Getting Strong—Starting a Strength Training Program

By Team Beachbody

Exercises that develop muscular strength and endurance have an important role in any fitness program for men and women. The fact is, people with good muscle tone look better and burn more fat (even while resting) than people with less. If you want to look and feel better, you need to start and maintain a productive strength training program.

To build muscle strength and improve tone, you must exercise against resistance: that is, use your muscles to exert a force against a countering force. Free weights, exercise machines, or even your own body weight can provide resistance. You need to work major muscle groups that include shoulders, chest, arms, abs and legs.

Men usually want size and strength and women generally seek tone without bulk, so men choose resistance to achieve 8-12 repetitions for each exercise, and women should choose resistance with which they can achieve 12-20 reps.

General wisdom suggests strength training every other day, to give your muscles time to recover. And when getting started on a toning/strengthening workout, be extra careful to start slowly. Soreness is a result of overworking muscles the first few times you work out. While we're not afraid of a little challenge, we don't advocate starting at your maximum potential.

Note: Beachbody.com is developing a 90-day in-home boot camp called Power 90®(tm) that is being tested in a clinical trial. The program will be described at Beachbody.com later this week. But if you can't wait until then, here's what we suggest you do to add muscle and increase muscle tone!

• Stretch
• 3 sets of push-ups, with arms wide for first set, then in regular shoulder- width position, then close to body
• 3 sets of back movements such as pull-ups, behind-the-back pull-downs, etc.
• 3 sets of shoulder movements such as military press and shoulder raises
• 3 sets of bicep movements like regular curls and open-arm (wide) curls
• 3 sets of tricep movements such as chair dips, tricep kickbacks, and close-arm push-ups
• 3 sets of leg/butt moves such as squats or lunges
• Finish with abs
• Cool down to avoid build-up of lactic acid that will make you sore (repeat Stretch or just make sure to generally stretch the shoulders, back and legs)

With all of these moves, you need to be very careful not to strain your back, or your knee and shoulder joints. Our suggestions are guidelines that need to be carefully considered before you try them, especially if you have any physical situation that causes you discomfort.