ON THE MOVE

G o If you’ve ever wondered what incorporating weights in your exercise routine can actually do, listen up: Strength training can be fundamental to health, providing positive benefits to your body’s overall structure. S T R o N G

Strength (or weight) training is sometimes overlooked by those who don’t often use it as a primary or secondary workout, including runners, swimmers, cyclists or tennis players. But strength training proves beneficial not only to muscle structure, but to your mood and your heart as well.

According to the Mayo Clinic, its benefits are endless and include building lean muscle mass; reducing body fat; burning calories more efficiently (even after you’ve exercised); boosting metabolism and making weight loss easier; increasing bone density and improving bone health; boosting flexibility and improving range of motion; and improving brain health and cognitive functions.

JUST GETTING STARTED? Start out light. You want to make sure your form is correct. Improper form causes injuries.

A BOUNTY OF BENEFITS

Casie Scott, owner of N’Shape Fitness in Montgomery said weight training also helps with your posture and core strength. Plus, it can raise your cardio endurance. “It will strengthen your heart rate,” Scott said. “You don’t have to necessarily lift heavier weights, but (instead) add weights to cardio movements such as jumping jacks.”

Weight training, she added, also helps prevent bone loss. “A lot of people think weight training is just for your muscle,” she said. “But it’s for your bones, too. It can also help you lose weight. People that blame weightlifting to weight gain, their nutrition is not where it needs to be.”

Lifting weights, Scott said, can also increase your self-confidence. “It’s a feeling it gives you,” she said. “It triggers something in your brain, such as, ‘I can do this; it wasn’t as difficult as I thought.’ It builds strength and endurance. It’s just better for your overall health.”

People of all ages and abilities who regularly participate in resistance and weight exercise reduce risk of numerous diseases, improve quality of life and reduce mortality, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The ACSM states that strength training can be time efficient and effective for health benefits. For health benefits, muscles need to be challenged with a combination of weight lifted, repetitions and speed of lifting. The addition of resistance training to aerobic programs can also enhance other health gains throughout a person’s life span from childhood to old age.

GET PRIMED TO PUMP

If you are an older adult or have been sedentary, the ACSM recommends starting with two training sessions per week, and choosing light intensity exercises, spreading resistance training sessions out throughout the week. The ACSM suggests a 48-hour break between sessions.

Scott advises to not do too much at the beginning. Just as beginning runners sometimes start out on a Couch-to-5K plan (increasing walking/running intervals over several weeks until they run a full 5K without any walk breaks), someone new to using weights should also start out slow. “If you’re just starting out, don’t start out too heavy too fast,” she said. “Start out light. You want to make sure your form is correct. Improper form causes injuries. Stay consistent and build the lean muscle first. You can do weighted squats versus air squats. But then, if you add two 5-pound weights at your side, that’s a great way to slowly increase a simple move everyone should be able to do.”

While there are multiple benefits reaped from lifting weights, there are precautions to take too. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, there’s a list of definite “don’ts.”

DON'T WEIGHT: START AT HOME

If you can’t make it to a gym, there are multiple strength-training exercises you can do in the comfort and safety of your own home, some using just your own body weight for resistance.

Want more? Here are some easy dumbbell exercises you can do right at home! Remember to start with low weights in the beginning. And watch yourself in a mirror to help ensure you maintain proper form.

Goblet Squat: Stand with feet set wider than shoulder-width and hold a dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest. Sit back into a squat, then drive back up and repeat.

Bent-over Row: Keep your core tight and your back straight as you row the weights up to your chest. Lower and repeat. Complete one set of each exercise and then move directly onto the next exercise. Repeat for three rounds.

• 20 body weight squats • 10 push ups • 20 walking lunges • 10 dumbbell rows (using a gallon milk jug) • 15-second plank • 30 jumping jacks

Source: nerdfitness.com

Two Arm Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift: Lower the dumbbells to the top of your feet, as far as you can go by extending through your waist, then slowly return to the starting position.

Cross Body Hammer Curl: One at a time, curl each weight up towards your opposing shoulder. Return under control to the start position and repeat on the other side.

Single Dumbbell Shoulder Raise: Place one hand on either side of a dumbbell and let it hang between your legs. Lift the dumbbell directly above your head, then lower it back down and repeat.

Source: Men’s Health

STAY SAFE

Don’t hyperventilate (breathe in and out fast). Don’t continue lifting if you feel pain. Don’t lift weights if you are light-headed. Don’t exercise any set of muscles more than three times a week. Don’t lift more than you know you can lift safely. Don’t lift heavy weights without spotters. Don’t “cheat” on your technique to lift heavy weights.