Strength training: Celebrity nutritionist and health expert Rujuta Diwekar stresses on the importance of being careful while doing strength training and lifting weights in the gym.
You need to work on your stamina to practice strength training effectively
HIGHLIGHTS
- One should be careful while doing strength training
- Focus on increasing only one component of training at a time
- Increasing weights can lead to wear and tear of muscles
When it comes to weight loss and fitness, both strength or weight training and cardio exercises play an important role. A combination and a healthy balance of both can actually help you through weight loss and achieve optimum fitness. Celebrity nutritionist and health expert Rujuta Diwekar stresses on the importance of being careful while doing strength training and lifting weights in the gym. The basics of strength training or weight training are to have your body prepared for it. You can never go ahead with strength training unless you have optimum stamina and strength. To build strength, you need to progress slowly and steadily to prepare your muscles and to avoid injury. In her latest post on Facebook, Rujuta talks about some guidelines to progress in your strength training exercises.
Strength or weight training play an important role in weight loss
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She begins her post by writing that making progress in a strength training exercise is almost as important as starting to workout. Thus, you do not need to increase both weight and number of reps in the same workout session. For instance, in case you worked on increasing number of reps in 1 week, try to increase weights in the next week and number of sets in the third week. The idea is to focus on increasing only one component of training at a time. If you try to, say, increase weights and reps at the same time, you are more prone to injuries. Also, it may increase your chance of early dropouts.
Another aspect of doing strength training is to check when you are getting comfortable in lifting weights. That is exactly the time when you need to increase weights. Also, Rujuta suggests that you need to increase weights when doing the number of reps gets comfortable.
Do not drastically increase the numbers in case of weight lifting
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However, increasing weights does not mean you increase drastic numbers in terms of increasing weights. It would be extremely wrong if you go from lifting 2 kgs in 1 week to lifting 5 kgs in the next week. This can result in wear and tear of muscles. Moreover, you must give time to your stamina to increase slowly and gradually. As per Rujuta, you can increase as little as 1 kg weight in 1 week. Slow and steady growth is the most effective and consistent kind of growth.
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One thing which people who exercise regularly might have experienced is unable to keep up with reps after increasing weights. Often, increase in weights might even lead you to compromise on form. Rujuta suggests an interesting plan for this:
Say for instance, you are doing 12 reps of 4.5 kgs on dumbbell curl. In the next week, you work on 7 kg weight and this decreases your reps to less than 6.
In this case, you can opt for doing 3 reps with 7 kgs weight and the rest with 4.5 or 5 kgs weight.
Over a period of time, your muscles will adapt to doing 8 reps with 7 kg dumbbells. As such kind of a progress happens, you can give up on the lighter weight dumbbell and then officially graduate to lifting 7 kgs weight with better efficiency and form. The same 7 kgs weight should be continued until doing 12 reps becomes challenging.
Gradually increase the weight lifting process
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As soon as the body adapts to doing more than 12 reps with 7 kgs, its time you increase your weights to 9 kgs and repeat the whole process all over again.
The idea is to be physically and mentally prepared for the intensity of your strength training routine. Strength training exercises helps in toning and building muscles and losing fat. Doing strength training with the right technique and form is as important as including strength training in your fitness regime.
Strength training exercises help in building muscles and losing weight
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