Strength training for beginners

Strength training can be very intimidating to people at first. A beginner's guide to strength training can be beneficial to those who don't know where to start. There many benefits to starting strength training workouts. Strength training exercises can be performed with added weights or just a person's body weight. The best strength training for beginners will utilize exercises that utilize different muscles at once.

Benefits of Strength Training

Helps the Body Stay Young and Avoid Injuries

Strength training helps avoid injuries by strengthening the muscles that surround joints and protect ligaments. When the muscles are strong, so are the joints. Strength training exercises can help reduce low back pain.

Just like other forms of exercise, strength training exercises help keep the body young and healthy. Heart health is improved and bone density when strength training is implemented regularly. This improves the overall health and life expectancy of a person.

As a person ages, muscle mass decreases. Adding strength training workouts each week can help build more muscle and slow down the progression of muscle loss.

Helps You Stay Lean

More muscle means more calories burned. Muscle mass increases the metabolic output of the body. The increase in muscle mass from strength training workouts will burn more fat away than other cardio workouts.

Strength training has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels and reduce blood pressure. This attributes to a person's overall well-being.

Improves mood and confidence

Just like with all exercise, strength training can improve a person's mood. Strength training workouts release feel-good endorphins. Endorphins give a person feelings of happiness and pleasure.

Strength training can be used as a stress relief. It helps a person establish a mind-muscle connection and can be used as a form of meditation. This allows a person to become more intuned with their body.

A person can also see improvements in sleep after starting a strength training regimen. More calories are being burned throughout the day due to the increased muscle mass. This allows a person to rest more soundly at night.

With more muscle, comes more confidence. Clothes start to fit better and toned muscles are aesthetically pleasing to some people.

Strength Training Workouts for Beginners

A beginner's guide to strength training will include many different exercises one should perform at least twice a week. Most of the exercises target more than one muscle group at a time. It is suggested that a person should start performing these exercises with no added weights or just lightweights.

Squats

Squats are a classic exercise that can be performed with minimal equipment. They can be done at home or a gym. Dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance bands can be used to perform squats, but it is suggested that beginners start with just their body weight.

Squats work the glutes, quads, and core. They will help build muscles in the leg to look great in FIRM ABS leggings.

To perform a squat, bend at the knees as if to go and sit in a chair. Make sure to keep the back straight and the chest up. Have the thighs go parallel with the ground. It is important to make sure that the knees do not pass the toes.

Push-ups

Push-ups are a great basic exercise that is performed with absolutely no equipment. They can be modified to the abilities of a very beginner or intensified to a veteran gym-goer. They build muscles in the chest and arms.

To perform a push-up, position the body on the floor and place hands underneath the shoulders. Press up so that only the toes remain on the floor. Continue to bend at the elbows, lowering the body closer to the floor without touching the floor.

Planks

Plank is another great strength training exercise that can be performed without any equipment. They strengthen so many different muscle groups. By doing planks, the entire core, shoulders and upper back are engaged.

To perform a plank, start at the top of a push-up position. Do not lower the body to the floor. Engage the entire body and hold it in the position for at least 30 seconds.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts require some equipment. They can be performed with dumbbells, barbells, or resistance bands. They target the muscles in the hamstrings, glutes, and core.

To perform a deadlift, stand with feet hip-width apart and hinge down at the hips. Allow the dumbbells or barbell to graze the shin and stop at mid-shin. Do not hinge down to the floor. Make sure there is a slight bend in the knees and the back stays straight with the chest forward.

Bicep Curls

Bicep curls can be performed with dumbbells, a barbell or resistance bands. They strengthen the muscles in the biceps. With strengthened biceps, toned arm muscles will look great in FIRM ABS tank tops.

To perform a bicep curl, start with one dumbbell in each hand. pin the elbows to the side of the body and curl up towards the shoulder. Make sure there is no swinging or momentum behind the curl.

There is a lot of advice out there on strength training for beginners. Most people agree that a person needs to begin with total body workouts and start with very little or zero added weight. Some of the best exercises to learn how to do are ones that target more than one muscle group at a time.