Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Why Building Strength Should Be Your Number One Goal

By Caleb Lee

If you are wondering why I deal with strength training seriously and think you should too therefore this article will tell you why.

Read this article now to discover some good reasons why I think building strength should be your number one goal (even if you just want to build a lot of muscle and burn a lot of fat)

1. Strength Training Is More Functional:

Ever needed to lift somewhat heavy? Move fixtures? Lift your girlfriend up and pin her against the wall for a sizzling make out session? All those things required strength, not necessarily muscle size.

In fact, sometimes having excess muscle is not useful - it weighs more so if you have to run or walk long distances takes more calories to maintain, meaning you have to eat more

2. Building Strength Takes A Smaller Amount Of Time:

Majority of expert weightlifters spend up to 6 days in the gym and some even do twice a day workouts. If you're like me (or most people) therefore lifting weights isn't your permanent job.

You can turn into super strong training 3-4 days a week, and spend not greater than 20-30 minutes in the gym each time - DoubleYourGains' 3-5 Program takes 30mins/3x week. That means you could be consuming 2 hours in the gym vs. 12. It doesn't take long to improve strength.

3. Building Strength Is Inspiring:

Most people don't have any goals when they go to the gym, they think "I want to look better" but that's vague and undefined. Knowing you want to add 5lbs to your deadlift every time you go into the gym though is VERY motivating.

What's more, observing the weights build and seeing how far you've developed over the course of time is very motivating and makes you want to keep coming back to the gym.

4. Strength Makes It Simpler To Increase Volume:

Most bodybuilders today don't understand that guys like Arnold and bodybuilders from his day all did powerlifting routines early in their careers to build high starting levels of strength and power.

They had a exceptional "dense" look to their physiques from all this heavy weight training. And were able to make use of heavier weights when it came to doing outdated bodybuilding style set/rep schemes - so it was much easier for these strong lifters to build muscle.

5. Better For Health:

There's been a lot of recent research that shows strength training helps to prevent age related diseases and degenerative diseases.

In short: Losing muscle mass is an unavoidable effect of aging, but strength training in particular will tell your body to "hold on" to muscle mass for it needs it to continue lifting bulky stuff.

Plus, your bones will get stronger too to support your framework of muscle mass.

6. Improves Self-Confidence

There's nothing better than KNOWING you can pick a heavy weight off the floor or press a heavy weight up over your head. Or knowing that you have the strength to pull yourself up and over a wall up and over the edge of a cliff and things like that.

Knowing you are as strong as you look is a main confidence booster.

7. Strength Training Is Excellent For Athletics

Strength is the core for all other physical qualities. Building up your strength boosts your power, explosiveness, speed, agility, endurance, and all that.

Plus, a lot of sports - especially martial arts - require athletes to have high relative strength. They need to be very strong for their size because they have to stay within a certain weight class.

There's nothing worse than acquiring 20 MORE pounds of muscle you have to carry down the field, or move around the ring to avoid getting knocked out - and that 20 pounds of muscle is not doing you any good.

8. Strength Training Is Better For Women

Nearly all women don't want to be like the hulk. They don't want to gain 20 pounds of muscle. They just want to get "toned". As I mentioned earlier, strength training is the greatest way to get the toned look.

So if you're a woman you can get strong very quickly and boost up your health and quality of life without taking away from your womanliness in the least. - 15995

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