Don't Resist Resistance Training

Strength training (also referred to as resistance or weight training) is the use of resistance to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles, said Heather Kirkes, fitness and outreach coordinator for the University of Oklahoma.

            There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction, she said. Strength training uses methods like free weights, weigh machines, resistance bands, or a person’s own weight to build muscles and strength.

             “Weight training challenges your muscles by providing a stress to the muscle that causes it to adapt and get stronger, similar to the way aerobic conditioning strengthens your heart,” Kirkes said.

            She said that when properly performed, strength training can provide significant benefits and improve one’s overall health and well-being. Benefits include increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength; improved joint function; reduced potential for injury; increased bone density; a temporary increase in metabolism; improved cardiac function and elevated HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

            Strength training is different from cardio in that it is anaerobic exercise, meaning that the body creates the energy without oxygen, Kirkes said. This is because the body’s demand for energy is greater so it will find natural body chemicals to create it, and in the process build muscle and bone. 

Cardio on the other hand is aerobic exercise, which means that it uses oxygen and will have more of an impact on the cardiovascular and circulatory system, she said.

            “However, strength training can increase your metabolism after a workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover and muscle takes more energy to sustain,” Kirkes said.

            There are many great forms of resistance training, including weight lifting with machines, dumbbells/free weights, or just using your own body weight such as with push-ups, Kirkes said.

            “The standard recommendation for strength training frequency is to perform resistance exercise every other day or two to three nonconsecutive days per week,” Kirkes said. “Strength training one day a week results in some muscle gains, but significantly less muscle development than performing two or three weekly resistance exercise sessions.”

            Kirkes also said that based on recent research, every-day strength training (24-hour recovery period) is counterproductive because muscle remodeling processes are incomplete.

“With beginning exercisers, it appears that strength training either two or three non-consecutive days a week is equally effective for increasing lean weight,” Kirkes said. 


Watch the video below for an OU student's experience with strength training.