Strength Training is any exercise that causes you to build lean muscle mass. This can be accomplished best with moderate weight lifting. While there is a definite correlation between gaining strength and building muscle, you can tailor your weight training program specifically for strength. Strength training routines are different than weightlifting routines designed specifically for building muscle mass.

Sequence and Speed

When doing a series of exercises, you’ll generally want to start with the larger muscle groups and compound movements and work toward the smaller muscle groups and isolation movements. This allows you to do the most demanding moves when you’re the least fatigued.

Sets and Reps

A set is a group of successive repetitions performed without resting. A rep or repetition is the number of times you repeat the move in each set.

Progression and Frequency

Progressive resistance is the key to any well designed strength program. This means that as your muscles adapt to a given exercise, you need to gradually increase the resistance or the repetitions to promote further gains.

More Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training increases your bone density, preventing osteoperosis

Strength training boosts your metabolism, helping you to burn more calories throughout the entire day - and even while you’re sleeping.

Strength training lowers your blood pressure, cholesterol, and risk of stoke, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis.

Strength training releases endorphins - powerful hormones in your system that promote better mood and sleep patterns.

Strength training raises your energy levels so you can lead a more active lifestyle.

Strength training improves your balance by strengthening your stabilizer muscles. This helps to prevent injuries due to falls and slips

The real benefit of Strength training is this: lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat body mass does. If you take two people who both weigh 200 pounds, however one person is made up of mostly muscle and the other is obese, the muscular person is burning far more calories while resting than the obese person is. Muscle tissue is very calorie-hungry, and this is a good thing.

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