It used to be that the ideal body type for women was skinny. Like it or not, we were bombarded with images of skinny, glamorous women all the time, and were encouraged to do what we can to look like them.
Happily, things have changed and body acceptance and positivity are far more widespread and understood. Indeed, one major change that these things have had is that women are now free to embrace the body type they choose, something that for many means strength over skinniness.
The good news is that working out to get strong, comes with a whole heap of benefits from minimizing the risk of a range of conditions like heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity. Not to mention that being strong feels amazing too. Just keep reading to find out the most effective ways to boost your strength in the post below.
Lifting weights
It will be no shock to you that lifting weights is one of the most useful ways to get stronger. After all, it is weight lifting that allows our muscle fibers to first rip and then repair making them bigger and more powerful.
Of course, you have a whole range of options when it comes to weight lifting that you can try, from working on the free weights in the gym to trying out dumbbells, kettlebells, or sandbag routines. Just be sure to start small and build up your weights over time.
Try bodyweight work
If you don’t have access to free weights or the other equipment mentioned in the section above, a great alternative is to try bodyweight exercises. This is because they use the weight and resistance of your own body to build your muscles, so they can be done anywhere and at any time.
Popular bodyweight exercises include lunges squats and pull-ups. The latter is a topic you can learn more about in this article on the best pull day workout, including technique. While the post also goes over other great strength-building activities that both do and don’t use the equipment.
Go for HIIT
HIIT workouts are all about doing high-intensity moves, over longer intervals, thereby increasing the impact of the exercise. They are particularly good at building strength in a comparably much-shorter space of time than other strength-based workouts like powerlifting.
Indeed, HIIT workouts really are ideal for anyone limited on time because they are not only as effective as other longer styles of exercise but burn a whole load of calories too, which makes staying fit and healthy that much easier.
Get enough sleep
You may think that the most important thing you can do to stay strong is work out all the time. However, this is not the case, because in order to build muscles your body needs time to rest.
Of course, this means making sure you get a good night’s sleep every night is crucial if you want to see maximum effects. Additionally, mixing in rest days with your strength-building workouts will give your muscles a chance to add bulk, and so will help you the see best results for the investment in your body.
