Besides all other exercises that we do in our day-to-day life, a typical workout related to strength training is highly required. With utmost strength, you will be able to carry out your daily activities flawlessly without any hindrance. Besides muscle building, incorporating strength training into your daily workout will certainly benefit your heart, improve balance, strengthen bones and muscles, and thus will also help you to lose and maintain weight. With the help of this article, we will try to figure out some of the top 10 workouts for strength, as the most productive workout for your daily fitness regime.
Strength training is also known as weight or resistance training which is a physical activity designed to improve muscular strength and fitness. Regular strength or resistance training is good for people of all ages and fitness levels to help prevent the natural loss of lean muscle mass that comes with ageing. It can also benefit people with chronic health conditions, like obesity, arthritis, or a heart condition.
What is Strength Training
Resistance training, or strength training, is a type of exercise that utilizes opposing force to make muscles stronger. Experts recommend including resistance training at least two times each week as part of your exercise routine. In addition, resistance training is crucial in preventing and treating sarcopenia and osteoporosis by helping to maintain muscle and bone mass as we age.
Benefits of Strength Training
- Protects Bone Health and Muscle Mass – Performing 30 minutes twice a week of high-intensity resistance or strength training proves great to improve functional performance, as well as bone density, structure, and strength in postmenopausal women with low bone mass with no negative effects.
- Burns Calories – Strength training is highly beneficial for burning calories. With strength training, our body demands more energy based on how much energy we are exerting. You can amplify this effect depending on the amount of energy you put into the workout. That means more calories burned during the workout, and more calories burned after the workout, too, while your body is recovering to a resting state.
- Offers Better Cardiovascular Health – Abdominal fat, also known as visceral fat is located in and around the vital organs and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease i.e. CVD. Visceral fat is linked to CVD because it’s associated with the release of certain proteins and hormones that cause inflammation. This inflammation has been shown to damage blood vessels, increase blood pressure and lead to other cardiac problems. So, preventing or reducing any excess abdominal fat through strength training can certainly improve our heart health.
- Prevents Injury – Strength training also increases the number and diameter of collagen fibrils in tendons to increase their strength and help prevent injury. That’s why having a good muscle base is important for all movement, balance, coordination and injury prevention.
Top 10 Workouts For Strength
1.) Pull-ups
Pull-ups are one of the best workouts for strength. Pull-ups are an upper-body exercise that recruits multiple large muscle groups, primarily the muscles in the back and biceps, and uses the body’s own weight as resistance. To do a pull-up, grasp a bar overhead and pull your body up to the bar using the strength in your upper body. With practice and by building strength, you will make progress. And when you do, the sense of accomplishment you get by doing something difficult will give you a big confidence boost.
2.) Push-ups
Push-ups are one of the best workouts for strength. Like pull-ups, push-ups are also primarily an upper-body exercise that recruits multiple large muscle groups and uses the body’s weight as resistance. Push-ups target the chest, shoulders and triceps muscles, and because your body is in a high plank posture, you also engage your core and legs for stability. There are two basic modifications to make push-ups more accessible. The most common modification is to simply drop your knees to the floor and do push-ups from your hands and knees. This is an easy variation that takes some of your body weight out of the equation. You will want to make sure that you are in a modified plank position with your hips forward and body in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, then lower your body to the floor until your chest touches the ground and push back up into your modified plank again.
3.) Glute Bridges
Glute Bridges is one of the best workouts for strength. The gluteal or buttocks muscles are the largest muscle group in the body. It’s important to ensure they are strong and functioning properly to prevent injury and reduce back pain. Often the glutes get weak and lose function due to prolonged sitting. So before doing any other lower-body exercises, it’s a good idea to perform a few glute bridges to make sure the glutes are firing properly.
4.) Squats
Squats are one of the best workouts for strength. Squats build strength, primarily in the lower body, by working the glutes and the quadriceps muscles. They also recruit the core to stabilize the body throughout the exercise. Squats can be done using only your body weight or can be weighted by adding dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell or bands to increase the resistance as you continue to build strength.
5.) Deadlifts
Deadlifts are one of the best workouts for strength. This is one of the most important exercises that you can do to learn how to lift things without hurting your back. It also feels great to be able to lift something heavy. Deadlifts work the muscles in the glutes, hamstrings and core. To reduce the risk of injury with deadlifts, as with all resistance exercises, you need to make sure you that are using the proper form. Start by practising the movement with no weight. Then add weight slowly as you build strength.
6.) Walking Lunges
Walking Lunges is one of the best workouts for strength. This exercise is beneficial to target the glues and tone the legs. They recruit multiple muscle groups, and since they also work to correct your body’s balance, walking lunges are a great way to build confidence by improving overall strength and stability. Use your body weight, add dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell to continue to progress as you build strength.
7.) Biceps Curls
Biceps Curls are one of the best workouts for strength. Biceps curls are an upper-body exercise that targets the muscles on the front side of the upper arms. They build functional strength that helps you to carry heavy things, and they make your arms look great. If you don’t have dumbbells or a barbell, you can do this exercise with something as simple as a bottle of water.
8.) Overhead Triceps Extensions
Overhead Triceps Extensions are one of the best workouts for strength. Building muscle in your triceps can help reduce the sagging in the arms that often comes with age. Improving muscle tone in that area of the body is a great way to boost body confidence. Plus, building the triceps provides functional strength to help in any situation where you need to push an object away from your body, and it will also help to perfect your push-up.
9.) Boat Pose
Boat Pose is one of the best workouts for strength. This core-strengthening exercise is essential for basic body functions. This exercise works on both the abdominal and the back muscles. It requires no equipment, and you can start by holding the pose as long as you can, and then add time as you get stronger.
10.) Planks
Planks are one of the best workouts for strength. This exercise is a static posture that engages almost every muscle in the body. It is a core exercise but also recruits muscles in the upper body and the lower body. If you can perfect your plank posture, you can perfect your overall standing and seated posture. Planks require no equipment and can be done anywhere. There are several ways to modify and progress a standard plank.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
