Strength Training: Get the Max Out of Your Muscles

Whether you are an avid athlete or merely enjoy an occasional workout, you can benefit from strength training. How? Strength training gives your body more horsepower, allowing you to do more work with less effort and to burn more calories because of incre ased muscle mass. It may also help prevent or slow osteoporosis, and shape the body faster than aerobic exercise because it isolates specific muscle groups. When starting strength training, be sure to follow these training tips:

1. Always warm up first and stretch your muscles.

2. Be sure machines are adjusted correctly to prevent pain, fatigue and injury.

3. Work at a slow, controlled pace and complete the entire range of motion for each exercise. Movements should take one or two seconds in each direction.

4. Exhale during difficult movement phases; inhale during less intense phases.

5. When doing multiple sets for a specific muscle group, rest a minute between each set to let muscles recover.

6. Be consistent. Stick to the same exercises during each workout and do them in the same order. Keep the same routine for about two months to give muscles time to adapt.