Weight Loss Personal Training Packs
Challenging your muscles with strength training (also called resistance training) exercises 2 or 3 times each week is all that is needed to improve the strength and tone of your muscles – and gain you several long-term health benefits – provided you keep up the routine!
Why tone up?
Life today sees many of us ‘sitting’ for long stints during the day, every day. Our muscles pay the price: the stiffness of joints and the weakening of muscles that we sometimes blame on ageing are often a direct effect of inactivity.
Making the effort to have toned muscles will mean you have strong muscles. Strong muscles are firmer – they look better – and they help avoid potentially debilitating bone and joint injuries. Doing strength training exercises can increase your lean body mass (the non-fat parts of your body), which raises your metabolic rate, so helping with weight management. (A kilo of muscle will burn 50 to 100 calories a day at rest whereas a kilo of fat will use up only about 5 to 7 calories a day.)
Tips for strength training
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Always exercise the largest muscle groups first, such as your hips and upper legs, then move to your lower legs, upper torso, arms, abdominals and lower back.
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The abdominals and back muscles are stabilising muscles which help you to maintain correct form and should be exercised at the end of the session so that they are not fatigued too early.
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When lifting a weight, breathe continuously throughout the movement – don’t hold your breath or your blood pressure may go up.
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When lifting a weight, control the movement: take 2 seconds for the lifting movement, pause for one second, then 4 seconds for the lowering movement.
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Concentrate on maintaining good form – use a mirror to see that your body is aligned correctly.
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Limit strength training sessions to one hour in length – no more.
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Don’t do strength training sessions on consecutive days unless you work different muscle groups in each session, e.g. arms on Monday; legs on Tuesday