way to change the body’s shape. When specific muscles are worked, they can change the body’s structural system. By increasing lean muscle tissue in targeted areas a more aesthetically pleasing physique can be created. An increase in self confidence is very common with an improved physique and increased functional abilities.

While the importance of strength training is widely known, the methods of implementing the correct weight training routine are more elusive. In order to achieve the correct benefit from a weight training routine, the goals must be clearly defined. Is the goal of the routine to increase functional strength, improve athletic performance, or to make a specific daily task less strenuous? Furthermore, in the case of athletic performance, is it a sport requiring increased muscle strength, increased muscle endurance, or a combination of the two? Other pertinent information includes; the person’s age, any injuries, past exercise experience, and daily challenges.

The wide range of variables associated with designing the correct weight training program can make it a confusing process. For this reason it is important to consult with an experienced fitness professional. Many health clubs provide assistance in designing a basic weight training routine. However, in order to design a routine that will lead to specific goals, a few sessions with a certified personal trainer are well worth the minimal expense.

What Type of Weight Training Routine is Right for You?

I am a distance runner:
Long distance running requires a high amount of muscle endurance in the upper body as well as in the lower body. Among other exercises, a weight routine for the distance runner should focus on exercises which will strengthen the upper back, shoulders, and upper and lower legs. These exercises should be done with minimal rest, moving immediately from one exercise to the next performing around 20 repetitions for each exercise.

I just want to lose some fat around my waist and in the back of my upper arms:
Since you can not spot reduce body fat, it is imperative to perform a well rounded weight training routine focusing on all of the major muscles of the body. Exercises which utilize many muscles at the same time would be most beneficial. Such exercises include squats, lunges, push ups, and lat pull downs. These exercises should be done with minimal rest, moving immediately from one exercise to the next. Approximately 20 repetitions should be completed for each exercise.

I am going out for the football team next year:
Football, along with many other sports requires maximal power in a short amount of time. For this reason, when weight training for football, higher weight loads are required. Along with the higher weight loads come less repetitions and more rest time. Repetition ranges can vary from 1 to 10 and rest time is usually between 60 and 90 seconds. Core exercises for football include the bench press, the squat, the dead lift, and the power clean.

I am a senior citizen just beginning to exercise:
Senior citizens should focus on exercises which increase their balance, coordination, and joint stability. These exercises include chair sits, squats, outer thigh lifts, and any exercise which focuses on core strengthening (examples are crunches and back extensions). The most important thing to remember is start out with light resistance and slowly increase it.