What can I do that counts as strength training from home? Strength training social benefits.

The harm of skipping strength training. Fitness indicators. The healthy adolescent should be able to….

strength training national benefits

Okay! There was lots of excellent food info in last week’s video (week 5), but this week lets bring you back to fitness!

I know, I know, the word fitness might make you feel a bit meh; it happens to EVERYONE! Yes! Even professional weight lifters! So don’t worry! The good thing about fitness is that it’s diverse! Many people workout to improve their image; others do it because they feel so good! And that is what I want you guys to remember…. It’s not just about how you look; its mostly about how good you feel! Who doesn’t like feeling good? Exactly!?

strength training national benefits

Another great thing is that there are so many different types of exercises you can engage in. There is always something else you can try to see if you like that better. Its kind of like eating healthy.. strict diets might not motivate you to continue them. And super painful exhausting workouts might not drive either unless you like what you feel like after the workout.. which can happen.

So what can do that counts as resistance training, why is it so good for you to do at any age and even more so as you get older, and what are some fitness indicators for adolescents?

Now, this may not apply to you, but individual schools hold a National Physical Fitness Exam aimed at testing the fitness levels of its students. We’ll talk about what types of exercises they use to rate a child’s and even adolescent’s fitness level a bit more later.

Let’s begin with, what is resistance training?

Any exercise that makes you put force against anything resistant to move like moving your muscles against gravity such as lifting weights.??

Other kinds of resistance training exercises are those using stretch bands.  Stretch bands are pretty neat because you can work out every muscle group in your body with just that one item, so there is NO need to feel like you have to enroll in a gym to work those muscle groups. Only find a few awesome youtube videos on stretch band routines, and you’re golden! Try more than one and see which one you like best. A good thing to keep in mind is that your muscles can get used to a specific routine, too, so change it up every few weeks to keep your muscles guessing!⭐️

strength training national benefits

Exercising in the water like doing water pilates is another excellent exercise, especially as you get older.  If you have any pain in your hips or knees, these kinds of activities are fantastic because it takes the weight off those joints, but you are still pushing and pulling against the water.. aka RESISTANCE EXERCISE!

Lastly, pushing or pulling large, heavy objects is another great workout.  Ever watch an American football movie where the players are training, and they drive a big massive thing across the field?  The coach is usually standing on it, pushing the players to run faster. TALK ABOUT PUSHING AGAINST RESISTANCE!

Ever try to re-arrange your furniture?  Pushing and Pulling on those massive couches, chairs, tables, maybe even carpets, you got resistance TRAINING! Every works vacuuming a fuzzy carpet? RESISTANCE TRAINING!   How about washing pots and pans? They are heavy! You’re holding them up against gravity!  AND you are moving it around, trying to clean each corner.. yeap, you got it… RESISTANCE TRAINING!?

woman doing weighted bench dips

What about using stairs instead of an elevator? Not only gets your heart pumping, but you will feel the burn! It is because you are using your body weight, and you are working against resistance gravity.  Others include push-ups, squats, and pull-ups.

These are all types of resistance training exercises! There are SO many! You don’t have to stick to just one if you don’t like it, and it’s in your everyday life too.

I have to make sure I tell you, though, that there are two types of exercises here:  One that improves your strength/power and another that enhances your endurance.?

Strength/Power is your ability to exert the force…even just one time, like doing one pull-up.

Endurance is your ability to do it repeatedly without your muscles getting tired and giving out like doing 40 pull-ups, and your muscles feel fantastic.

To work on strength and power, try to repeat an exercise 8-12 times.  If you are an adult, repeat the exercise between 10-15 times.

If you want to work on your endurance, just do more, between 15-20 repeats of an exercise.

Its recommended that you work for each MAJOR muscle group about 2-3 times each week and switch it up! Have fun with it!

So what are those muscle groups?

  1. Chest
  2. Shoulders
  3. Arms (Biceps and Triceps)
  4. Back
  5. Legs (Thighs and Buttocks)
  6. Calves

The good thing to know here, if you’re an adult, give your body at least 48 hours of rest between these training sessions.  For a muscle to heal and get stronger, it needs its rest too.woman doing exercise Last thing before we go into the benefits of resistance training.  Whenever you are just starting resistance exercises, here are a few tips:⭐️

strength training national benefits

  • Start small little weight and even NO WEIGHTS, high repeats (also called repetitions). 12-15.
  • When you finish your first 12-15 repetitions, this is called 1 set. Repeat an exercise for a total of 2-3 sets. You can start with two and work your way up.
  • Its got to be A LITTLE challenging. NOT impossible, or painful.. just “a bit heavy” for
  • Start two times a week, no need to go all crazy if it’s your first time… get used to it first.
  • Stretch a little before and after (we’ll talk about why stretching is important in a few weeks).
  • Warm-up – like a 5minute fast walk, or even a 10 min jog.
  • First time? Use the same exercises for a few weeks to get your body a little stronger before you go into other routines.?

Okay, so there are options and recommendations, but why is it right for you?

Working on these muscles is very important because it makes activities of your daily life more comfortable to do without getting tired out too quickly.  Makes things like carrying groceries into your house easier, can make running to class easier, especially if it’s up to the stairs.  It just improves your ability to do things with less effort.

Another great thing is that because your muscles are stronger, and you can do daily activities with less effort, there is less room for injury! Yes! So it not only helps you feel strong and healthy, but it also keeps you safe from harm.

Having good muscle strength also improves your quality of life, keeps your heart healthy too! It even helps you function at your best well into old age. Another great benefit, at least it was for me, it helps with lower back pain depending on the exercises you do.

Okay, so remember when I mentioned the National Physical Fitness Test? It’s a test that uses the age of the adolescent to determine whether they are meeting the average fitness goals of each age range.

They test things like body strength and endurance by doing pull-ups, flexed arm hang, sit-ups, and trunk lift. They test cardiorespiratory too by doing a timed 1-mile run.  They also test flexibility by doing the trunk lift and a sit and reach measured in inches.

To know what the average number of times for each of these exercises based on age are, take a look at this link to get an idea.girl doing yoga

If you score below the average, it does NOT mean you are unfit.  I just say there is room for improvement, and it will be a great way to test yourself later on if what you’ve been doing has improved your fitness level. This should motivate you. Don’t let these numbers put you down.  Even the best athletes at one point couldn’t do any of the things they can do today.

2 weeks of exercise and benefits

Aim for feeling good! It is all about repetition and consistency.   You would be surprised by the considerable progress you can make over just one summer!

Feel free to check out  https://go4life.nia.nih.gov/exercises/strength

And try some excellent muscle strengthening exercises to improve.

Okay, are you ready for this week’s challenge yourself game?

Use the link I provided for the National Physical Fitness Test:

https://pftdata.org/files/hfz-standards.pdf

Do each of the exercises there (youtube can show you how if you don’t know): and try them all.  Get your adolescent or parent to count with you and write down your scores in each section. That’s it!

If you think about it, if you do all the tests, you just ran/walked 1 mile, tried a few pull-ups, did some push-ups, sit-ups, stretching etc..you did a full workout!

Get ready to be PROUD of each other for doing it!

Sure, many people focus on “weight loss” when they become “food conscious.” 

 

                                             

2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s nice reading such an article on this topic. Only a few recognizes the importance and benefits of Strength Training. Even if your not an athlete or into any sports, just for fitness purposes, strength training is good.

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