Strength training is the king of exercise
Strength training is the king of exercise
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Once considered exotic, marginal or even harmful, strength training is now the king of exercise. Beginners can sometimes be confused, because this type of activity bears several other names such as resistance training, weight training or weight bearing exercise. Well, whenever you lift barbells, dumbbells, heavy rocks or sandbags; perform push-ups, dips or squats; stretch rubber bands or springs; use an exercise machine - you are doing strength training a.k.a. resistance training, a.k.a.... etc.
After five decades of controversies, opponents of strength training disappeared, while the number of its expert-advocates quickly grows. All of them agree upon one thing: this physical activity does not benefit exclusively muscles.
The list of other benefits becomes longer and longer almost every day thanks to advanced scientific research. Now we know that strength training - among others - improves bone density, helps to control cholesterol and blood sugar levels, prevents or slows down the most common signs of aging. Practiced by older people it quickly increases sense of balance, coordination of bodily movements and even cognitive abilities.
Although we do not believe that one good exercise can be superior over another good exercise, we are ready to agree that strength training is more universal than other forms of exercise. After all, our ancestors were using muscles to survive, not to walk from their houses to their garages.
There are countless bodybuilding manuals out there. We recommend this simple one because its method is realistically effective in a short time:
Why Should You Lift Weights?
Look at this list of the benefits you'll gain by adding weight lifting exercises to your schedule:
Easier weight loss or weight maintenance
Leaner, stronger body
Improved appearance
Better posture
Lower blood pressure
Increased resting metabolism rate
Improved balance and coordination
Stronger bones, and protection against osteoporosis
In simple terms, this means you will look better and feel stronger. And if you need to lose weight, strength training is very helpful. Low calorie diets decrease your metabolism and put you on the yo-yo dieting roller-coaster. On the other hand, when you combine a healthy but not too restrictive eating with simple strength training you will keep your metabolism level high. You will be more likely to lose weight fast - and keep it off for good.
STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN
Many women - if not most of them - have wrong ideas about strength training based on lifting weights or using resistance machines. Here is a list of the most popular misconceptions followed by facts:
They think: Weight training is for men.
Truth: Strength training by women is the fastest growing fitness trend in many countries of the world. Women are more and more aware that lean muscle helps them lose weight, prevent the onset of osteoporosis, lower high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
They think: Weight lifting causes women to bulk up.
Truth: Bulking up is caused by male hormones. Women have only 3 -10 percent of the hormones that let men build big muscle.
They think: Strength training will make me gain weight, since muscle weighs more than fat.
Truth: Studies of thousands of women have found that the average woman who trains just two to three times a week for eight weeks gains 1.75 pounds of lean muscle weight, but loses 3.5 pounds of fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so the well-toned woman who does weight training regularly will not only lose weight but also inches.
They think: I run and take aerobic classes, so I don't need strength training.
Truth: A complete fitness regimen - both for men and women - should include cardiovascular exercise, strength training and stretching.
They Think: Cardiovascular exercise is the best way to lose weight, because it makes me sweat.
Truth: Cardiovascular exercise provides great benefits to your heart and circulatory system, and helps you to lose weight. On the other hand, lean muscle mass - developed by strength training - significantly increases an individual's ability to burn calories. By retaining more muscle tissue, woman can maintain higher metabolic rates and lose weight faster.
They think: I'll hurt myself trying to do weight training.
Truth: You might injure yourself if you use heavy weights but it is highly unlikely that you will hurt yourself if you are careful. In fact, strength training will condition you so that you are less likely to injure yourself when you participate in other sports.
They think: I'm too old to lift weights.
Truth: Strength training is ideal for women at any age. It is especially beneficial for post-menopausal women, who begin to lose bone density very rapidly, which leads to osteoporosis. Strength training increases bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
SHOULD KIDS LIFT WEIGHTS?
It is important to know that strength training programs carry certain risks for children. Heavy stress placed on still-growing bones and muscles can distort bone and ligament development. Many experts discourage resistance training for kids under the age of 12. They are usually not physically and mentally disciplined enough to avoid hurting themselves.
If your child is willing to participate in some form of strength training - perhaps to be like an older sibling, family member or sports idol - then at least make sure he or she is properly supervised, and that the progression is very slow.
There is a "10 percent" rule for adults, which says that you should never increase the weight, duration, or intensity of an exercise by more than 10 percent at a time. Kids should progress even more slowly than that. In addition, it is important to include flexibility exercises, before and after the session, to prevent possible shortening of their muscles.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, low-stress resistance training exercises can be a good thing for children, but once again, supervision and instruction is paramount. When properly done, resistance training has a positive effect on muscle tone, fosters positive changes in musculature development, and helps kids feel good about themselves and their abilities.
Proven Results Weight Loss
Burn the Fat: Well balanced, comprehensive. Shows in a very competent and clear way, how you can practically manipulate all functions of your body (food intake, metabolism, physical activity, etc.) to meet your weight loss goals.
Fat Loss for Idiots: An idiotic title and a great book. It provides tons of versatile and scientifically valid information. A lot of it is free. They do not recognize any of the most advertised diets. Instead, they offer a convincing "in between" approach.
Fit over Forty: Personal but honest and knowledgeable. It shows how obesity, lack of confidence and constant struggle can be reversed; provides excellent inspiration for those, who are not so young any longer. Baby-boomers invited.
Shocking Proof: We usually forget that our body is a temporary dump and an enormous ZOO. Disgusting plaque and horrible little “critters” living in our guts are very much capable of creating our overweight problems. This approach is not pretty but very much scientific.
Turbulence Training: Although so called, this fat burning routine will introduce little turbulence into your existence, because it was designed to comply with all kind of lifestyles. Exercise haters may be surprised.
Fit Mummy: Ladies who cannot lose the remaining baby fat and are too busy to effectively control their weight will love this book. Holly Rigsby is a busy mom herself. She is also a friendly and warm professional, well prepared to help you.
Self-hypnosis: This site’s web master used self-hypnosis to successfully quit smoking. Call him prejudiced but he will still believe that hypnotic auto-suggestion can help you to shed all those excessive pounds and keep them away for the rest of your life.
Eat-Stop-Eat: You eat normally then you fast then you eat normally then you fast again… Most diets expect us to fast all the time and that’s why we fail. You endure fasting easily, when you know that normal eating will come back soon. Of course, there’s more to this concept. Read the book!
Combat the fat: Have you seen a fat soldier? May be a fat general… Military ways must be as good as possible; otherwise they would lose wars. The author was a long time soldier and he is a weight control expert as well. Attention!
Speed Fat Loss: We usually reject programs promising a quick weight loss but this one makes sense. At least this is not just a diet; and the author is both sincere and convincing.
Losing by Believing: They say: the key to losing weight is - believing you can and thinking yourself thin. You only must believe frankly and think deeply. Well, there are a lot of famous (and thin) people out there, who attribute their successes to strong beliefs.
The Best Abdominal Exercises Are The Simple Ones
It comes with great satisfaction to Fitness Classic that scientists indicated simple abdominal exercises as the best ones. Researchers from San Diego State University, led by Dr. Peter Francis, used electromyography and a carefully designed program to find out that bicycle maneuver and captain's chair techniques were the best stimulators of abdominal muscles.
To put it in a rather simplified form: the first exercise is moving - in supine position - the bent knee to the elbow of the opposite arm, while hands are beside your head; the second one is performed by raising bent knees to chest while your body is suspended above the floor. Of the many devices examined only the simple exercise ball occurred to be a top stimulator of the abdominal musculature.
Manufactures of fitness equipment continue flooding the market with more and more stomach exercise contraptions. Now you know that all that gadgetry has little advantage over exercises using only the weight of your own body.
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