Summer 2022 Northshore Fitness

How to Build Strength & Muscle More Effectively

By: Josh Curry, Pelican Athletic Club Personal Trainor

We know that lifting weights can improve our lives in various ways. For example, it can reverse or halt metabolic diseases, provide confidence in our appearance, reduce social anxiety and depression, and give us the freedom to move about the world in the ways we desire.

Although these benefits are well-known, people often get confused or overwhelmed by the number of weightlifting choices. The equipment options we have are enormous, and the ways we can use them are almost innumerable. I hope that this article can simplify your choices and give you the clarity to put a plan into action.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Knowing your body is a prerequisite to effective weight training. If you lack basic knowledge about your body or exercise technique, you will likely have poor results or injury. Attend classes with coaches focused on technique, hire a personal trainer, or utilize educational resources online - and no, Instagram and TikTok are not reliable educational resources.

Movements that load thespine should have the highestpriority (deadlifts, squats,cleans, overhead presses,barbell lunges, bent over rows,etc.)

Among the spine-loading exercises, you should order them by the amount of exertion. For example, you may be pressing weights that feel very heavy but squatting weights that feel more

Learning about your body takes a lot of time, effort, and experimentation, so you will most likely need to rely on someone with experience to point you in the right direction. However, this information will accrue over time, and you will find it much easier to make proper decisions on your own.

BUILD AN EXERCISE PYRAMID

A simple strategy for weight training is to warm up and then do a full-body workout with the largest, most taxing movements performed first. For example, a deadlift will use a much higher number of muscle fibers than a bicep curl or calf raise, so you should do it first.

moderate. It would be best if you did your presses first, even though both exercises load the spine in this instance.

Next should be exercises involving multiple joints but requiring less extreme core activation like lat pulldowns, pushups, bodyweight lunges, etc.

Finally, single-joint exercises such as bicep curls, calf raises, and wrist extensions should finish your lifting order.

EBB AND FLOW LIKE THE TIDE

You can find every way to give your program more effort, but you will have wasted your time if you do not pair that effort with recovery. Whether your goal is muscle gain, strength gain, power/speed production, mental benefits, or improved coordination, you will need to back off and rest sometimes. Our body needs downtime to reset the functions of the nervous system, repair damaged proteins, and digest and utilize the food we eat.

Many people can follow an intuitive approach to training effort or frequency: if you feel great, then push yourself hard; if you feel soso, then do a moderate workout but nothing too strenuous; if you feel awful, then take a nap instead of training. However, if you have issues with consistency or motivation, the intuitive approach is not for you. Make a schedule for your workouts and rest days. Try a one-day ON / one-day OFF program. If a workout was challenging, then take two days off. You can fill your rest days with activity. But, they should be either low-energy activities (walks, stretching, chores)or playful activities like golf or bowling.

Josh Curry , Pelican Athletic Club, Personal Trainer

THE IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY IS THAT YOU BALANCE YOUR WORK AND YOUR REST SO THAT YOUR EFFORT CAN TRANSLATE INTO RESULTS.

You now have a strategy to cut through the endless options before you: seek experienced people to teach you about your body and proper movement, construct and order your workout with intent, use your contact points to execute your training to the best of your ability, and match your effort with your recovery.

This article is not a complete fitness strategy; it is your starting point. As you gain information, master habits, acquire skills, and achieve goals, you will be able to expand into other realms of fitness.

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