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7
Must Know Facts to Build Your Strength Training
Routine
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by: Lynn
VanDyke
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Copyright
2005 strength-training-woman.com
Building a strength training routine can be one of
the trickiest parts of a fitness program. Ask 10
personal trainers what the best strength training
routine is and you will get 10 different answers.
Below are 7 must-know guidelines to use when
building a strength training program. Each
guideline provides the basic foundation that all
strength training programs abide by. Learning the
proper way to use free weights will greatly
improve your strength, fitness, and health levels.
1) We cannot strength train a muscle today and
tomorrow. We have to allow at least 24-36 hours of
rest. Lifting on consecutive days leads to
overtraining, muscle fatigue, and possible injury.
All of our strength gains are made during the rest
time!
2) We cannot spot reduce. This means if we want to
lose weight in our stomach, doing 100 crunches a
day will not make our stomach flab disappear. To
reduce stomach fat, we need an overall reduction
in body fat. Reducing overall body fat results
from eating well, regular exercise, and proper
rest.
3) We can spot tone. If we want bigger biceps, we
can strength train for hypertrophy (fancy word for
muscle growth). It is possible for us to focus on
one specific muscle group. This is sometimes
called targeted training. Studies have shown that
machines isolate a muscle better than free
weights.
4) Our strength training routines must be regular
and consistent for results to take place. It took
us years to put on the weight. We shouldn't expect
it to all fall off in three weeks. The best
outcome from your fitness and strength training
program should be a lifestyle change. Replace bad
habits with healthy ones and reap the rewards.
5) Realize that our strength training routine must
be changed every 4-6 weeks. This will prevent our
body from hitting a plateau and it will keep
things interesting. We can change our method, our
exercise or our intensity level. Not changing our
routine on a regular basis will eventually stop
producing results. We will continually grow
stronger as we progress with our fitness program.
Be sure your body is challenged on every workout.
6) Our strength training routines must be built
according to our specific goals. Specific goals
may be: fat loss, hypertrophy, maintaining weight
or adding bulk. Each goal will have a different
method that is best suited for optimal results.
Someone who is interested in losing body fat will
strength train differently than someone looking to
increase muscle bulk. Knowing what your specific
goals are will aid in creating the best strength
training program possible.
7) Our strength training routines must work all of
the major muscle groups in our body 1-3 times per
week. This includes our biceps, triceps,
shoulders, chest, back, abs, quads, glutes,
hamstrings and calves. Leaving out muscle groups
will create an imbalance.
By using these 7 guidelines, anyone should be able
to build a decent and effective program. The idea
is to develop a safe strength training routine
that provides us with major health and fitness
benefits. Strength training has certainly
increased in popularity over the past few years.
Knowing how to build a strength training routine
for our specific goals will move us one step
closer to a fit body.
About the author:
Lynn VanDyke is the proud owner of http://strength-training-woman.com
You may receive your free strength training log
and routines by visiting her site. Her newest
ebook has been voted the ##1 fitness ebook on the
net. Learn more about it by visiting
http://strength-training-woman.com/31-no-holds-barred-answers.html
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