How Long To Gain Strength? | LIVESTRONG.COM - 0 views
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While bicycling, jogging and other aerobic workouts are ideal for improving your heart function and lowering your risk for stroke, you'll need to dedicate time each week to resistance exercise --- also called strength training --- in order to build stronger muscles and overall body strength.
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Machine weights or free weights like barbells represent the primary tools for resistance workouts, although your strength also increases when you stretch resistance bands or carve out time for pushups and pullups.
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Your timeline for improved strength depends on the intensity of your resistance workout, as well as how often you visit the gym, according to Dr. Ed Laskowski, a Mayo Clinic fitness specialist. Lifting weights for 20 minutes on three days each week is sufficient to gain larger muscles and better strength.
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Although online bloggers often suggest that lifting multiple sets is necessary, your body gains the same benefit from one set of each exercise. An appropriate weight is one that fatigues your muscles after between 12 and 15 repetitions
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Although a disciplined routine typically produces higher strength levels in about a month, you'll hinder your progress if you test your muscles two days in a row. Resistance exercise promotes strength through a cycle of exhaustion and regrowth.
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An effective workout tires your muscles and triggers an alarm response --- or an adaptation process that allows the muscles to adapt to the challenge and strengthen for increased activity. Any muscle tested to a healthy level of fatigue often causes soreness and needs a minimum of 48 hours of rest. Your best chance to continue strength development and avoid muscle deterioration comes with a schedule that lets you work the muscle in your upper body on day and your lower-body muscles in the following workout.
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You'll have the greatest chance to meet your strength-building timeline by warming your muscles prior to a resistance workout with up to 10 minutes of mild aerobic exercise, including a brisk walk. Stretching your muscles at end of a workout is also beneficial in order to reduce discomfort and stiffness. Begin a resistance regimen only with your physician's consent.