Everything you Need to Know About Resistance Training

In partnership with Insure Fitness Group

If you're a personal trainer or fitness professional, you probably spend a ton of your time looking for the perfect exercise that’s convenient, healthy and applicable to the largest set of clientele possible. But, as a personal trainer or fitness professional, you probably also know that there’s no one single exercise out there that’s perfect for everybody.

When it comes to your clients, they’re all on different levels, have different goals and are interested in different types of workouts, so it seems incredibly unlikely that there would be one type of exercise out there that’s applicable to everyone, right?

While that might be technically true, we’ve got good news—there is one type of exercise that comes pretty damn close to being a universally recognized fantastic fit for everyone, no matter their age, body type, level or goal. That type of exercise is known as resistance training.

You’ve probably heard of resistance training before. In fact, it’s probable that you, or your clients, are already taking part in resistance training. But if you weren’t aware of how exceptionally universal resistance training is or how many insane benefits you and your clients can reap by participating in it, then you’re in for a treat!

WHAT EXACTLY IS RESISTANCE TRAINING (AND HOW EXACTLY DOES IT WORK?)

At its most basic, resistance training is defined as any type of exercise that’s aiding your muscles to contract against an external force of resistance. Typically, this happens with resistance tools like bands, dumbbells, suspension equipment, weight machines, or even your own body weight (that’s right, bodyweight exercises are considered to be resistance training exercises).

Resistance training is an incredibly vast type of exercise—it can range from things like Olympic lifting to pushups to weighted bands to medicine balls. It’s broad, but with the right tools, it can make for a heck of a workout.

This type of training can help to increase muscle tone, strength, mass and endurance. So, in other words, it’s a relatively well-rounded way to exercise. The idea behind resistance training is that your body will work hard to overcome a resisting, external force when needed (like when your body needs to pull up on a bar or your leg needs to stretch a rubber exercise band away from a stationary object). That resistance stimulates muscle contraction, and when trained consistently and repeatedly, can help increase the size, tone, and endurance of your muscle groups.

THE BENEFITS OF RESISTANCE TRAINING

Because of everything that can be encompassed in resistance training, it probably already makes sense how it’s an excellent, universal exercise for most—if not all—of your clients. Resistance training is adaptable, flexible, can easily be adjusted, and when done correctly can offer serious benefits to your clients. An additional benefit is that it's easier than ever to include this type of exercise in your clients’ workout plans—whether you operate out of a gym, a garage, an outdoor park, a studio, or something else given their portability! 

IT’S FOR EVERY SEGMENT OF CLIENT

Because resistance training has so many different types of exercises underneath its encompassing umbrella, it’s truly a beneficial choice for every type of client you might want to work with. If you have a client who’s primarily focusing on cutting weight and toning up, introducing them to reliable resistance equipment, can help them to focus on aerobic exercises with quick, light reps in order to engage their cardiovascular system while working muscles. If you have a client whose primary focus is to bulk up and put on mass, resistance training through free weights, resistance bands, and weight machines can be largely beneficial. Resistance training is hugely beneficial for all types of clients, with all types of goals, on all types of fitness journeys—it’s one of the only types of exercise out there that can largely be tailored to anyone and everyone.

IT DOESN’T HAVE AN AGE LIMIT

Resistance training is hugely beneficial for clients in any range. Unlike more intense exercises (like heavy lifting, endurance training, and exercises that require big, compound movements), resistance training can be perfectly adjusted to fit the needs of whichever age range you’re working with. From the young-and-buff 20-something that you’re helping to prepare for competition to the more delicate 80-year-old client who just wants to stay in tip-top shape, resistance training can work wonders for both of them. There’s not specific client type, as we mentioned above, which also means there’s not specific client age. Because of the flexibility, adaptability, and broad range of resistance training exercises out there, this is a section of exercise that anyone, no matter what age, can take part in.

YOU DON’T NEED A GYM

The best part about resistance training? You don’t need a gym membership, a ton of equipment, or even a personal trainer (sorry, guys, but it’s true) to do it regularly. This should be a huge selling point for your clients for several reasons. Resistance training absolutely can and should happen at a gym, but it’s by no means required. If your clients invest in some of their own resistance training equipment and work with you, their trainer, to come up with a comprehensive program, they’re more than likely going to be able to exercise anywhere—not just at a gym.