Newbie... What is strength training?

voliver77
voliver77 Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am new. I am female, 5 feet tall and weigh 180. I am eating sensibly and walking. I have more than 40 pounds to lose. I keep reading about strength training. What is it? How do I do it? Do I have to join a gym? Thanks for any knowledgeable or experienced comments!:laugh:

Replies

  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    you pick up heavy thing and you put then down for 8 reps :)

    Strength is large, you can use your own body weight like push ups for example, it can be machine in the gym or it can be dumbbells and barbells. If you cant get to a gym, body weight exercise are the best and pretty effective for a newbie. "you are your own gym" is a great place to start. You can google it.

    Good luck
  • crazybookworm
    crazybookworm Posts: 779 Member
    First off, congrats on getting healthier!

    Strength training helps keep those muscles and heart healthy. It also assists in weight loss and helps tone up that body of yours!

    No, you definitely do not need to join a gym to start strength training. There are lots of workouts that you can do that use your own natural body weight. For example: Squats, Lunges, Calf Raises. But I suggest investing in a set of dumbbells.

    Here is a great article for newbies at Strength Training: http://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/start-strength-training-good-health

    Good luck!
  • MarceloPCR
    MarceloPCR Posts: 6 Member
    Strength works by stimulating your nervous system and is done around 3-6 reps per set of exercise (Check Westside Barbell, Starting Strength, Wendler 5/3/1, Greyskull LP, etc.. workout routines). You will increase your pure strength (picking up heavy stuff) and grow a bit.
    Hypertrophy works your muscle making them grow more but less strength based and it's done around 8-15 reps per set of exercise. It's almost purely aesthetics.

Categories