March 22, 2018

3 Reasons You Need to Train Using Different Resistance Levels

For anyone who's serious about getting in the best shape of their life (or even just better shape), resistance training is an indisputable means to an end. It helps you build muscle, burn fat and by extension, it amps up your metabolism.

However, one resistance does not fit all. You cannot pick a single poundage as your panacea for all your workout needs. It simply won't give you the well-rounded, full-realized results you want -- that all of us want, really.

Here's exactly why you need to work at -- and work with -- different resistance levels.

1. You need different resistance levels to train different muscle groups.

Your muscles are not all the same size. It doesn’t take an expert in kinesiology to figure out that smaller muscles generally lift lighter weights, and bigger muscles lift heavier weights.

Compare the amount you’re able to move doing a back fly to the amount you can move doing a pullover. Both exercises are meant to work your back, but In a fly, you’re working a relatively small muscle group; namely, the rhomboids. When you do a pullover, you use your lats — a much larger muscle. As a result, you can pullover significantly more than than you fly — usually up to at least twice as much.

So, if you want to sculpt a lean, strong and optimally functional body that looks great and is less prone to injury, you need to work all the major and minor muscle groups, so you need at least a few different resistance options.

2. You need different resistance levels to facilitate growth.

When you start training, a couple sets of bodyweight squats might max you out. However, as you continue training — and as your muscles continue to grow stronger — you will graduate beyond bodyweight exercises. This is when you should load up. At first, a pair of 5 lbs dumbbells could do the trick, but eventually, you will move beyond this weight too.

Of course, you could be content with your gains from bodyweight exercises alone, but for the majority of us, once we see what our bodies are capable of achieving, we want to see more. Gradually increasing resistance is one of the very best ways to break through plateaus and build an even stronger, leaner body.

3. You need different resistance levels to facilitate different kinds of training.

Another way to keep the good gains coming is to switch up your type of training. Loading up with heavier weights for rep-based training is the best to build lots of lean muscle mass, while stripping down to nothing but an 8 lb weight-vest for a heart-pounding, high-rep plyometric workout will crush calories and sculpt your body. For targeted training of abs, glutes, and core our Booty Bands are magic.

Just like your mind, your body can get bored of the same old, same old. To keep the love alive and the results rolling in, add variety. Variety, after all, is the spice of life, and when it comes to keeping your workout relevant, using different resistance levels is one of the easiest ways to apply this spice liberally and effectively.