Heavy Lift Days Matter!

We spend a lot of time on our website talking about the benefits of endurance strength-training workouts like Barre, and the importance of integrating regular cardio into your fitness routine. The final piece to that puzzle is adding traditional strength training exercises that focus on lifting heavy, with less reps, and the use of muscular power. It's in these exercises where we experience the most muscle-growth, increased strength and a higher calorie burn throughout your day. 

The Canadian 24-hour movement Guideline, created by the Canadian Society for Exercise Phsyiolgy (CSEP) recommends that adults between the 18-64 years should be participating in wide range of physical activity in and outside the gym. The goal: to reduce as much as possible long periods of time where someone is sedentary (not moving), and decrease the risk of physical disease and mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety. In the guide, it recommend that adults do strength training exercises using major muscle groups at least twice a week. CSEP defines this as movement that that increases skeletal muscle strength, power, endurance or mass that includes: 

• lifting weights 
• Working with resistance bands 
• Exercises that use body weight for resistance (e.g., push-ups or sit-ups) 
  

So how heavy should the weights you use during a strength session be? For increased in muscular strength and power, you'll want to focus on exerting maximum strength that adds stress and tension to your muscles, causing you to draw momentum and power from your body to push, pull, contract and relax the muscles. Exercises can include traditional movements like squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench & chest presses that involve heavier weights. The premise behind these movements is to have lower reps that get your muscles to fatigue without coming to exhaustion. The right weight for you would depend on your goals, pre-exercise state, balance as well as comfort levels. Further assistance with determining your weight amount can be done with the help of a fitness professional like a coach, personal trainer or physiotherapist.

Lifting heavy helps decrease muscle detrioation as we age, allows you to lift heavier and feel stronger in your daily life, and strengthens your bones. If you are on a weight loss journey, it will help you burn more calories during your off days, and provide added muscle definition in your body. You will have more power in your movements, and more energy for your daily life. 

Traditional strength training focuses on strength and power: your ability to exert force in a singular movement. When coupled with endurance-based strength training workouts like Barre and Pilates, within your fitness routine you'll be better able to target both your body's stabilizer and prime muscles, keeping you stronger and helping to reduce pain and injuries as we age. 

As a start, integrate a heavy lift day into your routine. In most gyms, weight machines for various muscles groups are generally located in one area, making it easier to move from one machine to the next, hitting all major muscle groups. If you're a bit more comfortable using free weights, grab a pair of dumbbells or a barbell and progress (add weight), slowly over time. Heavy lift days matter! When doing so correctly and safely, along with the proper guidance, you'll be reaping the benefits in no time.