Strength is an important component in any fitness program.
Even if your goal is fat loss, you should not disregard the importance of heavy strength training.
More strength means more muscle, and more muscle means more calories burned, since muscle is more metabolically active than fat.
In other words, just by focusing on maximal strength, you'll be able to put on muscle mass, and lose a considerable amount of fat.
Because you are seeing simultaneous gains in both muscle mass and fat loss, your bodyweight often stays the same.
So if you are using a scale to measure your progress, be weary of the absolute numbers.
Use a body fat % calculator of some sort, or simply use a tape measure to keep track of your waist, legs, chest, and arms.
Another good way of tracking your progress is by simply taking pictures.
Before and after pictures may reveal more to you then simply looking at scale or tape measure numbers.
Heavy strength training will also help boost testosterone levels.
Other benefits include stronger joints, increased flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.
But the key to successful strength training is to have a well-designed plan of attack.
The following are specific components that are crucial to any strength training program: Choose a Rep/Set Scheme that Allows You To Lift Fast and Heavy Instead of sitting here and writing about what rep/set scheme you're supposed to use, I am going to let you figure out which rep/set scheme to use.
Choose an exercise, say the bench press, and load the weight with 85% of your one-repetition maximum.
For example, if the maximum weight that you can lift for one repetition on the bench press is 200 lbs then 85% of that weight will be 170lbs.
Perform the bench press with that weight as fast as you can possibly go.
Stop when the weight starts to slow down.
For some, this may occur on the third or fourth rep, and for others it may occur on the seventh or eighth rep.
Everyone is different.
Note the repetition you stopped at.
This will be the repetitions you will use to move a weight that is 85% of your maximum.
Once you have found your repetition range, it is easy to figure out how many sets to perform.
Simply divide by 25.
According to Coach Chad Waterbury, for maximal strength gains, the ideal set/rep range should fall between 24 to 36 total repetitions.
This means that if you perform 5x5, your total repetitions fall within the 24-36 rep range, making it an ideal strength program.
So, if you stopped your 85% at 8 reps, then you'd need to perform only 3-4 sets to get results.
Choose Exercises that Allow you to Lift Fast and Heavy Functional exercises should be the backbone of your strength program.
Functional movements consist of movements that mimic the types of tasks that we need to carry out in our daily lives.
This includes lifting objects up over our head and placing them on shelves, lifting objects up the stairs, pulling objects out of the trunk of our cars, running away from danger, jumping over objects, scaling fences, etc.
Some functional movements include squats, push press, deadlift, and power clean.
Most compound movements can also be considered to be functional movements.
However, the key is to ask yourself if this movement can be completed quickly with a heavy load.
The perfect example of this is the Overhead Squat.
The Overhead Squat is a great compound movement, but most people do not have the skill level to perform this movement at a fast pace.
So, for each person the movement they choose to use will be different.
Beginners may start off with a front squat, then move onto an overhead squat as they become stronger.
Use these two principles to help you design effective strength training programs.
There is a lot that goes into training program design, but it is better to start with the basics and move on with experience rather then sit there and read all the free information out there on the internet about this topic.
You will learn more by getting under the weight than sitting there and scratching your pen against a piece of paper.
So, start lifting!
Even if your goal is fat loss, you should not disregard the importance of heavy strength training.
More strength means more muscle, and more muscle means more calories burned, since muscle is more metabolically active than fat.
In other words, just by focusing on maximal strength, you'll be able to put on muscle mass, and lose a considerable amount of fat.
Because you are seeing simultaneous gains in both muscle mass and fat loss, your bodyweight often stays the same.
So if you are using a scale to measure your progress, be weary of the absolute numbers.
Use a body fat % calculator of some sort, or simply use a tape measure to keep track of your waist, legs, chest, and arms.
Another good way of tracking your progress is by simply taking pictures.
Before and after pictures may reveal more to you then simply looking at scale or tape measure numbers.
Heavy strength training will also help boost testosterone levels.
Other benefits include stronger joints, increased flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.
But the key to successful strength training is to have a well-designed plan of attack.
The following are specific components that are crucial to any strength training program: Choose a Rep/Set Scheme that Allows You To Lift Fast and Heavy Instead of sitting here and writing about what rep/set scheme you're supposed to use, I am going to let you figure out which rep/set scheme to use.
Choose an exercise, say the bench press, and load the weight with 85% of your one-repetition maximum.
For example, if the maximum weight that you can lift for one repetition on the bench press is 200 lbs then 85% of that weight will be 170lbs.
Perform the bench press with that weight as fast as you can possibly go.
Stop when the weight starts to slow down.
For some, this may occur on the third or fourth rep, and for others it may occur on the seventh or eighth rep.
Everyone is different.
Note the repetition you stopped at.
This will be the repetitions you will use to move a weight that is 85% of your maximum.
Once you have found your repetition range, it is easy to figure out how many sets to perform.
Simply divide by 25.
According to Coach Chad Waterbury, for maximal strength gains, the ideal set/rep range should fall between 24 to 36 total repetitions.
This means that if you perform 5x5, your total repetitions fall within the 24-36 rep range, making it an ideal strength program.
So, if you stopped your 85% at 8 reps, then you'd need to perform only 3-4 sets to get results.
Choose Exercises that Allow you to Lift Fast and Heavy Functional exercises should be the backbone of your strength program.
Functional movements consist of movements that mimic the types of tasks that we need to carry out in our daily lives.
This includes lifting objects up over our head and placing them on shelves, lifting objects up the stairs, pulling objects out of the trunk of our cars, running away from danger, jumping over objects, scaling fences, etc.
Some functional movements include squats, push press, deadlift, and power clean.
Most compound movements can also be considered to be functional movements.
However, the key is to ask yourself if this movement can be completed quickly with a heavy load.
The perfect example of this is the Overhead Squat.
The Overhead Squat is a great compound movement, but most people do not have the skill level to perform this movement at a fast pace.
So, for each person the movement they choose to use will be different.
Beginners may start off with a front squat, then move onto an overhead squat as they become stronger.
Use these two principles to help you design effective strength training programs.
There is a lot that goes into training program design, but it is better to start with the basics and move on with experience rather then sit there and read all the free information out there on the internet about this topic.
You will learn more by getting under the weight than sitting there and scratching your pen against a piece of paper.
So, start lifting!