8 tips for safe and effective strength training

1. Always warm up and cool down properly.
2. Use proper form to avoid injuries and maximize gains. You can learn good form through a class or one-on-one sessions with a certified exercise professional.
3. Breathe out when you are lifting or pushing; breathe in as you slowly release the load or weight. Never hold your breath while straining. This action, called the Valsalva maneuver, can temporarily raise your blood pressure considerably and can be risky for people with cardiovascular disease.
4. Don't lock your joints; always leave a slight bend in your knees and elbows when straightening out your legs and arms.
5. Don't be so eager to see results that you risk hurting yourself by exercising too long or choosing too much weight. And remember that it's important to rest muscles for at least 48 hours between strength training sessions.
6. If you've been sick, give yourself one or two days off after recovering. If you were ill for a while, you may need to use lighter weights or less resistance when you first resume exercising.
7. Strength training exercises should not cause pain while you are doing them. If an exercise or movement causes significant pain, stop doing it! When performing an exercise, stick with a range of motion that feels comfortable. Over time, try to gradually extend that range.
8. Listen to your body and cut back if you aren't able to finish a series of exercises or an exercise session, can't talk while exercising, feel faint after a session, feel tired during the day, or suffer joint aches and pains after a session.

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off

Exercise may help people avoid regaining weight after successful dieting, according to a new study. It shows that exercise can crucially alter the body’s response to weight loss and potentially stop unwanted pounds from creeping back on.

The study, published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, offers rare good news about exercise and body weight. As readers of the Phys Ed column know, the relationship between the two is tangled. Multiple past studies have found that exercise alone — without food restriction — rarely reduces weight and frequently adds pounds, since many people feel hungry after workouts and overeat.

In general, most nutrition experts agree that to lose weight, you must reduce calories, whether you exercise or not. Take in fewer calories than your body burns and by the ineluctable laws of math, you will drop pounds.

Unfortunately, that same heartless math dictates that weight loss then makes it difficult to stay thin. After losing weight, your body burns fewer calories throughout the day than it did before, because you have less body mass using energy.

Meanwhile, for reasons that are not fully understood, many people become more sedentary after they lose weight. Studies show that non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or N.E.A.T. — a measure of how much energy people use to stand, fidget, walk to the car and otherwise move around without formally exercising — often declines substantially after weight loss, perhaps because the body thinks you are starving and directs you to stay still and conserve energy.

The upshot is that successful dieters typically burn fewer calories each day than they did when they were heavier, which sets them up for weight regain.

Enter exercise. Past studies have found that people who begin or continue an exercise program after losing weight are less likely to experience as much regain. But scientists have been less clear about how exercise protects against rebound pounds, and what types of exercise might be best.

So researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham decided to closely study the effects of exercise during that pivotal time just after someone has reached his or her goal weight.

They began by recruiting about 100 overweight, sedentary women, all of whom agreed to undertake a stringent diet, consisting of only 800 calories per day. The women also completed an array of baseline tests to determine their body composition, resting metabolic rate, daily levels of N.E.A.T., and walking economy, which tells scientists how easy it is for them to move around. The Alabama researchers also used an elaborate equation to establish how much time the women were moving each day

Then a third of the women were asked not to exercise.

Another third began a supervised aerobic exercise program, consisting of about 40 minutes of walking or jogging on a treadmill at a brisk pace three times a week.

The final third started supervised upper- and lower-body weight training three times per week.

Each woman, whether she exercised or not, stayed on the 800-calorie daily diet until she had lost 25 pounds. At that point, she continued to follow the exercise instructions and transitioned for a month to a customized, supervised diet designed to keep her in energy balance, or at a level intended to make her neither gain nor lose weight. The scientists wished to focus more on movement patterns than eating habits.

What they found was that the women who did not exercise generally did not move much either. They spent fewer minutes each day in motion than they had before their weight loss. Their levels of N.E.A.T. fell significantly. Their resting metabolic rates also declined, since they weighed less. Over all they were burning considerably fewer calories each day than before they had shed the 25 pounds.

Meanwhile, the women who exercised had a drop-off in their resting metabolic rates after losing the weight, as expected, but much less of a slump in their everyday movements. Their levels of N.E.A.T. — the calories they burned in activities apart from exercise — declined only slightly for the exercising volunteers as a group, and some women increased how much they moved. They walked, stood, took the stairs and fidgeted more than they had before their weight loss.

This increase in N.E.A.T. was most common among the women who weight trained. Those who lifted weights also, interestingly, tended to have better walking economy; movement felt easier for them than it did before the weight loss. At the same time, many of the women who did not exercise showed worse movement economy, even though they now weighed less.

Over all, the data suggest that exercise — and, in particular, weight training — after weight loss prompts people to move more throughout the day, said Gary R. Hunter, a distinguished professor in the department of human studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and lead author of the study. As a result, they burn more calories and, with some discipline about food intake, should stave off weight regain.

This study, though, was relatively short-term and narrow, using only female volunteers and following them for only a month. Whether the results would be similar over a longer period, for men, or for those who begin exercising only after they have lost weight remains to be determined, Dr. Hunter said.

But even so, “It seems clear that exercise is very important if you wish to keep the weight off,” he said.

Fuel Up Pre- & Post-Run with These Meals & Snacks

Running on an empty stomach isn’t for everyone—especially when the training plan calls for major effort with distance, speed, or both! But lacing up with a full tummy isn’t exactly a recipe for success either. “You want to make sure you have enough fuel in the tank to get through your workout, but not so much that it leads to GI distress,” says recent marathoner and MyFitnessPal registered dietitian Elle Penner, M.P.H, R.D. Here are her tips for pre- and post- run fueling.

Before Your Run Pre-fuel with a carbohydrate-rich snack 30 to 60 minutes before you hit the pavement. “Be sure to avoid high-fiber and fat—they take more effort for your body to digest and can cause an upset stomach while striding,” says Penner. Good options include a piece of fruit, a slice of toast with jam, or a low-fiber granola bar. More smart tips:

• Drink a tall glass of water to hydrate and help digest your snack before heading out.
• Stay away from orange or grapefruit juice, the acidity can irritate your stomach.
• Consider hydrating with diluted sports drink instead of water—the added carbohydrates will help keep you going.

After Your Run Re-fuel with a meal or snack that contains complex carbohydrates and protein within 1 hour of your sweat session to replenish glycogen stores and encourage muscle repair. “A piece of fruit and a small handful of nuts is all you need after a run lasting 60 minutes or less, but you’ll want to have something more substantial after longer distances and harder efforts,” says Penner. Some post-training meal ideas:

• A Greek yogurt parfait with granola, fruit, and a sprinkle of nuts or seeds
• A smoothie made with Greek yogurt, frozen berries, and sliced avocado, a dollop of peanut butter, or flax or chia seeds for a dose of healthy fats
• Oatmeal (made with milk for added protein), topped with dried or fresh fruit, nuts, or nut butter
• An omelette made with whole eggs and sautéed veggies (think: spinach, tomato, caramelized onions), a slice of whole grain toast, and a cup of reduced-fat milk.

Should I Eat Back My Exercise Calories?

Congrats! You’ve gone to the gym, put in some time on the treadmill and now have a few hundred extra calories in the bank. But what do you do with those extra exercise calories? Should you run to the kitchen and gobble them up, save them for a special weekend treat or ignore them altogether?

When faced with this decision, it’s important to consider several factors, most notably your weight goal (whether you’re wanting to lose, gain or maintain), the frequency, intensity and duration of your exercise, and your overall level of hunger.

For the average exerciser trying to lose or maintain weight (i.e. someone who burns an additional 200-500 calories a few times per week), exercise calories don’t make up a significant portion of overall calorie burn, generally in the 1500-2200 per day range. Unless you’re exercising at a moderate to high intensity for an hour or more, several times a week, or are actively trying to gain weight, you most likely don’t need to be worried about eating all of those calories back.

The main reason is this: It’s easy, and fairly common to overestimate calorie burn (both from everyday activity and from exercise) and underestimate calorie consumption. By going out of your way to eat back every calorie you expend during exercise, you may unintentionally undermine your efforts to lose or maintain your weight. Additionally, you could be overriding your body’s hunger cues if you don’t feel particularly keen for those exercise calories but eat (or drink) them back them anyway. If your body isn’t telling you it needs fuel, it’s best to save your exercise calories for when you want them–say, for an unexpected hunger pang or a weekend treat meal with friends.

Now if you’re trying to lose weight, chances are you’ll be on the hungry side even without exercising since MyFitnessPal’s weight loss calorie goals are calculated independent of exercise. The upside to this is that those exercise calories become a “bonus”–so if your workout leaves you feeling a bit hungry afterwards, by all means you should enjoy the bump in calories and eat something. (Just read the 5 tips below beforehand to make the most of them!)

The vast majority of us who are trying to shed a few pounds or maintain our weight need not be concerned about eating back all of our exercise calories, but those trying to gain weight, and/or who are training heavily several times per week should be mindful about getting in enough calories–both to fuel physical activity and promote muscle growth, repair and recovery. For those of you who fall into this category, here are some great pre- and post-workout meals and snacks.

Whether you’re exercising to lose, gain or maintain your weight, improve your fitness level, or just reduce stress, one thing to remember when eating back exercise calories is that the quality of those calories is just as important as the quantity.

To help you get the most out of those hard earned calories, here are 5 tips to healthfully handle those post-workout hunger pangs:

1. Start with a hydration check. Thirst can be misinterpreted for hunger so, if you’re on the fence about whether you need to refuel or not, make sure you’re not just dehydrated. Here aresome hacks from other MyFitnessPal users for staying well hydrated.

2. Hone in on your hunger cues. Rather than running for the kitchen cabinet the moment you get home from your workout, trust your tummy to tell you if you need a post-workout snack.

3. Don’t get stuck on the number. Remember, the calories you eat and exercise off are estimations, and we’re more likely to overestimate calories burned from exercise. If hunger hits between meals, start slow–particularly if you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight. Begin by eat back a percentage of your exercise calories (say, 50%) rather than all of them, and see how you feel in 20-30 minutes.

4. Focus on high-quality protein and wholesome carbohydrates. Doing so will optimize muscle repair and recovery.

5. Spread ‘em out. Our bodies aren’t able to store protein like carbohydrates and fat so, if you have a significant number of calories to eat back (lucky you!), be sure to include protein with each meal and snack over the course of the day for optimal muscle building and repair.

Nutrition Note: Large calorie deficits over time, whether through calorie restriction, exercise or a combination of the two, can lead to nutrient deficiencies and other health problems, so it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor or dietitian if you are unsure about how many calories (exercise or otherwise) you should be consuming.