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STRENGTH TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS
 Strength training for beginners starts and ends with laying sound, strength training foundations. Get the foundations right, and you will not only achieve your strength training goals, but you will achieve them injury free! Before we detail the strength training for beginners foundation, let's first examine the main areas where most strength training beginners go wrong! Does this sound familiar? Poor Exercise ChoiceImagine Homer Simpson in a candy shop. Confronted by row upon row of mouth-watering delights, and unable to make up his mind, Homer fills his bag with a selection of EVERYTHING! D'oh!!! THIS is the dilemma presented by the strength training beginner dazzled by a vast array of exercises. It is here, more than anywhere else, that the inexperienced trainee requires guidance. Inconsistent Diet and NutritionStrength training for beginners requires a strength building diet. Inconsistent diet and nutrition will, at best, yield inconsistent results. Strength building - especially when a beginner - demands a healthy diet where their efforts are adequately fueled. Want better health? Then pay attention to what goes onto your plate! No Intensity CyclingMost strength training beginners train either too hard or too long. This ultimately leads to burn-out and fatigue. What the strength training beginner needs from day one is to cycle their training intensity. Do THIS, and the strength training beginner guarantees results. Insufficient RestRest, and in particular recuperation, allows the body to grow. Without it, results will be hard-won. Ignoring this part of the strength building equation leads to more fatigue and burn out - arch enemies of the beginner trainee! The above are common beginner strength training mistakes, but CAN be avoided by following clear, concise, results-driven principles. So are you ready to lay some strength training for beginners foundations? Exercise ChoiceStrength training for beginners starts and ends with the following exercises:
Why these exercises in particular? Our choice is simple because these exercises are the ultimate strength builders! Want some examples of what these exercises will do?
 Diet and NutritionAdequate strength building diet and nutrition can be summarized thus: make your choices healthful and natural, while allowing sufficient muscle building protein for growth. How much protein? Allow one gram per kilogram of body weight (a good starting point). Aim for high quality protein sources such as fish or chicken or soy. Supplement your diet with adequate fruit and vegetables, and not ONLY will you look great, but you will feel great too!
Intensity CyclingThe majority of strength trainees, and beginners in particular, fail to enlist this valuable strength building tool. What can intensity cycling do for you? Simply, cycling can make the difference between success and failure in your quest to build strength. So what form of intensity cycling should the beginner use? A simple and effective form of cycling is the 'double-progression' method. Here is how it works:
By adding weight in this way, and by alternating the training intensity (Easy, Challenging, Hard), the beginner strength trainee avoids the real prospect of fatigue and burn out. Cycle your training like THIS, and prepare to grow STRONG! IMPORTANT: One set of 6-10 repetitions is enough to build a foundation of strength. Doing more reps/and or sets, trains endurance and will harm your strength building! Rest and RecuperationStrength training stresses the body in such a way that rest is not only a requirement but is a necessity. Ignore it, and prepare to fail. Embrace it - make rest and recuperation a valued piece of your strength training jigsaw - and prepare to build some serious muscle! How much rest is enough? Allow 8-10 hours sleep or more if you feel you need it; your target is to hit the weights feeling energized and not wiped out :-( At the first sign of fatigue, add more sleep along with another rest day into your schedule. Also, cycle your workouts following the double-progression method (training hard all the time will surely kill progress)... Again, allow for adequate nutrition to fuel your strength building workouts: ignore this, and you will not grow :-( Strength Training For Beginners TargetsSo just how strong can you expect to grow utilizing the above? Try this inspiring example: Legendary strength trainee Marvin Eder during the 1950's, completed 7 weighted chins with 200 pounds, along with a validated world-beating dip of 435 pounds... Marvin Eder himself weighed a modest but not insignificant 200 pounds! I said it was inspiring ;-)
Now what are you waiting for? Go and get strong!!!
Further Reading:
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