Why strength train?
It's hard to think of a training method that offers so many benefits as progressive strength training. No one other method can enhance every facet of fitness;
Run faster, jump higher, cycle longer, hit harder, increase endurance, bigger muscles, stronger bones etc.
Any athlete that strength trains is a better athlete for it. In fact, any person that strength trains is better off for having done so.
Muscles are our own personal movement motors - they propel every movement we make. If your motors are withered and weak, it reflects in every aspect of your life. Strong muscles make movement and life in general more enjoyable and easier.
When you strengthen a muscle you increase it's ability to produce force, which in turn can be trained into a specific sports related skill.
Not only that, a stronger muscle is harder to hurt (sprain) and as a result, the joints that they surround are more stable for it and thus also harder to damage.
SO thus far we have:
1) Strengthening your muscles increases force potential and thus movement performance
2) Strength training reduces the chance of injury and strengthens joints which in turn keep your bones and posture healthy.
For the majority of people, training with weights is considered reserved for those that want bigger muscles - think body building. I would like to educate a person right now that is a possibility, if that is want you want to do, however it is not something that has to happen. Getting big muscles is not as easy as simply lifting weights.
When you do lift weights/ strength train you are toning your muscles - tone simply means the residual electrical energy running through a relaxed muscle, holding it in a state of readiness. So when someone asks to "tone" an area, what they are actually seeking, is a way to strengthen that area. They may not know it, but strength training is the best and fastest way to tone a muscle.
Not only is it the best way to tone a muscle, it also happens to be one of the most overlooked ways to increase endurance too.
Taking cycling as an example (Us Brits like our cycling after Beijing) to help explain and how and why strength training helps your endurance capacity;
Your maximum strength level is 100 units in this example.
To keep the crank turning at 100 revolutions per minute you need to produce a force of 60 units each rotation. (Numbers are purely for illustrative purposes).
60 units out of a possible maximum of 100 units has you working at 60% of your maximum to hold that speed and your place in the pack.
Now fast forward 6 months and some serious, well programmed endurance supplements later and you have increase your maximum strength level to 200 units.
That same effort of 60 units to keep the crank rotating at 100 revs per minute is now only 33% of your maximum effort and thus much easier leaving you more energy and strength for a spectacular sprint finish.
Need more strength training which can leverage your sports performance and improve fitness.
Here the PDXstrengthsociety provides the best strength training in Portland and expert instructions to achieve your strength and fitness goals.
For Portland strength training, visit our website.
