Dr. Elizabeth's Tenets of Strength Training for Beginners

If you've been around the blog for any amount of time, you've probably caught on that we Precision PTs are big fans of strength training for injury prevention and performance improvement. If you are interested in embarking in your own strength training journey, it can be daunting! In college, I took I learned the basic anatomy of a strength training routine in Exercise Physiology, I partook in group fitness classes at the school gym, and did workouts saved from Pinterest and YouTube in my dorm room and empty racquetball courts. I didn't truly feel comfortable in the gym until I was officially "taught" how to lift, including using machines and squat racks, as a participant in a strength training study my first year of PT school. This was when I discovered the thrill of picking up heavier weights week over week and challenging my body in a new way. Since then, I have learned more about strength training and have come up with tips and tricks that work for me. Here are some basic principles of strength training that can demystify strength training for beginners.

1. Leave comparison behind. If you are weightlifting in a gym, it can feel really intimidating! I remember feeling like everyone else knew what they were doing and were judging me. I later realized that most people have little to no formal strength training education (let's be honest, most people learn from the internet) and are too busy focusing on their own workout (or checking their biceps in the mirror) to be giving you a second thought. You deserve to be in that gym just like every other person! Go in, focus on yourself and your goals, and try not to worry about what the person next to you is doing, how much they're lifting, or what they might be thinking about you.

   
   

2. Form first. Doing an exercise with correct form is of the utmost importance. A well-intentioned exercise performed incorrectly can train the wrong muscles at best, and cause injury at worst. Be ready to take modifications and choose lighter weights as needed, you'll be able to progress to the harder version soon! You may also need to take more breaks so that you have the energy to perform the exercise with best form. It is better to do fewer exercises, or with less resistance, with good form, than to push through more reps or higher resistance with poor form.

   
   

3. Keep it simple. There are surely exceptions, but in general your exercises shouldn't require more equipment than your body, some type of resistance (weight, band, machine), and potentially a prop like a step or a bench. A quick peruse of Instagram influencers can often lead to an exercise with 2 bands, a kettlebell, a bosu ball, medicine ball, and a squat rack and that's just too much. Especially early on, keep your exercises straightforward to improve your form and consistency. Along this line, I also recommend avoiding combined movements, such as a squat plus shoulder press, and instead performs those two movements separately. Although it may feel like you're being more efficient, your legs and shoulders have different strength capacities. By doing a combined movement, you'll likely be limited by the weaker muscle group, in this example the shoulders, and underload the other muscles (lower body), ultimately resulting in less effective training.

   
   

4. "Heavy" is relative. Hearing that you should lift "heavy" can be daunting! Most people imagine loading up a barbell with a half dozen plates when they think about lifting heavy. This isn't always true! If you are new to strength training, you may be starting with 10 pounds or even body weight for exercises. An appropriate weight is one that leaves you feeling challenged and ready for a break at the end of a set. Start with a weight that feels comfortable and increase in 5 pound increments. Eventually you may want to use the squat rack, but you need to work up to it! Keep in mind, most bars weight 45 pounds on their own, so make sure that you can perform squats of deadlifts with at least 40 pounds before progressing to those barbells.

   
   

5. Some is better than none. Many of us have an all or none mentality, and if we can't get a "full" gym session, run, or other workout in, we'll skip it altogether because a 10-15 minute workout doesn't seem "worth it". I'm here to tell you that doing 1-2 exercises is always better than 0! Those "micro-workouts" can still add up and be beneficial to building strength. They can also help build the habit of strength training and make it feel less intimidating by breaking workouts into bite-sized chunks. A set of squats is better than staying sedentary!

If you've been contemplating starting strength training, but have felt apprehensive, I hope this helps break it down to basics and gives you the confidence to get started!

Thanks for reading!

Dr. Elizabeth Karr PT, DPT