(BPT) - Is strength training a regular part of your gym workout? If not, it's time to add a few sets in to your fitness routine.
Cardio is great, but it's better when paired with strength training. Each type of exercise has its own role to play. Cardio - as the name implies - supports your cardiovascular health and can improve your endurance and lung capacity. Strength training helps you build muscle mass, which plays a significant part in maintaining your overall health and wellness.
Why is building muscle important?
As you age, you naturally lose lean muscle mass. Regular strength training can help you gain and maintain lean muscle mass, which can also help improve your balance.
According to the Mayo Clinic, strength training is a key component of overall health and fitness and can help you:
- Develop strong bones
- Manage weight
- Improve your quality of life
- Manage chronic conditions
- Enhance your thinking skills
Strength training can also help you meet your fitness goals more efficiently than cardio alone.
If you're new to strength training, it can be intimidating to start. A good goal is to aim for 2-3 days of strength training workouts per week in a comfortable environment. Below, you'll find three strength machine exercises that can help you get started on your journey of getting stronger.
1. Supine bench press
A supine bench press can be used to work your chest, shoulders and triceps using a natural, strength-building motion.
To perform this exercise on a machine, lie on your back on the bench with your feet flat on the ground. Add your choice of weighted plates, starting small, and grip the handles to raise the weight over your chest. Keep your arms slightly wider than your shoulders. Lower the machine to your chest, elbows out, pause for a moment, and then press them back up.
2. Hack squats
Squats help strengthen your body's base and improve your stability and posture. When you do squats, you're targeting your quads and glutes, providing a complete lower body workout.
A variation on the traditional squat is a hack squat. A hack squat is performed on a special piece of equipment that may remind you of a reverse leg press machine.
Performing a hack squat is fairly simple. Stand in the hack squat machine with your feet on the platform, about shoulder width apart, and rest your shoulders and hips on the back rest. Grab the handlebars, inhale, and bend your knees until you're parallel to the ground. Then, exhale and press through your feet to straighten your legs and stand.
3. Seated calf raises
How often do you think about your calf strength? Every day, your calves help you walk, run, jump and perform other daily activities. Strong calves also support your ankles, improving stability. The perfect exercise to target your calves (and also work out your hamstrings!) is a seated calf raise.
Using a plate-loaded seated calf machine, make sure you're seated with your feet positioned slightly narrower than your hips. With a comfortable amount of weighted plates, press through your toes and lift your heels. You should feel your calf muscles squeeze. Hold for a moment, then slowly relax down. Remember to keep your knees aligned.
One place with all the equipment you need
One surefire way to safely and easily perform these three strength training exercises and more is to join a gym that has all the right equipment in a supporting community.
For example, Planet Fitness is dedicated to providing its members with best-in-class strength (and cardio) equipment. Industry trends have continued to show consumers looking for more strength equipment. To meet these demands, Planet Fitness is offering new plate-loaded equipment including Magnum Supine Bench Presses, Magnum Hack Squats and Seated Calf machines. The equipment is now in 1,700 clubs and expected to be available in nearly all clubs by the end of 2025.
New members can sign up for a high value membership with thousands of convenient locations (many open 24 hours) starting at $15 a month. To learn more and find a gym near you, visit PlanetFitness.com.
