The best way to train stronger: why you should be lifting weights

When it comes to building strength, bodyweight exercises are valuable additions to your workout routine. They can build muscles and burn fat, and they force you to focus on your balance and coordination in order to perform the movements with proper form. That said, if you want to reach your full potential in terms of strength and muscle growth, you should also be doing weightlifting exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and bicep curls at least twice per week. Here’s why lifting weights will help you build up more power and muscle than bodyweight exercises alone can provide!

The benefits of weightlifting
Weightlifting, or resistance training, is commonly known as one of the fastest ways to increase strength and power. It’s also one of most intense and challenging ways to lose weight fast. In addition to becoming leaner, more toned and more powerful, people who lift regularly are less likely to develop serious health conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The key is just picking up those dumbbells once in a while.

Getting started with strength training
Don’t look down on strength training just because it doesn’t involve running, biking or swimming. In fact, experts say it’s one of the most effective workouts for building muscle and speeding up your metabolism. When people work out with weights, they burn more calories throughout their day—even at rest—and gain lean muscle tissue, which helps increase their metabolism so they burn even more calories and fat, says Lauren Williams a personal trainer at Equinox in New York City.

Developing your beginner workout plan
You’re new here, so let’s start with some basic guidelines. A beginner workout program focuses on two factors: building a foundation of strength and skill, and increasing your stamina for working out longer. To achieve these goals, start with bodyweight workouts like push-ups, sit-ups, lunges and squats—these are all movements that use your own body weight to strengthen muscles and build endurance.

Developing your intermediate workout plan
The key to intermediate workouts is that, unlike beginner and advanced training programs, which remain fairly similar from week to week, intermediate workout plans are designed for repeated use. The idea behind an intermediate workout plan is that it allows for a well-balanced routine that covers all of your main muscle groups. Unlike beginner workouts, however, an intermediate workout plan will have some variation from week to week—but it won’t change as often as more advanced ones do.

Developing your advanced workout plan
Want to take your training up a notch? Consider adding weight-lifting workouts. By engaging in heavy, high-intensity lifting, such as deadlifts or barbell squats, you’ll be able to sculpt strong muscles that work for more than just vanity. If your only motivation for working out is physical appearance—if, say, you need to lose a few pounds—then it’s not necessary.

How much weight do I lift?
Weight is usually measured in kilograms (1kg = 2.2lbs). You don’t need to start off with a heavy weight. Remember, training is about working out smarter, not harder. A good rule of thumb for beginners starting out on a strength-training plan is about 20 repetitions, which means you’re lifting 20 times. If that feels easy, pick up some heavier weights.

For more experienced lifters... build muscle the right way
If your primary goal is muscle growth, then you’ll want to focus on weightlifting. If you’re looking for both strength and muscle, mixing in some cardio will help—you don’t need much to start seeing a difference. But if your fitness goals include endurance or fat loss, then cardio will be a better choice for your training needs. It may seem counterintuitive, but doing more cardio can actually lead to more strength gains over time.