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Here at Embody Fitness, we know all about the advantages of lifting weights, and make sure our clients know them too. Lifting increases bone and muscle strength, manages weight, and improves metabolism. Regular weight training tones the body and helps you sleep better. It even helps to lower blood pressure, which is why the British Heart Foundation recommends lifting weights to improve heart health.
Besides this, did you know that lifting can boost your mood? Many people credit weight training with improving their mental health and mindset. A healthy body can help maintain a healthy mind – so why not give resistance training a go today? Below are 4 lifting exercises to try, which when done regularly, can cause a huge change in both your body and mood.
1. Chest Press
With all different types of weightlifting, it’s all about the form. You need to ensure that you are getting the most benefit without added strain on your body. This is especially true in doing a chest press. To get good support, you should lay your back on the floor or a bench. Then, pick up the dumbbells slowly and with control. It’s important to go slow. Concentrate on the flex and crunch of the chest muscles.
The recommended set amount for these is 3 but if you feel up to doing 5, go for it.
2. Squats
For this exercise, it’s best to get a couple of non-weighted squats in before you use the weights. After you get comfortable, then you can add your dumbbells. Remember to imagine that you’re sitting down on a chair to keep your knees from being strained.
Instead of doing sets, squats might be best to do in time limits. You could give yourself anywhere from 30 seconds to a full 2 minutes depending on how long you’ve been practicing.
3. Dead Lift
This can be done with a dumbbell set or with a barbell. It’s extremely important that you don’t strain your back and keep your posture good. To start off, you should try with weights that you can handle. Don’t overdo it, to begin with. Go slow and steady, bending over with the weights. Then pull up with your leg and hip muscles (not your back!) to lift the weights to your hip flexors.
Deadlifts are another timed activity but try to limit yourself to 30 seconds and no more than a minute.
4. Curls
Dumbbell (or band) curls are a great way to work your arm muscles. You can do the traditional bicep muscles, focusing on the isolated muscle to get the most burn. You can also do preacher curls, hammer curls, and spider curls among other things.
With the weights, you can go a little more intense in order to build strength. But don’t use weights that make you strain your muscles. Something that is just slightly above your normal level.
Welcome to the World of Weight Training
These four exercises are a great way to dive into weight training. There are so many different exercises to expand on once you have these mastered. It’s important with weight training to focus on quality over quantity. If you’re only able to do a couple of good moves during each rep, that’s perfect. With practice, you’ll soon be doing more.
Sign up to Embody Fitness today and get started on your journey to a leaner body and a healthier mind. Our personal trainers are glad to create a custom workout plan especially for you based on your current weight and your fitness goals. We believe strength training is crucial to getting the body, mindset and lifestyle you want. Give us a call today to find out how you can benefit from our expert trainers’ health and fitness knowledge.
