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Strength Training For Beginners

Letu2019s be honest. There is an awful lot of strength training equipment out there and an incredible number of videos and articles telling you how to use them.<br><br>Despite all this information, itu2019s incredibly easy to get lost in it all. Not to mention, if youu2019re going to the gym for the first time, it can be incredibly nerve-racking going to the free weight area with all the muscle-bound men (and women) everywhere.

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Strength Training For Beginners

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  1. Strength Training For Beginners: Equipment 101

  2. Let’s be honest. There is an awful lot of strength training equipment out there and an incredible number of videos and articles telling you how to use them. • Despite all this information, it’s incredibly easy to get lost in it all. Not to mention, if you’re going to the gym for the first time, it can be incredibly nerve-racking going to the free weight area with all the muscle-bound men (and women) everywhere. • You can make all the notes in the world and watch all the YouTube videos, but no matter how much time you put in to doing that, it’s still a scary place to be.

  3. What Equipment Do I Need? That’s a great question. There’s a lot out there to choose from; however, it’s not the right question to ask first. The first question you need to ask yourself is: How Strong Am I Currently? Before you spend any money on equipment, you need to know the answer to that question. If you’re a beginner, your equipment needs will be far less than that of an advanced everyday athlete (even though they prefer minimal equipment, too!) So if you don’t know the answer to that question, let’s find out if you pass some of our basic strength assessments.

  4. Answer yes or no to the following questions: • Can you hold a 2-minute plank? • Can you hold a 2-minute glute bridge? • Can you hang from a bar for 60 seconds? If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, your equipment needs will be extremely minimal to begin with. That’s because you have to master your own bodyweight first before progressing to anything more complex.

  5. If that’s the case, we recommend the following options of equipment to purchase based on your budget constrictions: Extreme budget: Nothing. There are plenty of bodyweight exercises we can do. • Small budget: Pull-up bar (ideally wall mounted) • Medium budget: Pull-up bar and a TRX system • Unlimited funds: Pull-up bar, TRX system, set of kettlebells (8kg, 12kg, 16kg, 20kg, 24kg)

  6. It’s not that much equipment, is it? In fact, all the equipment above can be stored at home. You don’t even need a gym membership. You don’t need all the fancy machines, gizmos, and adverts you see everywhere. They’re nice to have, maybe, but they’re not essential for you to get stronger. • The fitness industry is one big lie. It’s built on the foundation of preying on people’s fears and trying to sell to those fears. The equipment listed above is tried and tested, a proven method of helping beginners (and advanced) people get stronger with minimal fuss and minimal expenditure.

  7. Why Fixed Weight Machines Are Bad in the Weight Room (For Beginners) Walk into any commercial fitness gym and you’ll see a plethora of machines for various strength training exercises. The debate on whether machines or free weights are better has been around for decades. There was a time when machines ruled the gym world and were the only way to train. Then, scientists realized that while machines are good for training size and strength, they neglect key core and stabilization muscles. This led to people believing that machines were BAD for you.

  8. So here’s the thing. Fixed weight machines have a place in the world of fitness. However, for beginners, we stay well clear of them. As a beginner to strength training, we need to create the foundations for strength training. Think of the foundations of your house. If those foundations are rocky, your house will come tumbling down. It’s the same with your body. We need to build those foundations with good bodyweight strength and awareness first.

  9. Fixed weight machines are non-functional. They don’t train complete human movements that are necessary to move well, perform, and cope with everyday life. Weight machines don’t translate well into functional strength for daily activities and athletic endeavors. They neglect the smaller stabilizing muscles – the important muscles around the joints that, if neglected, can lead to chronic injury, poor posture, and pain.

  10. So if you are a beginner who answered “no” to any of those questions above, think bodyweight first. Let’s create the foundations for the fun, exciting strength training we can do at a later date.

  11. But What if I Answered YES to All the Questions Above? What Equipment Do I Need? If you answered “yes” to the three questions, it means you’re not a complete novice to strength training and you are now progressing into the world of intermediate training. We need to ask you more intermediate questions to determine your equipment needs.

  12. Here at Strength Matters, we have a number of set standards for strength. This is based on years of experience and working alongside some of the keenest minds in fitness. Everyone has a slightly differing opinion, but on the whole, we all agree on key elements. Here are some of the Strength Matters strength standards and questions you need to ask yourself:

  13. Can I do 3 pull-ups? • Can I do 3 chin-ups? • Can I do 5 push-ups? • Can I crawl, knees off the ground, non-stop for 5 minutes? • Can I do 5 reps x bodyweight back squats? • Can I do 5 reps x 1.5 bodyweight deadlifts?

  14. That might seem like a lot of questions, but these are just some of the basic strength standards we have at Strength Matters. If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, it means we need to get you stronger ASAP. Here are our recommendations on the equipment that you need:

  15. These our baseline strength levels for optimal healthy living. Don’t worry if you aren’t there yet or you think “There’s no way I can do that.” Many people have thought that, and they went on to smash these numbers. In terms of equipment, did you see what we did on the unlimited budget? We’ve put two pieces of cardio equipment on the list. Cardio doesn’t make you weak. It does in fact make you stronger. “Cardio makes you weak” is actually #FakeNews.

  16. Extreme budget: Pull-up bar • Minimalist budget: Pull-up bar, TRX, kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, 24kg) • Medium budget: Pull-up bar, TRX, kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, 24kg, 32kg), Olympic barbell + weight plates • Unlimited budget: Pull-up bar, TRX, kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, 24kg, 32kg), Olympic barbell + weight plates, squat rack, concept 2 rowing machine and/or assault bike

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