Today I want to talk to you about the 5 W’s: The Who, What, Where, When, and Why of Strength training.
Who should strength train?
Everyone!! Strength training is good for the mind, body, and soul. I know that probably sounds cliche but, it's true. Strength training is good for the young and old, men and women, and the fit and not so fit. We can all benefit from building muscle!
Here are your 5 quick “everyone benefits” facts for you:
- Lifting weights builds muscle and bone strength.
- Lifting weights increases our resting metabolism.
- Lifting weights makes us stronger and more capable on our own.
- Lifting weights lowers our blood pressure and increases heart health.
- Lifting makes you feel badass! 🙂
What kinds of exercises should we use when we train?
Excuse the broken record here but, if you haven't heard me say it already: compound exercise movements are the best!! Compound exercises work more than one muscle group at a time. Working more muscles at one time = more muscle gains per workout. Isolation exercises are good too in addition to your compound movements. Isolation exercises are those that work only one muscle group like the bicep curl.
Where should we train?
With the proper equipment we can strength train at home! Obviously a gym will have lots of options but, with an adjustable set of dumbbells or multiple sets of varying weight dumbbells you can ABSOLUTELY train at home and get amazing results.
When should we train?
We should strength train 3-5 times a week at whatever time of the day works best!! If you are an early riser like me then getting up and getting it done right away is your best bet. But if not - you sleepy head - go ahead and train on your lunch break, in the evening, or after your kids are in bed. Whenever you do it is fine as long as you are making an effort to get in at least 3 sessions per week.
Why should we train?
Like I said above, there are a ton of super awesome benefits to strength training but you also need to ask yourself what your “why” is! Why do you want to lift weights? Why do you want to get strong? What does your “why” look like? What does it feel like?
My very first “why” was to lose weight. I had tried everything else, all the other fitness programs. Every. Single. One. I had tried them all and I started lifting because it was the next one I was presented with. But, after I fell in love with lifting my “why” changed. I no longer cared about losing weight. I lift now because of the way it makes me feel every single time! I always feel so empowered and ready for my day after every lifting session! Now my “why” is self care. I lift to take care of ME inside and out.
There you have it ladies - all the W’s you need to know about lifting weights and getting STRONG!!
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