I used to think heavy strength training was only beneficial for athletes looking to improve their power, but over the past 15 years as a health and fitness professional, I’ve found the benefits of heavy strength training reach far beyond the clients only looking to improve their athletic prowess. This is why you’ll often see heavy strength training programmed for our clients at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness.
Frequently, I see clients coming to us for help. They’ve been stuck performing light to moderate strength training at high reps for years and have reached plateaus when trying to reach their goals.
I’ve also recognized a fear that correlates with training with heavy weights. Fear of looking too bulky, getting injured or a decrease in endurance. In reality, those fears can keep you from reaching your goals of fat loss, increased strength, injury prevention, improved athletic performance or increased endurance, which is why we focus so heavily on coaching safe technique at Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness.
Below I’ll address how heavy strength training will benefit you in almost any goal you have.
FAT LOSS
Training heavy is hugely beneficial for burning fat. When you build strength you are basically replacing fat with lean muscle tissue, in return lean muscle leads to a higher metabolism.
A misconception is that if you train with heavy weights you’ll look bulky, however, to look lean & toned you need lean muscle. Lifting heavy weights builds this lean muscle that allows you to have the look you want.
STRENGTH
If you’re already looking to get stronger, lifting heavy challenges your body to adapt to the stresses of lifting heavier weights. Lifting heavy is HOW you gain strength!
INJURY PREVENTION
Training with heavy weights helps stimulate tendon and ligament strengthening, which aids in injury prevention. As you lift heavier weights you’ll notice that you have to control the eccentric or lowering portion of the movement which limits being out of control and aids with dialing in solid technique.
NEW OR RETURN TO FITNESS
If you’re new or returning to fitness, a focus on movement quality is of utmost importance, as it’s easy to feel ‘ready’ muscularity to train heavy weights. But if your tendons, joints and ligaments aren’t ready to be loaded heavily this could backfire and result in injury. Take your time, trust the process and soon you’ll be lifting heavy weights safely.
ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
For performanced focused athletes getting stronger by lifting heavy weights translates to better power production and results on the field of play.
For the CrossFit competitor, strength is highly beneficial to improve performance. Being able to lift heavy results in higher lifting numbers, faster times and better scores during competition.
ENDURANCE
Lifting heavy is beneficial for improving aerobic capacity. Strength training leads to an increase in the ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles as well as increased tolerance to the build-up of lactic acid. These physiological changes result in improved endurance.
Heavy weight training is beneficial for more than just athletic performance, it’s a necessity for a healthier, stronger and leaner body. From strengthening your whole body, to injury prevention and improved conditioning, the health benefits are beyond comprehension, so get out there and get under a barbell!
At Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness, we offer you both nutrition & fitness coaching, from personal training to group CrossFit classes we have the keys to help you reach your goals!
Our personal trainers and group coaches value lifting weights, and using multi-jointed, functional exercises performed at high intensity. You don’t have to guess what to do!
Schedule a free consultation with a coach to see how we can help you with your goals! → I’M READY TO MEET WITH A COACH!
COACH PHIL KNIEP – Owner & CEO of Lincoln Nutrition & Fitness
Precision Nutrition L1 Coach
CrossFit Level 3 Trainer
Endurance Certified
Mobility Certified
Scaling Certified
3x CrossFit Games Qualifier