strength training Archives

June 5, 2025 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Exercise and dieting helps you lose belly fat

Here are some effective strategies to lose belly fat and improve overall health:

Discover effective strategies to lose belly fat and improve your overall health. Learn about proven methods to reduce visceral fat and achieve your goals.

Create a calorie deficit: To lose belly fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. Calculate your daily calorie needs and ensure that you eat in a calorie deficit. Focus on nutrient-dense, whole foods or consider following a structured diet plan.
Regular exercise: Incorporate cardiovascular exercises such as running, swimming or cycling into your routine to burn calories and fat. Additionally, include strength training exercises like squats, lunges and planks to build muscle and increase your metabolism.
Reduce refined carbohydrates: Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta and sugary snacks. These foods can lead to weight gain and increased belly fat.
Increase protein intake: Including protein-rich foods such as lean meats, fish, beans and lentils in your diet can aid weight loss and promote feelings of fullness.
Eat more fruits and vegetables: These low-calorie, high-fibre foods help keep you satisfied while providing essential vitamins and minerals. They can also aid in reducing belly fat by supporting healthy digestion.
Mindful eating: Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues while eating. Avoid distractions and savour each bite. This can help prevent overeating and improve digestion.
Manage stress levels: High levels of stress can contribute to weight gain, particularly around the waistline. Engage in stress-reducing activities such as meditation, yoga or any hobby that helps you relax.
Limit alcohol consumption: Alcoholic beverages are high in empty calories and can contribute to weight gain, especially around the abdominal area. Cut back on how much you drink or opt for lower-calorie options.
Get quality sleep: A lack of quality sleep can lead to weight gain and an increase in visceral fat. Aim for 7–9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night to support your weight loss efforts.
Stay consistent and be patient: Losing belly fat takes time and commitment. Stay consistent with your healthy eating and exercise habits, and be patient with the process. Remember — slow and steady progress is more sustainable in the long run.

Note: It’s always a good idea to consult a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet or exercise routine.

Conclusion: Effective Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Achieve a Healthier Body

In conclusion, there are several effective ways to lose belly fat and achieve a healthier body. The first step is to commit to a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a balanced diet. Exercise is crucial in burning calories and reducing overall body fat, which in turn helps target belly fat. Incorporating both cardiovascular exercises, such as running or swimming, and strength training exercises, such as weightlifting or pilates, can help build lean muscle mass and boost metabolism.

Additionally, focusing on eating a diet rich in whole foods — like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains — while limiting processed and sugary foods, can greatly contribute to reducing belly fat. It is important to stay consistent and patient, as losing belly fat takes time and effort.

Lastly, remember that everyone’s body is different, so it’s important to listen to your own body and make necessary adjustments to find what works best for you in achieving a healthier body and losing belly fat.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health. Images shown are for representation purposes only and may not depict the exact recommendations or outcomes.

September 2, 2024 By Vandana Juneja 1 Comment

Strength Training Benefits For Aging Bodies

Strength training is essential for everyone, serving not just to enhance muscle strength but also to bolster overall health regardless of age. Whether you are 25 or 65, incorporating some form of strength training into your daily routine is beneficial, though the specifics of the exercises may vary depending on one’s age group.

In this blog post, I will discuss the changes that begin to occur in our bodies as we enter our thirties and forties—changes that are often less than welcome. More importantly, I’ll explore how strength training plays a crucial role in counteracting these changes and significantly enhancing the quality of our lives.

I have experienced the positive changes, that my body has undergone over the last 4-5 years, just by incorporating a strength training routine in the form of workouts with weights, and using my own body weight, as I do in my yoga practice. One can even use resistance bands, the various gym equipment, or own body weight for resistance, by doing push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, leg squats or push-ups against a wall etc.

What Happens As We Age?

The human body goes through changes as we age, and some of the effects are obvious, as we cross middle age. Even healthy, normal ageing includes:

A Slower metabolism
Decreased muscle mass and strength
Increased body fat
Reduced bone density
Increased bone porosity
Stiff joints
Slower reflexes and reaction times
Decreased aerobic capacity

These are normal changes that we may experience as we age, though the severity varies from person to person. One of the most important reasons to exercise, and specifically include strength training, is to slow and minimize these changes.

Benefits of Strength Training

1. Increases Muscle Mass
As you age, muscle mass gradually decreases – a condition known as Sarcopenia. Individuals who are less active can expect to lose between 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after turning 30, with this rate accelerating after age 65. By age of 70, the average adult may have lost up to 25% of their muscle mass primarily due to disuse and inactivity. However, this loss isn’t irreversible. Engaging in any form of exercise can help regain muscle mass and strength, but weight lifting, strength training, and resistance training are particularly effective. Research shows that after just six months of strength training twice a week, the biochemical, physiological, and genetic characteristics of older muscles can be rejuvenated by nearly 15 to 20 years.

2. Improves Bone Health
Bone fractures and breaks are quite prevalent among older adults due to decreased bone density and osteoporosis. While there are various causes of osteoporosis that may require medical intervention, substantial evidence suggests that exercise can significantly enhance bone density. Moreover, osteoporosis can be both prevented and managed through strength training. Just as muscles grow stronger with activity, bones also gain strength when engaged in physical exercise. Weight-bearing exercises, in particular, bolster bone health by stimulating the production of new cells.

3. Improves Functional Ability/Movement
Increasing strength through training is crucial for enhancing everyday functionality. Regular strength training enables older adults to enhance their mobility, walk longer distances, and potentially decrease their reliance on assistive devices such as canes and walkers.

Additionally, building strength supports a variety of functional movements, including walking, sitting down and standing up from chairs or beds, climbing stairs or escalators, and carrying groceries. These improvements in physical capabilities make daily life more manageable and empower individuals to engage in a wider range of activities that they desire to pursue.

4. Increases Metabolism
Strength training is highly effective for enhancing your metabolism, which is the rate at which your body burns calories while at rest. Engaging in strength training causes your body to require more energy based on the intensity of the exercise. This not only leads to calories being burned during the workout but also increases calorie burn after the workout as your body returns to a resting state. Additionally, hormones like Testosterone and DHEA, which are vital for strength and energy, naturally decrease with age. However, regular strength training can significantly boost these hormone levels within 8-12 weeks.

5. Improves Brain Health
Aging can increase the risk of loneliness, social isolation, depression, and other mental health challenges. However, building strength enhances mobility and functionality, which can significantly improve overall health, elevate mood, and enhance the quality of life. Additionally, resistance training has been shown to slow cognitive decline associated with aging. Studies indicate that lifting weights can improve memory, attention span, and conflict resolution skills.

6. Improves Health Conditions
Type 2 Diabetes: Strength training effectively lowers blood sugar levels and enhances insulin sensitivity. This improvement helps facilitate the transport of blood sugar into cells, thereby optimizing how the body utilizes glucose.

Cardiovascular Health: When properly executed, strength training benefits both the muscular and cardiovascular systems. Strengthened muscles reduce the workload on the heart, enabling the lungs to process oxygen more efficiently with less effort. This efficiency leads to the heart pumping more blood with fewer beats, which in turn increases the blood supply to the muscles.

How Often Should You Do It?

It is recommended to engage in strength training three to five times per week for 20 to 30 minutes at a moderate intensity or two to three times per week for 15 to 20 minutes at a high intensity. However, always consult your doctor before starting any workout regimen, particularly if you have any pre-existing medical conditions, and seek professional guidance to ensure the correct technique. This helps in preventing injuries and maximizing the benefits of your workouts, especially when focusing on larger muscle groups which offer greater returns.

Let’s move beyond using age as an excuse and start prioritizing muscle health to enhance both our physical health and psychological well-being!

We hope this article helps you care for your muscles a little more and helps you improve your physical and psychological well-being as well. If you’re about to begin your strength training routine or need help, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

Want to explore more articles on fitness? Click here.

#BeTheForce

February 13, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 2 Comments

Strength Training for Runners: A Comprehensive Guide

Dear marathoners/runners, I am sure this blog is going to catch your attention! Do read the article, and I would be happy to answer your questions!

Well, not just runners though! Whether you are a runner or cyclist or if you plan any endurance sport, strength training becomes very important. Everybody wants to be good at the sport they play, so this article will help give you some insights about various topics with regard to strength training.

In this blog, I shall take you through four main aspects namely

What is an endurance sport?
Why is strength training and its importance for an endurance sport?
If strength training is important, how much is too much or how much is ideal?
Which exercises should be included in strength training protocol?

All I knew was running is endurance. I knew of more examples but what exactly is endurance I couldn’t really get through. It’s over time that I learnt what endurance training means. Endurance training uses your aerobic system as opposed to your anaerobic system.

Aerobic system:- Body uses oxygen to produces energy

Anaerobic system:- Body does not use oxygen to produce energy

So why is strength training important for any endurance sport?

I come across runners who say, “I run 5k, 10k and 21k which takes a lot of energy, why should I put exact PRESSURE on my body?”

Here are 3 benefits of doing strength training from runners’ perspective!

Your pace will improve, you can run faster!

Your speed matters a lot when it comes to any marathons! What determines your speed?

Stride length
Stride Frequency

If you are a runner, it is important for you to know that stride length means how long is your step and stride frequency relates to how many steps you take per minute/second.

So the technical formula here is,

Speed= Stride length x Stride frequency.

But, what does this have to do with strength training? Well, to improve your speed/pace you have to take longer strides and of course faster strides

How to take longer strides?

Forcing your legs to the ground.

How to put more force?

For this, your legs should be strong.

How to make your legs stronger?

By doing strength training.

So, this shows that strength training is required to help runners run faster!

(2) With Strength training, your endurance will get better!

“How can strength training make endurance better? Endurance training will make endurance better right?” Well, the answer is that strength training and endurance training both are required and helps in increasing the endurance but the mechanism used is different.

Let me take you through some technicalities but in a way, you will understand. Are you aware of maximal aerobic capacity? Maximal aerobic capacity means the maximum rate of inhaling oxygen by your body during any exercise. Maximal aerobic capacity is also called as VO2max.

Your VO2max is made up of 2 components: Central and peripheral

Central component= Heart

Peripheral component= Muscle

VO2max = Q x (a – Vo2 difference)

Here is the complete breakup

Q is the Cardiac output

The cardiac output means how much blood your heart is able to pump per minute. This covers your central component

(a – Vo2 difference) where a is arteries and v is veins and this means that the difference between the oxygen in your arteries and veins.

Smaller the difference, more the endurance!

In simple words, it is the ability of your body to extract the oxygen from the blood. This covers your peripheral component

The reason why I have discussed this in depth is, because endurance training works on the central component which is the heart but the peripheral component which are the muscles is ignored. To get the maximum endurance it is important for your peripheral component to be strong and strength training here helps. High repetitions (reps) helps in pumping your peripheral component.

Hence, to improve your endurance you should do strength training.

(3) Strength training helps reduce injury risks!

Runners, I am sure you can relate to this! More kms to run, more risk of injuries! When I say injuries here I am talking about overuse injuries.

What is overuse injuries?

Your muscles, tendons and bones have a restriction to work.
When you cross that restriction, you tend to injure your muscles, tendons and bones.
Then post injury either you take a break from your routine or you do some other exercises.

Once the injury is done, we cannot do much about it but as the old adage goes – ‘Prevention is better than cure! Strength training helps in increasing the tolerance of your tissues to work which reduces the risk of overuse injuries and helps you train better

If strength training is important, how much is too much or how much is ideal?

There are 3 main points here which everyone should understand. Strength training of runners completely depends upon,

Distance
The phase of training (current phases and upcoming phases)
Goal

(1) Distance

Greater the distance to be covered, shorter is the strength training requirement.
For e.g., if you are running for 5k you need to do more strength training then someone who runs a 21k.
Goal strength training of a runner and the adaptability of the stress is completely different from all the other sports/events
A 5K runner needs about 65% of endurance training and 35% of strength training and for a runner who is planning to run 21k needs about 80% of endurance training and 20% of strength training.

Just because the proportion of strength training is less, it does not mean that we can skip it. As discussed above, strength training is equally important too.

(2) Phase of training (current phases and upcoming phases)

Training phase depends on your competition date
For example, your endurance training is lesser when your competition is about 3 months away which is the perfect time to concentrate on strength training.
Closer the competition, higher is the endurance training.

For example,

When competition is far away then do 2-4 sets 2-3 times per week

When competition is near then do 1-2 sets 1-2 times per week

Variations in between are always accepted.

(3) Goal

Every runner has a period where there are no marathons. This is called as “off-season”. You might be running very little so this gives you a chance to recover the lost muscle during the endurance period.

Most people are of the notion that strength training is only done to gain muscle mass or get those big biceps, chest and arms but that’s not true. I have mentioned above that strength training for everyone depends upon the goal they want to achieve.

Runners might be thinking that strength training will make them gain weight which will make it difficult for them to run but that’s not true at all. Protocol for runners’ strength training only depends upon their goal and not a generic plan which is followed.

When I talk about a goal for runners, during their off-season phase strength training can be done 3-4 times per week. Whenever the competition period comes near, strength training can be done 1-2 times per week and strength training will only be used to minimize muscle loss.

During endurance training, muscle loss is bound to happen but when you strength train the muscle loss will be reduced. The focus of adding strength training is, to only slow down the process of muscle loss or maintain muscle during the competition phase.

How does this muscle loss happen?

As I mentioned, your body has limited capacity to adapt to things. Either it can be endurance training or strength training. For an endurance athlete, adapting to endurance training is more important than strength training but a blend of both of these is important. Cardio and strength training are 2 opposite goals. While in cardio you burn muscles, strength training helps in building muscles. More endurance means more muscle loss, strength training helps in maintaining those muscles

Finally, which exercises should be included in strength training protocol?

I have been with athletes for a year now where I have seen that maximum of my athletes don’t train their legs or they avoid doing them. They often tell me that running in itself is a good exercise for legs so why should we add additional training?

Well, most of the runners have them but that’s not true. Runners have good endurance in their legs but that doesn’t mean that they are strong.

We have covered a lot of endurance and strength training. Now let me come to exercises that are important. Runners you don’t need to do lots of exercises but few major ones are important.

Focus on these lower body exercises first-

Level 1 Squats
Level 2 Lunges
Level 3 can be with deadlifts

Just as lower body exercises are a must, upper body exercises are also a must and should not be ignored. Well, your upper body counter-balances your lower body.

I am not sure if anybody has noticed but when you move your right leg ahead, your left arm goes ahead. If your upper body is not having enough strength then it can reduce the lower body force to coordinate with your upper body. Your lower body is definitely stronger than your upper body but if the imbalance increases, the performance of runners can be affected.

Focus on these upper body exercises first,

Level 1 pushups
Level 2 pull-ups
Head press

We hope this comprehensive guide empowers you to enhance your running performance through effective strength training. Share your thoughts or ask your questions in the comments below. For personalised guidance, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

January 27, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 1 Comment

How much strength training you should do?

In my previous article, I mentioned about how much cardio you should do? In that article, I have mentioned about 3 components of exercise: –

Cardio

Strength training

Flexibility

So, after writing about cardio exercises and how much one should be doing it, the next logical question which comes to the mind is how much strength training you should do?

When we talk about cardio, it becomes a bit easy to answer the question HOW MUCH? Because we can measure it in time but when we apply this question to strength training it becomes a bit tricky.

When people exercise, not everyone does it in the same way. Some people who exercise for 25 minutes are actually working out more than someone who does it for an hour.

When someone tells me that they exercise for 1.5 hours in the gym, my next question to them is – how can you do that?

So, this 1.5 hours includes 30 minutes of the workout, 15 minutes of phone checking session, 10 minutes of MIRROR SELFIES, 10 minutes of water break and some talks here and there.

This isn’t 1.5 hours of gym.

So, if I answer the question saying you can do strength training for 1 hour that won’t be fair.

When we talk about strength training in sports science,

How much? Means total volume per session.

How is this total volume per session calculated?

Number of sets x Number of repetitions x Weight in pounds

For example: –

Number of sets = 3

Number of repetitions= 10

Weight (60kg) = 132 pounds

Let’s put these values in the formula mentioned above: –

3x10x132 = 3960 pounds (1796 kg)

This means that the answer for how much strength training you should do?

Is 1796 kg for that particular workout?

I know, this was extremely technical for you and I don’t even want you to understand that because except the trainer, nobody actually even thinks about it.

So, my whole point is, do not quantify exercises in the terms HOW MUCH. The answer could be as tricky as the example mentioned above!

You should always focus on the following points when you talk about strength training exercises.

(1) What is your goal?

Same way as the cardio works, strength training to depends upon your goal. For a person who has to make a record in activities which needs strength will have a different goal as compared to a one who has to run a marathon.

Please note: – Everybody requires all the 3 components of the exercise as mentioned in my previous article and also mentioned in the first paragraph. All the components have to be modified based on the GOAL of the individual.

I don’t want my readers to get bored with these scientific basics so I have tried to put some generic numbers depending upon different goals but it may vary from person to person.

GOAL	How many times a week?	How many exercises?	How many sets?	How many reps?
Endurance athlete in sports season	Once	10-12	1-2	3-5
Endurance athlete not in sports season	Twice	4-10	2-4	5-15
Fat loss	Thrice	3-8	3-7	6-20
Muscle gain	4-5 times	4-8	3-10	3-12
Bone-strengthening	3-4 times	3-7	3-8	5-12
Strength training	3-12 times (2 times a day might also be needed)	2-6	3-10	1-5

(2) What is your level?

You are a beginner if you have never done any strength training exercises.
You are a beginner if you are resuming your strength training exercises after a gap of 6-7 months.
You are a beginner if you are doing exercises regularly but yet not reached your desired results (which also means that you are not working out properly)
You can do advanced strength training exercises only after 6 months of proper form.

(3) What is your intensity?

Higher intensity, less frequency helps you a lot if you are planning to lose weight.
Higher intensity strength training exercises less frequently can give you better results than lower intensity strength training exercises every day.

(4) What is your body’s response?

This is perhaps the most important part when you exercise. It all depends upon your body’s response. It depends on your age, metabolism.
For someone who is exactly same like you, working out like you will have different results as compared to you.
All you should do is continue on the right path, trust your body and everything will fall into place.

I always tell,

“Workout for fitness and good health, weight loss will come as a gift to you”

I will soon be out with different strength training exercises for different levels

If you found these insights on strength training valuable and have more questions or thoughts to share, feel free to drop a comment below! For a deeper dive into optimising your fitness journey, explore further articles on Healthy Reads. For personalised guidance on optimizing your health, consider subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

Your path to strength and fitness is unique – let’s make it extraordinary!

#BeTheForce

Exercise and dieting helps you lose belly fat

Conclusion: Effective Ways to Lose Belly Fat and Achieve a Healthier Body

Strength Training Benefits For Aging Bodies

What Happens As We Age?

Benefits of Strength Training

How Often Should You Do It?

Strength Training for Runners: A Comprehensive Guide

How much strength training you should do?

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