A lot of people today suck at strength training. They run into a myriad of problems and eventually stop for a while and are forced to start back at square one. This article series will be dedicated to helping you strength train better so that you can remain consistent and see the results you’re looking for.
Staying consistent in the gym comes from us seeing the value and benefit added from working out. As humans, we value spending our time on things worthwhile.
So in this first article, we’re going to discuss tips to get you started on the right track. Let’s dive in!
Don’t chase soreness – salt illustration
Don’t chase soreness… or too much of it.
A lot of the time when people think of lifting weights the phrase no pain no gain comes to mind. Many times that phrase comes along with injuries, pain, and restrictions.
I encourage you to push yourself while you’re working out, however you don’t need to be so sore that you can’t sit down anywhere the next day every single workout. Think of soreness like salt in a meal, too much, too often will ruin the entire thing.
Quality over Quantity
Learn technique practice and add weight later.
The first time you do a kettlebell and the 100th time will probably look very different. Why is that? Practice.
The more we practice something the more advanced, more comfortable, and more efficient at it. How you drive your car now promos very different than how you took your road test, am I right?
People often look to adding weight as the number one way to progress an exercise. I challenge you to perfect your form before you add too much more weight. Also after every time, you add weight keep that form the same. Your 135 lb barbell squat and your 225 lb squat should look the same in terms of motion.
So what can we do to perfect our form? Take time to examine your range motion, how much tension you’re generating.
Make haste slowly
Make haste slowly. At the start of the article, we discussed that strength training brings many benefits when done consistently. We want to make it a part of our lifestyle. Since we can view it as something long-term, look to progress each workout by taking steps.