Fans of “soft” fitness avoid strength training in vain.
Meanwhile, they are the ones that prolong youth and serve our beauty, especially at the age of 30+.
The benefits of strength training cannot be overestimated and are difficult to replace with other training methods because only weight and resistance training builds muscle mass, which allows you to have a good metabolism, more energy, and protect your joints from aging.
Let's take a look at the most popular myths about strength training together with trainer Natalia Blinova .
Myth 1 - strength training kills femininity and you can get pumped up from it
To get pumped up like a “man,” you need to be a man, because women gain muscle mass very slowly. This is due to the fact that women have little testosterone in their bodies, which is what works on muscle mass. A woman who does balanced strength training for the whole body will have a firm, toned, beautiful body.
Myth 2 - Strength training causes knee and lower back pain
And indeed, your joints will hurt if you run, jump, walk, overload them excessively, or train without taking into account biomechanics.
If you follow the technique, angles of movement in the joints and monitor recovery, then strength training will only benefit the joints. After all, joints are nourished by the density of muscle fiber.
So, if we want to have a healthy body that does not hurt, even at the age of 50+, then we simply need strength training. But if pain still occurs, you need to reduce the load and work on biomechanics, that is, on movement.
Myth 3 - You don't need strength training to lose weight, you need to do cardio
Very often, those who dream of losing weight torture themselves on the treadmill for hours. This is a mistake. In order for the weight to be reduced more effectively and for us to be able to consume more calories, we need to create dense muscle mass.
Even at rest, muscle tissue consumes more calories. This means we can afford to eat more. Muscle can only be built through resistance training.
Myth 4 - Training must cause pain, otherwise it is useless
This is absolutely not true. If we constantly train through pain, we only harm our body. Pain indicates that you train rarely, or the loads are too great.
If you exercise regularly, there is almost no pain. It is balanced loads that give us more benefit, and not those when we torture ourselves to smithereens.
Myth 5 - Strength training is only for bodybuilders/men, not everyone needs it
This is the biggest misconception. If you tried it once, you had the wrong load, exercise complex, and you didn’t like it, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need weight training.
Strength training is necessary for children, teenagers, and the elderly, not to mention women and men. The load and set of exercises will just be different. It's all about a balanced program and regularity.
And then at any age, strength training will bring a lot of energy, maintain health and joints, beauty and energy levels!
Expert: Blinova Natalia
