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For a proper full body workout, strength training is just as important as getting in a balanced mix of cardio. While running and other aerobic activities are a good way to build muscle, especially leg muscle, your upper body and core need just as much stress and resistance training in order to strengthen your whole body. At Forever Strong®, we want everyone that comes to our small group training gym to achieve their own desired results when it comes to transforming their body, and ultimately their way of life. So, we’ll help you safely train until you’re at a point of fitness that you’re happy with, but our Fulton gym also believes that strength training and fitness should be approached holistically.
In this sense, we mean that the entire body should be considered when you’re working out and getting in shape, as well as how getting fit can positively impact your day-to-day life when you’re not at our strength training gym. We want you to feel your very best and get the most out of your life, and in today’s blog post, we’re going to cover why it’s smart to emphasize overall strength training as opposed to gaining visible muscle mass. Let’s discover why the way you feel is just as, if not more important, than the way you look.
Note that making a muscle grow requires a slightly altered approach than it does to make a muscle stronger. This is where the distinction between your weight lifting performance versus your training effect comes into play. For those training up a muscle or muscle group specifically for cosmetic benefits (to make the muscle larger), the training effects that your workouts have on your muscles should be your area of concern. In other words, the volume of exercise and completeness of muscle fiber breakdown or directly related to the results that you’ll see in the mirror.
The idea with cosmetic muscle gain is to work your muscles to full exhaustion, which should be approached with caution. In many cases, this doesn’t necessarily take much weight in a well-planned isolation workout – rather, the cumulative effect that the workout has on your muscle tissue will translate to quicker gains in muscle mass.
Adding strength, on the other hand, comes through making the ‘base’ of your exercise routine consist of larger movement. So, compound-style exercises like squatting, deadlifting and bench pressing are great choices that allow the body to recruit many muscle fibers in one shot. This total body exertion, especially under heavy loads, will encourage greater hormone release and train your fast-twitch fibers to be more responsive and fire harder. Simply put, this is the formula to build strength in your muscles and in your body.
Due to the large impact on your hormones in addition to heavy lifting and compound movements, strength training generally has a greater impact on your central nervous system. Your body truly takes a beating with repeated maximal efforts, so rest time between sets and even rest time between training days as a whole should be closely monitored to avoid injury or any adverse effects.
All things considered, with size comes strength – the larger the surface area of the unit, the more force that unit will be able to apply against a resistance. That’s why massive bodybuilders wouldn’t be able to bench 700+ pounds if they only weighed 175. So, building the size of your muscles and gaining strength can go hand in hand if you train smart. Just remember, though, that your journey to fitness is often based on how you feel, what your daily energy levels are like, how your clothes fit, and so forth. Don’t get too consumed with that reflection in the mirror!
Ready to take the next step to more strength and a healthier life? Our Fulton gym is excited to work with you. Get in touch with us now!
Osteopenia is a very common condition that affects millions of Americans each year. If you’re not familiar with osteopenia or bone loss, it refers to a condition that occurs when the body doesn’t make new bone as quickly as it absorbs old bone. This weak bone condition can lead to osteoporosis if it worsens, but fortunately, there are ways to help fight weak bone generation!
If you read the title of this blog post, then you might be intrigued to know that active exercise and strength training at our Fulton training gym might be able to help strengthen your bones and fight osteopenia. At ForeverStrong®, we’re proud to help our valued clients by doing more for them than just burning fat and building muscle. Our goal at ForeverStrong is to improve the overall quality of life for everyone, and we think that goes well beyond strength training and improving your cardiovascular fitness (though those are still important aspects of our group training services!).
Let’s take a good at a few reasons at why strength training exercises will help you deal with bone loss:
The main point of strength training and exercise for osteopenia is to do the following:
By doing both balance and weight-bearing exercises, you’ll prevent your chances of falling as well as stimulate your cells that promote new bone growth. While preventing your chances of randomly falling over sounds rather silly, aging can result in a gradual loss of balance. If you do not fall because you’re doing balance exercises, then you are far less likely to suffer from a bone fracture.
Plus, with weight-bearing exercises, you’ll promote what are known as ‘osteoblasts,’ or cells that help your body build new bone. Without going into more science-related details, you’ll be doing your bones a favor by preventing them from getting damaged and promoting healthy, strong growth. With our training exercises at ForeverStrong®, it’s a win-win for you and your bones.
Do you want to get strong…forever? We believe that you should live your life to the fullest and get the best quality out of your experience as possible. So don’t let something like bone loss hold you back from doing the things that you enjoy and living a rich, fulfilled life. Instead, get in touch with the full body strength training professionals here at ForeverStrong®. With your personal fitness goals in mind and our powerful, structured training programs, we’ll work together toward a life of better health and happiness. Questions? Learn more by getting in touch with our Fulton strength training gym today!
We’re not sure who originally said it, but good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and they’re a lot more rewarding, too. Naturally, exercise is a prime example when it comes to a positive habit with a high potential for reward. At Train Forever Strong, our strength training gym in Maryland is dedicated to providing you with personalized training and group training services that will progressively help work your way to achieving and mastering your fitness goals.
While exercise is a healthy habit, it is crucially important to train safely and prevent any injuries from occurring. That’s why our strength training gym wants to make sure that you know some of the basic ins and outs of exercise and strength training, and how they relate to injury prevention. Check it out!
Essentially, there are two basic classes of injuries that we’re concerned about: traumatic injuries and cumulative injuries. Traumatic injuries are freak accidents that occur through sports activities, fitness, or even general daily life, like twisting your ankle getting off the bus or getting into a car wreck.
Cumulative injuries, as the name suggests, occur over time. Cumulative injuries are related to tissue damage that occurs as a result of repetitive strain over a given period of time, such as through running, biking, or other activities that repetitively use the same muscle groups over and over again. Cumulative injuries can creep up without you noticing them, and also may be related to poor posture, faulty movement patterns, improper training, improper gear, and so forth.
To successfully prevent or at least mitigate any chances of physical or sports-related injury, maintaining general physical preparedness is necessary. What this refers to is maintaining a baseline level of fitness so that you can respond to physical challenges without any harm. Let’s take a quick look at some parts of general physical preparedness.
Seriously, don’t run or exercise without stretching before and after! To avoid any injuries, you’ll want to make sure that all major joints, including your spine, have a full range of motion and sufficient muscle length.
If you’re unsure about how to use a piece of equipment or execute a certain technique correctly, please don’t be bashful. Improperly exercising is what commonly leads to traumatic or cumulative injuries for many people. Sure, you might feel a little embarrassed asking, but we guarantee that it’s much better than hurting yourself.
This might sound silly, but make sure that the things you’re using to work out with are actually intended for what you’re using them for. Save your stylish shoes for a nice occasion or for work, and use cushioned, high-impact athletic shoes for those cardio activities.
Exercise is addictive for many people, and sometimes that addiction leads to over ambition. Don’t continue running or putting weight on muscles that clearly already hurt. While it’s good to hurt and and be sore to a healthy extent, putting excess stress on hurting muscles can lead to deep bruises and breaks that may or may not heal.
With Train Forever Strong’s team of seasoned, knowledgeable fitness professionals, we’re here to make sure that you’re on a safe, incremental fitness path. We know that increasing your cardiovascular endurance, core strength and overall strength takes time and should not be rushed to allow your body to rest and recover. Why risk any chance of sports or fitness-related injury? Contact the strength workout experts at Train Forever Strong today!