Lifting Heavy? – Some Training Principles
You’re a gym member. It’s been a while since you’ve participated in a group fitness class and played around with the cardio equipment. Things are going well, and you’re eating more mindfully (most of the time, anyway).
There’s a feeling of contentment in your heart. You want to join the community of badass goal-kickers until you see booties, biceps, strength, and confidence across the gym. There’s only one problem: you don’t know where to begin.
Do you want to discover what it takes to be a cool gymgoer? Every gymgoer should know some basic principles of weight training!
1. Overload
By overloading your muscles, you expose them to more weight, resistance, or stimulus than they normally receive. Our strength comes from this!
It is important that the weight you choose for any given exercise allows you to complete the intended number of repetitions while maintaining the correct form. You may need to decrease the weight if you have problems maintaining proper technique or do not complete your first set.
It’s better to choose a heavier weight if you are capable of completing an additional few reps. Gradually increase the weight as your body adapts to each session.
2. Progression
You won’t be as pushed as you were when you started lifting the same weights. Your muscles will continue to respond to more stimulus as time goes on if you want to keep seeing results.
Our muscles are constantly adapting, which is why progression, or progressive overload, is necessary. The weight doesn’t always have to be increased. It is best to lift more weight than you did in your last session to overload your muscles progressively.
Performing more repetitions with the same weight, completing more sets of each exercise, and changing the tempo to increase muscle tension are other ways to increase the amount of time the muscles are under tension.
3. Rest and recovery
Building muscle in the gym is a common misconception. Rest periods are where the magic happens between training sessions!
Your muscles suffer minor damage as a result of the overload stress during your workout. Your body repairs and reinforces your muscle fibers as you sleep, eat well, and rest.
When you are at rest, you can go through this process of growth and adaptation. The moral of this story is twofold. To build a strong, toned body, never skip a rest day. As for training, don’t push yourself harder than you can handle.
4. Connecting the mind and the body
Taking care of our bodies involves lifting, pushing, and pulling, which are all relatively simple movements, so our minds can easily wander off. Although meditation is beneficial, establishing a connection between the mind and the muscles can also be beneficial. When our minds wander to thoughts about our post-workout meal in the middle of a set, it’s essential to bring ourselves back to the present moment.
5. Focus on the breath
Mindfulness can be improved by weight training more than many people realize! When you practice yoga or meditation, focusing on the breath will come naturally, but it is easy to learn and a great way to focus and relax during your workout. As the concentric contraction occurs, take a deep breath in, and take a deep breath out when the eccentric contraction occurs. We feel stronger, more in control, and more powerful when we align each movement pattern with the breath.
So, these are some basic principles for lifting heavy. Keeping these basics in mind will do exceptionally well in the gym. Always remember to push your body only as far as it is able to go. A little overdoing won’t harm you, but too much will cause harm.
