Five Strength Training Exercises You Must Do
One of the key forms of exercise that must be included in your program for weight loss is strength training. This is going to help you build more lean muscle mass, therefore increase your calorie burn all day long, every day of the year.
In addition to this, strength training helps ensure that when you are successful with your weight loss diet plan, you look toned and defined rather than just becoming a smaller version of your current self.
There's no mistaking it, if you want to have best results and look fabulous after you have success with weight loss, strength training is important.
That said, here are the top five exercises you must do as part of your program.
Squats The first exercises is often called the king of all leg exercises, squats. These are going to really help to strengthen all the muscles in the lower body and will really help you burn a significant number of calories in that session.
Because they work so many muscle fibers at once, you cannot ask for a better weight loss exercise to do. Just be sure as you complete them that you focus on maintaining proper back alignment because if you aren’t careful, you could see problems develop.
Bench Press Next up on the list of important strength training exercises to do for weight loss is the upper body exercise, the bench press. This movement will work the chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the biceps to an extent, so really is a full upper body strengthener.
If you can, try and have someone around you to help spot during this exercise because this will allow you to feel more comfortable pushing yourself to lift as heavy as possible.
Also keep in mind you can do incline, decline, or flat bench presses, so include all variations in your program over time.
Bent Over Rows Moving on, the third exercise that’s a must are bent over rows. These are going to primary hit the back muscle groups, but will also work the biceps as well.
For those who have lower back pain, you may prefer doing horizontal cable rows instead as these tend to place slightly less stress on the back while you perform them. Just do be sure that you’re focusing on executing the movement with the back muscles and aren’t pulling from the waist and using momentum to help you.
Shoulder Press The shoulder press is a fourth exercise to include for best weight loss results and will help to work all heads of the shoulder muscle as well as the triceps. The important thing to watch with this exercise is that you aren’t letting your back sway at all, moving the entire spine out of alignment.
Instead, keep it as straight as possible while thinking of squeezing your core throughout the movement.
Lunges Finally, to round out your program, make sure to include some lunges. Lunges are a terrific lower body strengthener and are a good alternative for those who are not quite comfortable doing squats. They can be performed with a set of dumbbells or a barbell across your back so are good regardless of where you workout as well.
By making sure all of these exercises are in your workout program, you will best set yourself up for successful fat loss. Just do remember that you should be aiming to lift as heavy as possible while working within the 8-12 rep range as that’s what will have you seeing best progress.
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Our Expert
Shannon Clark, BPE, AFLCA Certified, is a personal trainer and writer out of Edmonton, Alberta. She's been in the health and fitness business for over 8 years and is passionate in helping others achieve their goals.
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