To Strengthen Your Muscles You Need to Push Them to the Limit – and don’t stop there…
Men and women alike should be aware of the benefits of properly conditioning and strengthening muscles not only for aesthetics, but for health and longevity.
When following a guided and controlled strength-building programme, women in particular can derive huge benefits, physically and mentally (and no: you won’t bulk up like Miss Olympia!).
Women have about 10 times less testosterone than men so our hormones are not attuned to acquiring muscles in the same way that men can. This is why, as a PT working with my female clients in particular, I am continually advocating “progressive overload with perfect form”.
And what do I mean by this?
First, it’s an expression that has its origins in strength training for weightlifters but this doesn’t reduce its relevance to anyone who is looking to develop their muscles simply as part of a fitness training regime. It refers to a method of training which progressively increases the stress exerted on muscles to stimulate their growth.
This stress actually ‘damages’ the muscle being exercised to stress levels. It creates micro-tears in the fibres, which the body then reacts to to repair, thus increasing the muscle tissue over time (when repeated with sufficient rest periods and protein intake).
As a result, over time, your nervous system learns the signs and your body understands that it has to accumulate more energy in the muscles. So when you go to lift that weight again or exert yourself during exercise, you’ll be able to push your muscles a little bit further every time.
(A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology observed 83 people over a period of 12 weeks as they practiced progressive overload on a series of arm strengthening exercises — gradually increasing the weight and number of repetitions of exercises. The results showed that progressive overload was effective for increasing bicep strength and muscle growth in both men and women” – www.womenshealthmag.com)
The ’form’ part refers to the importance of adopting the correct posture, core engagement, joint alignment and weight distribution during the exercise so as to avoid injury and get the most out of the exercise. And professional guidance is considered the most effective way to achieve this outcome (and use the mirrors in the gym – they’re not just for posing in!).
Acknowledgements
befitnessandpt.co.uk 