Building Muscle and Losing Fat Through Strength Training

By Phil Sims

Strength training offers your body more than muscle; it provides you with more energy and the ability to work longer and harder when you need too. As one of the earliest forms for training the body, strength training has stood the test of time offering men and women bodies that they can be proud of. There is a legend about Ancient Greece resident Milo of Croton that says that Milo carried a calf on his back everyday from its birth until it was full grown. We have grown past those ancient days when it comes to ways to strengthen our bodies; however, the principle is still the same. In this article you will learn what it means to strengthen you body, why you should do it and the best ways to go about it.

What is Strength Training?

There are two ways to strengthen your body and the first it through relative strength training. This training is ideal for men and women who need endurance rather than big bulky bodies. People who train for this kind of strength might be runners, cyclists, gymnasts, rock climbers, basketball players, soccer players and other professional athletes. For these kinds of athletes, bulk is not a benefit it is a hindrance making it more difficult for them to have quick reaction times and the speed that benefits them in their sports. These men and women build their strength to its maximum level while carefully monitoring their calories. They also include cardiovascular exercise in their routines to prevent bulk.

Another form of strength training is called absolute strength training. These are men and women who focus on muscle mass rather than being lean. The goal is to become bigger and stronger. Weight lifters, defensive and offensive linemen, some baseball players, professional wrestlers, and fitness models are examples of things that require muscle mass rather than a streamlined body. Being bigger and stronger is the goal of those who apply the absolute strength method of strength training.

What are the Benefits of Strength Training?

There was once a time that if you worked you were probably in shape. With the exception of the standard office jobs, most workers were required to work laborious positions. Without many of the modern conveniences even simple chores like mowing the lawn required muscle strength that is lacking today. People walked more and worked harder, something that we simply do not have to do today with our cars, riding lawn mowers and other modern conveniences.

Strength training can provide you with many benefits the most obvious of which is building muscle. While strength training is not the same as bodybuilding (bodybuilding is a whole other animal altogether), building muscle is a direct result of strength training. For those who want to minimize the amount of muscle they obtain while training then a strong focus need to be made in regards to calories eaten and cardio exercise.

You are going to burn more fat while strength training as well. As you build muscle, your fat starts to disappear. The more you use your muscles the faster you burn your fat. The end result is a low percentage of fat on your body. In fact, women can realize a year round body fat percentage rate of 15% while men can maintain 10%, a very healthy goal. This is done with the combination of eating well and strength training.

Another wonderful benefit of strength training is the benefit that it offers for your health. You will find that you sleep better, have less joint and muscle pain and your bones will get stronger. What’s more, you will find that it improves your heart health as well, especially in combination with a healthy diet by lowering your blood pressure and improving your cholesterol scores.

Lastly, most people find that when they commit to strength training they are able to commit to other areas of their lives. By learning self-discipline, self-control, and perseverance, you are building character. Once you have learned how to maintain the level of commitment you need to strength train it is difficult to not allow it to bleed into the rest of your life.

How do You Build Strength?

There is a process to building strength, it doesn’t happen overnight and the kicker is that it is different for every person depending on his or her current fitness level, health, and body fat. Different fitness programs work differently as well.

The 5X5 workout program works on the stress principle. You force stress onto your body with strength training, your body reacts by increasing its strength to combat the stress being applied. As time goes on you will increase the resistance in order to avoid leveling out. As time goes on you will reduce the amount of stress you are applying so that you can increase it again so the body is tricked into increasing its endurance once again.

The great thing about strength training is that you do not have to have a lot of special equipment. A pull up bar (you can purchase one that hangs in a doorframe) and some free weights will provide you with everything that you need to create the body that you want. If you are using free weights, start slow, there is nothing wrong with building up to heaver weights. Better to go slow than to put on to much weight and injure yourself (slowing down your training even further). Most traditional weight lifting exercises are perfect for strength training.

Resistance exercises with a pull up bar is going to provide you with additional strength training as well. If you don’t have access to a pull up bar and do not want to purchase one you can provide resistance exercises with traditional pushups as well as non-traditional such as chair pushups, Hindu pushups, knuckle pushups, one armed pushups and more.

If you have money to spend on equipment or a gym then consider using weight machines to strength train. Machines provide a more balanced workout and prevent uneven workouts (when one side of the body is stronger than another). The only limitation is the amount of weight the machine allow.

As you can see, strength training offers many benefits for your personality, your health and your body. Learning how to do it properly is important to prevent injury; however, once you learn how, the benefits will be with you for the rest of your life.

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