STRENGTH TRAINING SURPRISES
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| An outdoor gym located in Montreal, Quebec Source: Globe & Mail |
First of all, I have done a variety of strength training routines over the past 25 years. Mainly bodyweight exercises, done mostly to complement my run training. Recently, I am giving strength training more focus and have added resources to my library of coaching books. Below are some surprising findings I have come across in my quest to improve at strength training:
Do We Train Muscles or Movements?
Strength training coaches ask this important question to get athletes more engaged in strength training and not just something to check off one's “to do” list. By training muscles, I take this to mean training designed to build stronger and more powerful muscles, tendons, and ligaments. For instance, in my strength routine, I have a chinup challenge and every extra chinup I do tells me that I am getting a little bit stronger in my upper body. On the other hand, by training movements, I take this to mean training designed to improve athletic and/or functional, daily movements. For example, in my running-specific strength routine, I do a forward lunge and, after I land my forward foot, I twist my upper body which takes core stability and balance. This type of complex movement allows me to activate core stability and balance when running or for a functional activity, like balancing while walking up or down a flight of stairs. With a background in bodyweight exercises, a surprising conclusion for me is the benefit of training both muscles and movements in a strength training program.
Two Sessions Per Week (but moving takes place every day!)
I am currently doing two whole-body strength training workouts per week. While I am aware that some gym rats out there alternate the body part focused on for more workouts in a week (e.g., leg day followed the next day by upper-body day); by doing two whole-body workouts, I am meeting national fitness guidelines, which call for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardio AND two sessions of strength training per week. Surprising to me is that I just recently learned that these two strength training workouts are IN ADDITION to the 150 minutes of cardio! Before this, I was counting my strength training as part of these 150 minutes.
In addition to these two strength training workouts, I have found benefit doing a routine with lighter or no resistance. Since running is my sport, I do some running-specific strength moves for the core, hips, upper-, and lower-legs; and do this routine in the afternoon following a morning run. (The HIP STRENGTHENING EXERCISES highlighted in the last post are part of this routine.) This routine does not seem to be adding extra fatigue to a run day.
The Magic of 25
Over the past year, I switched to strength training whereby you do an exercise for 25 reps, under certain conditions. If I can do the exercise for 25 reps and feel it to be challenging at the end – that is what you want from the exercise. Also, if I can do 15 reps, then take a short rest of about 20 seconds, before doing 10 more reps – this is all right, too. However, if I cannot do 15 reps, then I can: 1) use lighter weight, 2) alter the movement to a slightly easier form (e.g. change standard pushup position to pushup from knee position), or 3) break the 25 reps into sets (e.g. for my chinup challenge, I do five sets of five reps). A surprise to me since switching to this 25 rep system, I have noticed a difference in my workouts. Using this new system I can make adjustments on the fly much easier to keep exercises challenging and avoid overdoing it.
Strength Training and the Heart
When doing a strength training workout, I generally find that my heart rate reading is about 20 to 30 beats above my resting heart rate. In comparison, my heart rate during a cardio workout starts at 45 beats (and higher depending on the type of workout). In the past I concluded that my heart is not getting much of a workout from strength training. However, after listening to THIS PODCAST with cardiologist, Dr. Benjamin Levine, I learned some surprising adaptations the heart goes through during strength training. Apparently, research has shown that during a challenging lift (like a barbell squat at near maximal capacity), the systolic blood pressure reading (the top number in your blood pressure reading) can reach 400 when measured! Also, while cardio increases the size and elasticity of the heart (especially the left ventricle), strength training thickens the wall of the heart muscle. Therefore, with this information in mind, I am working the heart muscle during strength training - with different results and adaptations compared to cardio training.
Flexibility Through Strength Training
When you strength train, do you need to do extra stretching to maintain your range of motion for different joints? Surprising to me, THIS RESEARCH STUDY found that lifting weights did, in fact, improve flexibility and increase the range of motion just as well or even better than traditional stretching. Apparently, strength training increases muscle strength at the end range of motion, leading to improved flexibility. (HOWEVER, this research study reports that bodyweight strength training does not seem to lead to better flexibility compared to traditional stretching.) So, on my strength training days which involve lifting weights , based on this research, I am not emphasizing stretching on these days.
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Thanks for reading! For more, check out the Strength Training section in the EOOC TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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Experiment of One Coaching covers topics ranging from running, strength training, health & wellness, sports nutrition to travel. I usually post once or twice a month.
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