Strength training is an essential part of your fitness journey. It shows that your journey has not been about just maintaining your body, but also improving its strength and your limits. As a person starts lifting weights, surrounded in a gym of people who have dedicated years to the art, they try to rush up the ladder of weights, which leads to ugly injuries.
There is a proper way to increase how much weight a person lifts, without risking injury which would slow down or even reverse progress that you have made. In this blog we will be discussing exactly that.
Prioritize Form First
When beginning strength training make sure you have mastered the form at your comfortable weight level before increasing the weight. Many people just increase weight because they pull off one rep with extremely poor form at an already heavy weight.
When you focus on form, the exercise will actually have the desired impact that it was designed for. It will also mean you know the proper range of motion and technique, which would reduce the chances of injuries.
When focusing on form, start from lighter and more comfortable weights, focus on your range of motion, and ask for help or advice from a trainer or any other person in a gym for proper guidance.
Gradually Increase the Weight
When weight training, do not make big jumps just because your body is able to push through for the moment. Go for minimal increases, even if they feel like nothing, know that is exactly what you want. The more it feels like nothing while gradually increasing the more it means you are improving strength and it feels less impactful.
If you go for major jumps in weight like 20-25% more that is dangerous, since the body will be overwhelmed, and your muscles will not have time to adapt. This can cause muscle strain, severe cramps, and even muscle ruptures.
Go for small weight increments and stick to a weight until you can pull your sets in that comfortably before the next increment.
Listen to Your Body
When it comes to strength training safety should be your number one priority, which is why you should listen to your body. Nobody knows your physical limit except yourself. Your body starts alerting you when you are exerting too much or reaching your limits. It can be inspiring to hear phrases like breaking through or shattering through your own limits. But, in reality these limits should be acknowledged.
When lifting heavy weights your body might start to feel tired, your muscles may show signs of fatigue, cramping or other discomfort in which case you should stop. A big part of increasing strength is giving muscles ample time for recovery.
If your body feels weak, there is no shame in working out with lighter weights. It is important to understand that the body can not function at 100 percent everyday, and it is safer and better to use smaller weights today and focus on improving tomorrow.
Incorporate Progressive Overload
You can only lift more by increasing your strength. An infamous way is to adopt a progressive overload workout regimen. This will gradually create resistance to challenge your muscles to eventually hit new PRs.
The first way is by increasing weights gradually as mentioned before. However, there are other ways like increasing the number of sets or reps per set. This will increase the volume of your exercise and your muscles can develop more fully allowing you to lift heavier weights in future.
You can also increase the frequency of how often you train your desired muscle group, but make sure to give it an ample amount of resting time, to avoid overworking the muscles. If you are just starting out in strength training 1-2 times a week for a specific muscle group should be adequate.
Use a Spotter or Safety Equipment
If you are aiming to hit a new PR after following everything mentioned previously, make sure to be fully prepared. Make sure to have a men’s athletic performance t-shirt so that your range of motion is not affected, and sweat does not bother you or your grip. Make sure to wear proper arm bands, wrist wraps or weight belts as necessary. And alway have a spotter, when you are at your breakthrough moment. There is always a risk of injury especially in exercises like squats or bench presses.
If you can’t or don’t want a spotter make sure the equipment has safety mechanisms like squat racks with safety bars. This will help you avoid injury in case you are unable to complete a lift.
Even if you don’t have a gym buddy, you can always ask a random person to spot, and most will be more than happy to assist in your workouts.
Rest and Recover
It is important that after every workout you give your body time to recover especially when going through intense weight training. This will avoid you overtraining your muscles, but also besides that, resting can help keep a positive mindset.
Resting and taking a break, having a cheat day helps realize that the results are not going to occur overnight. It is a journey that requires hard work and commitment. But it also requires you to understand the importance of recovery.
For proper recovery make sure to schedule rest days, get ample sleep and additionally you can also buy muscle building supplements online that help with post workout recovery like creatine.
Conclusion
Many people avoid strength training because they think it is too dangerous especially with all the gym fail videos circulating around. Strength training is good for fitness, health and boosting confidence and with proper knowledge you will never have to face injuries when trying to lift more. Staying on easy weights is not utilizing your full potential and going too heavy poses a risk of injury. Weightlifting takes time, commitment and patience. So, prioritize form, increase weight gradually by incorporating progressive overload, use proper equipment and rest plenty.