Transform Your Health with Strength Training: Tips for Beginners
Updated: Dec 15, 2022
You have probably heard at least once in your lifetime that exercise is beneficial. Regular exercise helps you be healthy and fit and brings with it many long-term benefits. But did you know doing some form of physical activity offers great short-term benefits too? A single bout of moderate to vigorous physical activity provides immediate benefits to your health.
It helps improve sleep quality
Reduces feelings of anxiety
It reduces blood pressure
You can include any form of exercise movement to get the general health benefits. But strength training has its own importance and should not be neglected. According to the current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults needs 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activity per week.
150 minutes of physical activity per week might sound like a lot. But when you break it down, it is 30 minutes of physical activity per day for 5 days a week.
Now, if by strength training, all you can imagine are bulky men and women lifting heavy looking dumbbells or bars, then it is time to read along.
Strength training comes in many forms. It can be done at home or the gym. You don't even need any equipment to get started with building strength.
You can strengthen your muscles by:
Lifting weights
Working with resistance bands
Doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance (e.g., push-ups, sit-ups)
Some forms of Yoga (that focus on using your body weight to flow
You need to incorporate activities that would work all the major muscle groups of your body- legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms.
To reap the health benefits of strength training, you need to do muscle-strengthening activities to the point where it is hard for you to do another repetition without help.
A repetition is 1 complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing 1 push-up or 1 sit-up.
Try to do 8-12 repetitions per activity, which counts as 1 set. You should aim to do at least 1 set of strengthening activities and do 2-3 sets to gain the maximum benefits.
Here is a sample workout plan for you for the week:
If you're strength training only 2 days a week,
Day of the Week | Workout |
Monday | Upper Body Workout (Shoulders, Chest, Back, Arms) |
Tuesday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Wednesday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Thursday | Lower Body Workout(Legs, Glutes) |
Friday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Saturday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Sunday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
If you're strength training 3 days a week,
Days of the Week | Workout Type |
Monday | Upper Body Workout (Shoulders, Chest, Back, Arms) |
Tuesday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Wednesday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity Lower Body Workout(Legs, Glutes) |
Thursday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Friday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity Core Workout |
Saturday | 30 minutes of aerobic activity |
Sunday | Active Rest Day |
Here is a list of 5 things you need to begin strength training at home:
List of things you can buy on Amazon to start your strength training journey today: