Best 10 Strength Training Workout Tips

Best 10 Strength Training Workout Tips

1. Lift like you mean it. If you can do the maximum number of suggested reps (usually 10-12) without feeling fatigued, add pounds (10-15 percent at a time). If you can't complete the minimum number of suggested reps (usually 8), reduce the weight in 10 percent increments until you can. Your last 1 or 2 reps should always feel tough, but doable.

2. Try this all-in-one toner. "A side-step squat with wood chop works your arms, torso, abs, back, legs, inner thighs and butt," says David Kirsch, trainer and author of The Ultimate New York Body Plan. "Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a three- to four-pound medicine ball in your hands. Bend your arms up so that the ball is at eye level over your right shoulder. As you bring the ball toward your left knee, step out with your left leg and bend it no further than 90 degrees, keeping your right leg straight. Return to the starting position. Do 10 to 15 reps and repeat on the other leg."

3. Balance your body. To head off injuries, build good posture, and ensure you have strength for your favorite activities, do exercises for opposing muscle groups. During your weekly routines, if you work the quads, for example, do exercises for your hamstrings as well. The same applies for the biceps and triceps, chest and back and lower back and abs.

4. Work out during your workday. "Sit on a stability ball to strengthen your core, and keep dumbbells or exercise tubing at your desk," says Gregory Florez, personal trainer in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Squeeze in 12 to 15 reps of exercises like dumbbell curls, overhead presses, and ab crunches; aim for two or three sets of each. This gives you more free time to fit in fun workouts like biking or tennis."

5. Take a day off between weight-lifting sessions. Always give muscle groups 48 hours of rest between resistance workouts to allow them time to adapt to the stress you put on them. If you must lift every day, don't target the same muscles in back-to-back sessions.

6. Super-sculpt your butt. "Get great glutes by targeting the muscles and connective tissues buried deep in your body. To hit them, do high-intensity squats, such as jump squats. Then, blast off butt flab with cross-country skiing, bleacher running, and stair climbing," says Steve Ilg, author of Total Body Transformation.

7. Don't let your routine become rote. To continue to make sculpting gains, this exercise tip is crucial: Change the moves, order, weight, sets, reps and/or rest periods you do at least every four weeks. Try mixing things up more often. According to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, subjects who varied the number of sets and reps from workout to workout saw greater strength gains-even at the same intensity-than those who stuck to the same routine.

8. Intensify your push-up. "Squat-thrust push-ups get you in great shape because they work your upper body, core, and lower body and improve agility, strength, and endurance all at once," says Keli Roberts, personal trainer in Los Angeles. "From a standing position, bend down, put your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart, and jump your feet back into plank position. If you're strong, cross your ankles; otherwise, jump your feet wide apart. Do a push-up, then jump your feet together or uncross your ankles. Jump your feet back to your hands and stand up. Do eight reps total, rest for one minute, and repeat."

9. Blast calories with circuits. Do one set of each move in your workout, without resting between exercises. Repeat the circuit once or twice and you'll burn up to 300 calories in half an hour as opposed to 150 from a typical weight routine.

10. Break out the shovel. "Why pay someone to clear snow from your driveway? Besides burning nearly 400 calories per hour, shoveling snow develops muscular endurance and power. But be safe: Minimize the amount of snow on each shovelful, and bend from your knees and hips, not your back," says Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., exercise physiologist and sports psychologist at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas.