Strength Training

Definition Strength training is the systematic use of resistances to overload muscles therefore building and improving the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles.

This vital component of an exercise program can often be missed. We are bombarded with messages of why cardiovascular exercise is vital to our overall health and for most of us; this part is simple and requires no instruction and many less tools. Often all you need is a pair of sneakers and you can get this done. Until recently, much less attention has been given to strength training as such as important component of our exercise regimen. Historically the weight areas of gyms are filled with males. This is changing and for good reason. Lifting weights and doing all types of resistance training are moving to the front of the list. Why? Many reasons.

First, It is important to understand lean mass and its significance. Lean mass is our muscles and other tissue on the body that is not fat. Lean mass is primarily muscle and it’s job is to support the skeletal structure and move the body kinesthetically (everything from getting out of bed, cooking dinner to exercise.) We lose lean mass over time if we don’t do anything to help it. For women this is about ½ pound per year starting at the age of 30. For men, this process starts much later typically closer to 50. This is one of the reasons why men have an easier time keeping their weight in check than women. Strength training is the only way to improve/maintain lean mass. 

Weight Loss/Maintenance

Losing or maintaining weight is the primary reason that most people exercise. Currently in the U.S. our obesity rates are skyrocketing. Latest estimates put about 1/3 of our population overweight (about 30lbs over ideal weight) and 1/3 obese (20% over ideal weight) but these are just estimates. Look around and you will see more overweight individuals that ones at an appropriate weight. Strength training is the perfect way to combat this problem. Not only does strength training increase your resting metabolism for up to 36 hours after you finish (note: intense circuit training has the greatest effect) but by adding lean muscle to the body you can increase your RMR (resting metabolic rate.)  RMR is the amount of calories your body burns daily before any activity. Simply put, this is your metabolism.

Strength training gives you a metabolic spike of about 25% for an hour after a workout because your body is working to repair muscle tissue and help them recover.

As an example, if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it’s really closer to 250 overall. And if you lift heavier weights or rest not more than 30 seconds (such as during circuit training) you will burn even more.

For every 3 pounds of muscle you build (1360.77711 grams) you will burn an extra 120 calories a day while doing nothing!  This adds up to about 10 pounds per year.

Bone Density/Osteopenia

Strong bones promote good health, independent living and long life. Bones give your body structure; protect organs, anchor muscles and store calcium. Bone mass peaks between age 20 and 30 and declines steadily after that. Women should build as much bone mass when they are young and prevent bone loss as they age by eating adding a strength training program to their workouts. Bones get stronger when you load them and weaker when you don’t. Weight training and weight bearing exercises in general are the best ways to build and bank bone. Free weight exercise place more stress on the skeleton, so they’re better than machine exercises for building bone. So don’t be shy!

Body Composition-Muscle vs.fat

How many times do you notice that your clothes fit better but the scale stays the same or even goes up? An often heard comment is that muscle weighs more than fat. It’s easy to think that but completely false. A pound is a pound no matter what the tissue is made of. What makes the change in the clothes versus the scale is that muscle takes up 18% less space that fat because of the type of tissue it is. As you continue to exercise the scale will drop down but it is far more noticeable in circumference than pure weight. I recommend that along with scale measurements, clients also use a tape measure on the chest, abdominals, hips, thigh and arm. You can record your measurements on this worksheet.