Incorporating strength training in your daily routine is the best way to build a healthy lifestyle. Muscular resistance helps to improve your endurance and strength. It’s a very versatile form of exercise where you can gain muscle, tone your body or lose fat! Not only can strength training help you reach your dream body, but it protects your bone and muscle mass, along with helping to improve your cardiovascular health. It improves your blood pressure, therefore, reducing the risk of hypertension and heart disease. Aside from the major health benefits, resistance training is a major factor in helping people cure their depression. Students, like us, face a lot of stress on a day-to-day basis, mainly from parents, friends, and school, so taking a break to work on your mental health is crucial. A lot of teenagers also struggle with self-confidence, so working on yourself physically can help you mentally! A major reason why strength training is a really popular form of exercise is how it helps your body burn calories efficiently. It boosts your metabolism, but also increases the calories your body burns resting, post-workout.
There is a significant misconception when it comes to weight training, specifically targeted towards females. “If you weight train you’re going to look bulky.” Now, I’m not saying looking bulky is a bad thing, it is a goal for some women, but not for others. There is a difference between bulking, cutting and maintaining. Strength training is so adaptable, it can cater to your goals. To do so, you would also need to incorporate changes in your diet!
Legend
Lose fat: calorie deficit and weight training
Gain weight: calorie surplus and weight training
Maintain weight: consumption of maintenance calories and weight training
Another bonus to strength training is how it allows you to target specific areas of your body. If you want to gain muscles in your shoulders, glutes or arms, you can! Just a quick change in your diet and specific exercises will help you reach your goals. You DO NOT need weights to weight train. Water jugs, books or anything heavy will do.
Want to get started, but don’t know where to start?
Check out these influencers!
Kayla Itsines
Creates content revolving around low-impact strength training with zero equipment. Check her out for beginner strength training.
Instagram: @kayla.itsines
Krissy Cela
Great influencer for basic and in-depth resistance training, for working out at the gym and home.
Instagram: @whitneyysimmons
Youtube: Whitney Simmons
Chaz Spackman
A great content creator who shares helpful tips on training form and tips for success when reaching your goals.
Tiktok: @lostandlifting