Victor Forge
Strength training is an important part of overall wellness and can improve your health, boost your confidence, and help you burn more calories. The goal of hypertrophy training is to increase muscle size, while strength training focuses on getting your body to adapt to lifting heavier loads. To build muscle strength, you can perform exercises such as squats, lunges, and bicep curls, with or without weights, two to three times a week. It is important to warm up, cool down, and stretch before and after your workout to prevent injury.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 2-3 times per week |
| Time per session | 20 minutes |
| Number of sets | 2-3 |
| Number of repetitions | 8-12 |
| Rest between sets | 1-3 minutes |
| Rest between sessions | 1 day |
| Warm-up | 5-10 minutes |
| Cool-down | Stretch |
| Muscle groups | Legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, arms |
| Types of exercises | Squats, lunges, bicep curls, planks, abdominal crunches |
| Diet | High protein |
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What You'll Learn
Warm-up, cool-down, and stretch
Warming up and cooling down are essential components of any muscle-strengthening routine. They help improve your exercise performance and are good for your heart, as they help minimise stress and allow a gradual decrease in heart rate post-workout.
A good warm-up prepares your body for more intense activity, getting your blood flowing, raising your muscle temperature, and increasing your breathing rate. It gives your body time to adjust to the demands of exercise, improving your performance and helping you achieve your desired results. For example, if you plan to cycle, start slowly in a low gear. The duration of your warm-up will depend on your fitness level and the type of exercise you plan to do. If you are newer to exercise, your body will respond better with a longer warm-up.
You can add stretches to your warm-up to further improve your performance. Once your muscles are warm, spend a few minutes stretching. Choose standing stretches, as the goal of your warm-up is to increase your heart rate.
Cooling down after a workout is just as important as warming up. After physical activity, your heart is still beating faster than normal, your body temperature is higher, and your blood vessels are widened. If you stop too suddenly, you may feel sick or even pass out. A cool-down allows a gradual decrease in heart rate and body temperature. To cool down, begin by slowing down your movements and decreasing the intensity of your exercise. For example, if you have been walking briskly, start by slowing your steps and taking your arms out of the movement. Walk at a comfortable pace until your breathing and heart rate have returned to normal.
Once you are breathing easily, it's time to stretch. Stretching is an essential part of recovering from aerobic activity. It helps reduce the buildup of lactic acid, which can lead to muscle cramping and stiffness. Stretch while your muscles are still warm, holding each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. If you feel you need more, stretch the other side and return for another set. The stretch should be strong but not painful, and you should not bounce. Breathe while you stretch to avoid muscle tension.
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Weight training
To build muscle strength, it is important to work all the major muscle groups, including the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. Aim to work out for at least 20 minutes, 2–3 days a week, with at least one rest day in between to allow your muscles to recover. You should also warm up before lifting weights and stretch in between sets.
When starting a weight-training programme, it is important to begin with moderate weights and slowly increase the weight you are lifting over time. The number of repetitions you perform will depend on the weight you are lifting. For example, if you are lifting a heavier weight, you may only be able to perform one repetition, whereas with a lighter weight, you may be able to do 8–12 repetitions, which counts as one set. Aim to do at least two sets, but for even better results, do three sets.
To build muscle, it is recommended that you lift a weight that is at least 60% of your 1RM load (the maximum weight you can lift in one repetition). You should increase the weight over time as your strength improves, aiming to lift a weight that challenges you while maintaining good technique.
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Bodyweight exercises
There are many different types of bodyweight exercises, but they usually target multiple muscle groups and help build stability and strength. Examples of common bodyweight exercises include:
- Push-ups: This quintessential bodyweight exercise targets the upper body, including the triceps, pecs, and shoulders. If you can't do a full push-up, you can modify it by performing the movement from your knees instead of your feet.
- Planks: Planks are a classic bodyweight exercise that challenges many areas of your core, such as the transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis ("six-pack"), and oblique (side abdominal) muscles. You can modify the difficulty by doing it from your knees instead of your toes.
- Squats: Squats target the major muscle groups of the lower body, such as the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. They are a highly functional exercise that translates to many activities of daily living.
- Lunges: These focus on working the muscles in your legs and are great conditioning for sports that involve lunging movements, such as soccer, basketball, or tennis.
- Burpees: This full-body exercise combines a squat thrust with a high jump, engaging all your major muscle groups while also working your heart and lungs.
- Dips: These target the upper body, including the triceps, chest, shoulders, and back.
- Mountain climbers: This exercise gets your heart rate going while working your entire body, including your chest, arms, abdominals, back, hips, and legs.
To build muscle effectively with bodyweight exercises, it's important to challenge your muscles and progress over time by adding more volume, frequency, and difficulty to your workouts. This can be done by increasing the number of reps or sets, slowing down or speeding up the tempo, or trying more advanced variations of each exercise. Additionally, maintaining proper hydration levels and focusing on your breath can help improve your performance and results.
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Resistance bands
The unique resistance provided by these bands challenges your muscles in a different way compared to traditional weights. As you stretch a resistance band, the resistance increases, meaning your muscles are engaged throughout the entire movement, not just at the beginning. This dynamic resistance works your muscles harder and can lead to similar muscle gains as conventional weight training.
To effectively use resistance bands, it is important to understand the concept of tension. Creating tension in the bands before you start your movement is crucial to engaging your muscles properly. You can do this by properly stretching the bands, for example, by anchoring them with your feet shoulder-width apart. During the movement, you should also maintain muscle tension, even during the eccentric phase when returning to the neutral position.
When incorporating resistance bands into your routine, you can perform a variety of exercises targeting different muscle groups. These include bicep curls, chest presses, hip-strengthening, and core-strengthening exercises. For example, you can do a chest workout by kneeling underneath an anchored resistance band, engaging your abs and glutes, and pulling the band with both hands until your arms are straight. Then, bring one arm at a time diagonally towards your head and repeat on the other side.
The resistance level of the bands you use will depend on the muscle group you are targeting. For larger muscle groups, use heavier resistance with fewer repetitions, and for smaller muscle groups, use lighter resistance with more repetitions. As you get stronger, increase the resistance of the bands to continue challenging your muscles.
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Nutrition
Protein is a key macronutrient for building muscle. Current guidelines recommend that adult males and females consume 56 grams and 46 grams of protein every day, respectively. The timing of protein intake is also important. Research suggests that consuming 20 grams of protein during or immediately after exercise helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis, reduce protein breakdown, and promote more effective muscle reconditioning. It is recommended to eat 1.4–2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day to help maximize muscle mass. Some high-protein foods include eggs, chicken, salmon, Greek yogurt, skim milk, and beans.
However, muscle health is not solely based on protein intake. Carbohydrates are also important, as they help replenish glycogen and avoid fatigue. Quinoa, chickpeas, and brown rice are great sources of carbohydrates. For those on a plant-based diet, combining brown rice with beans, chickpeas, or lentils gives a complete range of amino acids in one meal.
In addition to protein and carbohydrates, healthy fats are also important for muscle health. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in seafood, play an important role in muscle health and can slow the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with age. Tuna and wild salmon are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
It is also important to maintain proper hydration when looking to build muscle. Drinking water helps transport nutrients to the body and remove waste. When the body is dehydrated, it can impair muscle function and recovery.
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Frequently asked questions
Strength training or resistance training is the best way to strengthen your muscles. This involves building muscle endurance through exercises such as squats, lunges, and bicep curls. You can use weights, resistance bands, or your body weight.
It is recommended that adults do muscle-strengthening exercises two or more days a week. You can work out for as little as 20 minutes at a time and increase the duration as you get stronger.
It is important to warm up before your workout and stretch afterward. Avoid working out cold muscles as you are more likely to injure yourself.
