Muscular Strength and Endurance – Getting Started

So you want to start doing some muscular strength and endurance training to complement your cardiorespiratory exercise program. That sounds like a brilliant idea but there is just one problem. Your body has over 600 muscles and if you target each one individually you may find yourself doing hours of ridiculous things like eyebrow raises, toe curls and lip puckers. Ideally the best way to get started in working out your muscles is to meet with a professional that can help you develop a program that suits your needs and will help you meet your goals. That being said let me give you a couple pointers to consider when you are getting started.

1. The workouts your family and friends do might not be the best ones for you. We see a lot of people that workout regularly but through their workouts have developed drastic muscle imbalances, and injured themselves severely, both of which cause functional problems on a daily basis. It is a great idea to workout with other people but make sure your workout is benefiting you, not hurting you.
2. Divide your muscles into groups. Some of the more common muscle groupings are: Lower legs, upper legs, hips/glutes, Abs and low back, chest, shoulders, upper arms, lower arms, back. After grouping your muscles then you can pick a few groups to focus on at each workout.
3. When working out a specific muscle group you should try to think functionally. Let’s say you have decided to focus on your shoulders for your next workout. Think about what types of regular movements you do that use your shoulders. Use these functional movements to guide you in choosing beneficial workouts for your shoulders.
4. Keep things even. Muscles often work together to make your body do what you want it to. You might find that you enjoy working out certain muscles more than others or that some muscles are hard to work at the same intensity level as others. I encourage you to give each of your muscle groups a fair share of attention regardless of these challenges. If you begin neglecting muscles you will find yourself at risk of injury and susceptible to long term complications.

Muscular strength and endurance training can be tough to get started but if you get on a well-rounded program and keep it up on a regular basis you will experience tremendous results. We are well aware of the challenges people run into when they start working out so please don’t hesitate to ask us questions if you need some help. You can submit questions to our staff by visiting our website, http://www.brocktonpt.com/, and clicking on the tab that says “Contact us”.