Strength training: overview

Benefits: why do strength training?

Strength training not only improves your muscular strength and endurance, it also increases your range of motion, improves your posture and helps prevent injuries. Hand weights, thera-bands, and fitness balls are some of the tools you can use to tighten and tone your muscles.

Frequency: how often should you strength train?

Any kind of strength training should be performed no more than 2 to 3 times per week. You must have a 24 to 48 hours break between training sessions, as this allows the muscles time to strengthen, and helps avoid injuries.

Intensity: how much resistance or weight should you work with?

You can increase the size of the weights, the resistance of the thera-band, and the difficulty of the exercises, as your muscles become stronger and you become familiar with the equipment. The number of sets and repetitions of each exercise should be changed as your body adapts to the new stress. Progressive increases in weight or resistance stimulate muscle growth.

Injury prevention: how do you prevent injury?

• Maintain good posture: Incorrect posture can easily lead to injuries. If you start to lose your posture, stop the exercise and reposition yourself.
• Listen to your body: If anything hurts while you're training, stop doing the exercise.
• Always warm up: The muscle groups should be warm before every strength training session.
• Always stretch: It is important to finish your exercises with stretching.