Resistance training encompasses any exercise that causes your muscles to work against an outside force. Resistance training can help you increase muscular strength and endurance3 to help you perform better as an athlete, in individual or team sports, as well as in daily physical and functional activities (e.g., reaching, climbing stairs, lifting and loading items, carrying groceries, picking up and holding children, etc.).
To get the most out of your resistance training sessions, having your goals in mind can help you decide where to focus your efforts. This is because your body adapts to and becomes more efficient at the exercises you do.3 Using different training techniques with your body weight (e.g., push-ups, squats, planks) and/or resistance training equipment (e.g., tension bands, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, sandbags, weight machines) can help you increase your balance and stability, your muscle strength and endurance, and/or your muscle size and power. You can progressively work toward any or all of these goals.
Here are 5 goals to consider from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM):
- Stabilization: Developing good stability around the joints and sufficient muscular endurance to produce good movement with a healthy range of motion.
- Muscular Endurance: The ability to produce and maintain force production for prolonged periods of time.
- Hypertrophy: Increased muscle size.
- Strength: The ability of the muscles to overcome external force, often using increasingly heavy loads.
- Power: The ability to produce the greatest possible force in the shortest amount of time (explosive movement).
It’s not necessary to achieve all of these goals, but there are benefits to each.3
For more on how to perform resistance training exercises to achieve these goals, see the specifics on sets, reps, tempo, intensity, and rest outlined by NASM.
Infographic
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5 Beginner Goals for Resistance Training – Infographic (pdf)
- NIKE, Inc. FY22 Impact Report. About.nike.com. Accessed April 11, 2024. https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/reports/fy22-nike-inc-impact-report;
- University of Oregon. Leadership and Legacy – Athletics and the University of Oregon. Accessed April 11, 2024 https://sportshistory.uoregon.edu/topics/the-track-and-field-legacy/famous-coaches/bill-bowerman/.
- Mahaffey K. Resistance training exercises & concepts you should use. NASM. Accessed April 5, 2024. https://blog.nasm.org/resistance-training.
