How to Get Stronger4 min read

Are you looking to get stronger? If so, you’re in luck! In this blog post, we will discuss some strength training tips that will help you achieve your goals.

Strength training is an important part of any fitness routine, and it can help improve your overall health and wellbeing.

There are many benefits in building muscles and getting stronger to reduce any health issues related to aging, such as osteoporosis, sarcopenia, or chronic back pain.

Why build muscles

Our muscles are the source of strength and movements in our body. Being strong helps us live a healthy life physically and mentally, lower risks of injury, and boost confidence.

Building muscles also helps with weight loss. Unlike cardio, muscles burn more calories than fat even when we’re resting, while cardio burns calories only when we’re doing the exercise.

Furthermore, as we get older, our muscles will also start to degenerate starting in our 30s. As we lose muscles, we are more vulnerable to age-related health risks such as arthritis, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, or chronic back pain.

We can’t deny that this is a natural process in our lives, but the good news is that building our strength and muscles helps in slowing down the muscles deterioration process.

Some studies have shown that we can slow down these processes by decades with proper strength training programs for your whole body and help adults have healthy bodies even when they’re older.

How to start strength training

Resistance training is key to building muscles and getting stronger.

If you’re completely new to working out, you can start by doing bodyweight movements, such as push-ups and bodyweight squats, or working with a personal trainer or joining classes will help you get the fundamentals and proper techniques to avoid injuries.

Also, a lot of women avoid strength training because they don’t want to get bulky and big like men. This is not true. Women have a lower amount of the hormone testosterone, so women won’t gain muscle mass as men do.

In fact, strength training is crucial for women as women are more at risk of getting bone issues and osteoporosis, especially during menopause. Regular strength training helps women in combating these issues.

How much strength training you should do

To get the most out of strength training, you have to work your muscles to the point of fatigue. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to train until you hurt yourself, but each set of your exercise should be close to the point of failure like you can’t lift anymore.

To figure out how much weight you should lift, find out the heaviest weight that you can lift one time. After figuring it out, find the weight that is 80 percent of that heaviest weight, and do the exercise for 8-12 reps on each set.

Another option is to find the weight that is 30-50 percent your heaviest weight, and then use that weight for your exercise, but aim for more reps, from 25-50 reps on each set until you’re fatigued.

However, remember not to compromise your form just to complete the number of reps. Proper technique is the most important part of an exercise. Your last rep should be the repetition that you almost fail to maintain the proper form.

Exercises to do

There are many bodyweight exercises that you can do if you’re a beginner before you use weights, such as dumbells or kettlebells.

Remember that form and technique is the priority. Start slowly and light, then work on your form first before adding more reps.

Always start with a warm-up first for 10 minutes.

If you are a complete beginner, start with bodyweight exercises first without weights, such as push-ups for the upper body and squats and lunges for the lower body. Start with 10 reps for 3 sets.

After you get the hang of it, try to start incorporating weights or add more repetitions or sets, and also learn the fundamental movements, such as deadlifts, back squats, chest presses, and bent-over row.

If you’re just starting, start with lighter weights. After you get the techniques and forms, start doing progressive overload.

Progressive overload is when you gradually add more weights, frequency, or repetitions to your exercise. This is the most important part of getting stronger because, after some time, your body will start to adapt to the weights that you lift.

Gradually increasing your weights or repetitions will challenge your muscles again and get them to work. In this way, you will get stronger each time.

However, this doesn’t mean that you suddenly add 45 lb to your weights. Start small by adding 2.5-5 lb, and then gradually increase from there after you’re comfortable with that weight.

Home workout

Here are some strength exercises that you can do at home with no equipment. You can get stronger without weights by adding more reps or sets once you’re comfortable, but it is recommended to get a band to give you extra resistance and make your workout more effective. Start with 3×10 reps.

Push-ups

Push-ups are a great basic upper body workout. It mainly targets your chest and triceps.

Squats

The greatest and most basic exercise. Squats target almost your whole legs and glutes.

Lunges

A great exercise to target the buttocks, thighs, and calves.

Plank

Plank is a good start as an abs and core workout. Start with holding a plank for 20 seconds, and then gradually increase the time. Once you’re used to it, you can start incorporating plank variations, such as adding a leg lift or side plank crunch.