With summer just around the corner, fitness is at the forefront of everyone's mind. And we all know everyone loves a fun, effective workout. So if you're not already doing so, add Lagree and spice up your workout routine.
Lagree isn’t just a hot workout trending worldwide today—it’s fitness revolutionized. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “is Lagree strength training?” well it’s that and much more. You get cardio, endurance, flexibility, balance, and strength in one killer dynamic workout.
In this article, we clarify what strength training is and take a look at the abundance of benefits it comes with. We’ll also try and help you gain a better understanding of the following:
- Is Pilates resistance training?
- Resistance training vs. weight training
- Is Pilates a form of strength training?
When it comes to fitness, a simple Google search can turn into information overload. And much of the information floating out there is often inaccurate and misleading. We hope this article gives you at least a bit more clarity about strength training.
Plus, we encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and try Lagree. There’s no doubt it’ll check most, if not all, of the boxes for your strength training needs.
What Is Strength Training?
Strength training is any exercise that uses resistance while performing eccentric, concentric, and isometric movements. Today, it's a popular type of workout among men an women alike.
Also known as resistance training, strength training involves varying degrees of resistance. Free weights, machines, and body weight are examples of resistance used for strength training1.
It should come at no surprise that strength training is a vital component of fitness. This is easy to see once you understand the extent of the benefits strength training offers. Let’s take a look at some of these powerful benefits. You'll see why you should include strength training in your fitness routine if you aren’t already.
Benefits of Strength Training
Burn more calories, reduce body fat, and increase lean muscle mass—where do I sign up? Strength training helps you do all of the above efficiently. And that’s just the icing on the cake when it comes to the advantages of strength training.
Increased Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Control
The resistance used in strength training challenges your muscles, ultimately increasing muscular strength. Through continuous repetition, strength training also helps with muscular endurance. This improves your ability to perform certain exercises for a longer duration. And when you strengthen your muscles, you gain more control of them. Say hello to improved coordination and motor skills. These are the benefits that enhance your overall well-being.
Improved Bone Density
Resistance training isn’t restricted to strengthening the muscles. The stress you place on your bones in strength training helps you to develop stronger bones. By increasing your bone density, you reduce the risk of osteoporosis2.
Helps Manage Chronic Conditions
Believe it or not, strength training can reduce symptoms of many chronic conditions.
Some examples include:
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Back pain
- Arthritis
Try strength training to better manage any chronic condition you suffer from. Ultimately it will help you improve your overall quality of life.
Whole Body Strength and Muscle Mobility
You get a full-body workout with Lagree, strengthening several muscle groups simultaneously. In addition to major muscle groups, you strengthen stabilizing muscles as well. The Megaformer allows you to move in multiple planes of motion, improving mobility.
Creates a Strong Mind-Body Connection
Lagree helps you build better body awareness. Slow, controlled movements combined with a focus on your breath make this possible. This allows you to pay closer attention to your form. Doing so helps you properly execute the movements of each exercise3. This sense of mindfulness helps you become more attuned to your body’s needs. Plus, it also helps to prevent injury.
What Counts as Strength Training?
In the world of fitness, there are a lot of contrasting opinions, even among the experts. This makes it difficult to determine what workout you should do to target specific goals. One example of this is when it comes to what types of exercise count as strength training. If we're talking about building strength, we could be looking at resistance training vs weight training.
When you think of strength training, weight lifting is likely one of the first things to come to mind. A Pilates class isn’t what I think of when I want to focus on building strength. But guess what? This is an outdated and also inaccurate view on strength training. You can count Pilates as a form of strength training.
We need to start expanding our idea of strength training. First, let's get rid of the pilates vs strength training mentality. In a way, that would be like thinking chocolate chip cookies vs dessert.
Weight-free classes, such as Pilates and yoga, should be included. To be clear, I'm talking about the fast-paced sweat seshes. The classes focused more on stretching, relaxation, and breathing are great, too4. They come with their own benefits, but these classes don’t count as strength training.
Here’s the thing—any workout that helps you tone and build muscle can be classified as strength training. Different types of exercise offer various degrees of strength training. The workout's intensity and resistance level determine how effective your results will be.
For instance, let's consider traditional mat Pilates. This example of lower-resistance functional strength training typically relies on body weight. Pilates classes that use machines with changeable spring loads offer higher-resistance strength training. Yes, Lagree is strength training one hundred percent.
But what about resistance training vs. weight training? Since all strength training is resistance training, this might seem like a trick question. But we're referring to resistance training that uses bands, springs, or body weight. There is a significant contrast when the resistance comes from using weights.
Weight lifting is a specific type of strength training that utilizes heavy equipment. This includes heavier dumbbells, barbells, or other machines found in most gyms. If your goal is to increase the size of your muscles, weight training is the key. When a guy is looking to bulk, he won't be found in a pilates class. You can't increase muscle mass with Pilates or other forms of lighter-resistance training. That being said, men I encourage you to not rule out the power of Lagree.
Why Lagree Is Considered Strength Training
Because strength training includes any workout that helps build strength, it's clear why Lagree is included. Lagree is a form of strength training, often referred to as resistance training. The use of the springs on the Megaformer creates variable resistance.
With Lagree, you experience strength training benefits, like increased muscular strength and endurance. And when practiced consistently, Lagree opens up an entire plethora of benefits.
You can tone and lengthen your muscles while simultaneously elevating your heart rate. This is achieved through exercises performed utilizing the time-under-tension technique. Take a Lagree class and kill two birds with one stone. You can check off your strength training and cardio workout with a single class. Lagree helps improve balance and flexibility while burning calories—long after class ends.
Level Up Your Strength Training with Lagree
Regardless of your fitness goals, strength training plays a significant role in your overall health and wellness. You may want to combine resistance training with weight training for optimal results.
There are many ways to include strength training in your regular workout plan. It's going to depend on your personal fitness goals and preferences. Seasonality also plays a role in determining your specific goals.
As summer nears, shredding and weight loss may be a priority. Long gone are the days where sticking strictly to cardio is the answer to hitting those goals. In fact, that's a mistake many make—focusing on cardio and overdoing it. Sure cardio is great, and getting outside to do so when the weather warms up is a wonderful idea, but strength training also has incredible power to boost metabolism and torch unwanted fat.
If you’re used to traditional weightlifting, it’s a great idea to mix things up a bit. Try adding a couple of classes, like Lagree, for instance, to your regular gym sessions each week. Remember, you get cardio and strength training all in one with Lagree—and so much more!
Lagree strength training is an excellent way to enhance your fitness regimen. If you aren’t already including it in your workouts, we urge you to do so ASAP. And if you are—take your strength training to the next level with Lagree.
You know the multitude of benefits of strength training we just talked about? Experience all of those and more, and start Lagree strength training with Pilates Plus LA!
Sources:
1 Mirror
