Getting stronger is one of the best resolutions you can make for your health. Regular strength training can help you live longer, lift your mood, enhance cognitive function and improve your bone density. Picking up a new skill can also boost feelings of self-efficacy, or your belief that you can accomplish a goal, which can help you stay motivated.
Building strength, stability and control in the weight room can help you move more easily in your daily life, whether you’re navigating uneven sidewalks or getting down on the floor to play with your kids. “We’re lifting weights so we can live well outside the gym,” said Marlie Cohen, a personal trainer in Toronto.
Here are five strength-training resolution ideas from fitness experts that apply to beginners and experienced lifters alike.
Build real-world strength.
Nearly all of your everyday movements, even ones as simple as getting into and out of a chair, use multiple joints and muscles. And just like any feat of strength, training can help you perform those movements properly and without pain.
“We have to think about daily life as an athletic event,” said Disa Hatfield, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. “You want to remain a competitor as long as possible.”
Most of your everyday tasks involve one of these six movements: hinge, squat, lunge, push, pull, rotate. All of these motions can be trained in the gym using your body weight or minimal equipment. Start by doing a full-body workout that incorporates those movements twice a week. Make sure to take 48 hours of rest between full-body workouts to properly recover.
Master the deadlift.
Being able to stabilize your core while lifting a heavy object from the floor is also important for everyday movements like picking up your child or lifting bags of groceries.
For those reasons, this classic exercise is “one of the most practical ways to train for strength and longevity,” Ms. Cohen said.
Begin by practicing the movement with just your body weight — moving with poor form or adding weight too quickly can increase your risk of injury, said Miho Tanaka, the director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Mass General Brigham in Boston.
Once you feel comfortable, try a kettlebell deadlift or Romanian deadlift, both of which can help you learn to engage your lower-body muscles instead of your back when lifting an object. From there, you can add moves like single-arm suitcase deadlifts, which also challenge your stability, and dumbbell deadlifts.
You can incorporate deadlifts into a lower-body workout or full-body workout. Begin with a light weight and aim for three sets of six to eight repetitions with about 90 seconds to two minutes of rest in between sets.
Follow a plan, and track your progress.
A good workout program should provide a road map for you to reach your goals, and tracking your progress can help you recognize how far you’ve come. This may seem basic, but Justin Ross, a clinical psychologist and coach who works with athletes of all levels, said he often sees clients who tried to wing it at the gym and then pushed themselves too hard. By the time he meets with them, Dr. Ross said, they may be burned out and avoiding tracking their workouts because it feels intimidating.
“There may be a self-imposed judgment that what they’re currently capable of doing isn’t enough,” he said. “Yet, we know that tracking is one of the fastest ways to build confidence.”
A well-designed training plan can also help you look at your goal as a series of smaller, more attainable steps. If you’re not sure where to start, a personal trainer or coach can help you build a plan tailored to you.
When it comes to logging your workouts, Dr. Ross suggests keeping it simple. “Track only what’s useful, not everything.” he said. “Treat the log as information, not judgment.” Record how much you lifted, your repetitions and sets and any relevant notes about how you felt. You should refer to those notes when deciding whether to add weight or volume to your next workout.
“The goal isn’t perfection,” Dr. Ross said. “It’s building awareness and trust that small, consistent actions add up over time.”
Train closer to failure.
To increase your strength, you have to push your muscles beyond your present capacity. That usually means approaching failure, or the point where you feel as if your form would break down or your muscles would be too exhausted to complete the exercise if you tried to do just one or two more repetitions.
When you first start strength training, you may notice some quick gains in your strength. But if you keep moving the same weights for the same number of repetitions week after week, you’re likely to hit a plateau because your muscles will adapt to that level of fitness, Dr. Tanaka said.
You’ll typically see those initial strength increases during your first eight to 10 weeks of training, Dr. Hatfield said. But it’s normal to plateau after that, and you’ll have to work harder to keep progressing.
“When you’re going through the motions and you’re not feeling that challenge anymore, it’s time to move up,” Ms. Cohen said.
To figure out when it’s time to add weight to your lifts, you can use what’s called the “reps in reserve” scale. As you reach the end of a set, estimate how many more repetitions you think you can do without your form breaking down from exhaustion. When you first start lifting, you can stop around five or six repetitions short of failure and still make progress. As you get stronger, if you feel like you have more than two additional repetitions left in the tank, try picking up a heavier weight.
Make time for recovery.
Rest is a key component of any exercise program, but it’s particularly important if you’re new to strength training. Unfamiliar exercises are especially tiring for your muscles, and your body needs time to repair itself so it can adapt and get stronger.
Dr. Tanaka said most of the common injuries she sees around the start of the year are the result of people going too hard, too fast. When your muscles reach their limit, the joints and tendons often pick up more of the load, which can increase injury risk. “Your body can only really make gains at a certain rate,” she said. “We can’t double our strength in a week or two.”
Before your workout, aim for five minutes of dynamic mobility exercises so you’re warmed up. This is particularly important as you age, since your muscles become stiffer, Dr. Tanaka said. Choose movements that complement the exercises you’ll be doing: Try arm circles before shoulder exercises, for example, and 90/90 hip rotations before squats, lunges and deadlifts.
If you’re new to lifting weights, it’s generally a good idea to move slowly through each exercise to make sure you’re engaging the right muscles and moving with proper form, though you should know that this can also make you feel more sore after a workout.
For full recovery, Dr. Hatfield generally recommends taking around 48 hours between sessions. During that time, gentle movement like swimming, a light jog or a walk can help your body bounce back.
Alyssa Ages is a journalist in Toronto and the author of “Secrets of Giants: A Journey to Uncover the True Meaning of Strength.”
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