Choices have consequences, was the saying that prompted me to join the gym. I never used to work out. Any form of physical exercise seemed like physical torture. How then did I become consistent after several failed attempts in the past? The saying ‘choices have consequences.’ I thought to myself that my sedentary lifestyle would significantly affect my health in the years to come. I wanted to become healthy to avoid being obese and getting other lifestyle diseases 20 years down the line. That thought pushed me to go to the gym daily and to push myself when working out. I fell in love with lifting weights and gained significant benefits physically, mentally, and emotionally. Here are six lessons I learned from strength training.
- Quality beats quantity
You do not have to spend hours working out. You can do a quality workout in an hour and get considerable gains. Come up with a realistic workout regime, then give it your all when working out. Minimize distraction by having a gameplan of the activities you will do during the workout period. You will accomplish a lot within one hour when you are focused.
- Form is everything
When working out, the wrong form can result in injuries. The wrong form also curtails your progress. To achieve quality results, you need to know how to do specific workouts. You can learn this by having a trained coach who will guide you on the proper form.
- Practise makes perfect
It sounds like a cliche, but you need to do a specific workout severally to learn the perfect form. It may sound boring having to repeat exercises every other day, but that repetitiveness is crucial for growth, the correct form, and reduced injuries.
- Focus on growth
Growth here refers to lifting heavier weights or doing more repetitions. The goal of strength training is to become stronger. It does not make sense to lift the same weight every time you go to the gym. You will not see any progress since your body will get used to that weight. Instead, increase your endurance by adding weights systematically as you work out. You can also achieve endurance and growth by doing more repetitions or doing that workout within a shorter time.
- Compound exercises make all the difference
Some compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, T-bar exercises, planks, and bench presses. These exercises work on several muscle groups. Therefore, when strained on time, it is better to do compound lifts since you will work on several body parts. However, remember to do other exercises like working out your arms since these workouts are also crucial, and it is vital to work on all muscles.
- Be consistent
You will not see any changes if you are not consistent when working out. Your body becomes stronger when you are consistent. You also become used to the exercises, thereby doing the activities within a short time. Therefore, motivate yourself to workout several times a week. You do not have to go to the gym every day to see results. You can work out four times a week and gain beautiful rewards.
In conclusion, when adopting strength training, it is important to do quality workouts, have the perfect form, focus on growth, do compound exercises, and be consistent. You will fall in love with this type of training once you follow these tips.