Editor’s note: “Fitness Facts” is a weekly fitness and exercise column. If you would like to ask a fitness related question to Irene Lewis McCormick, graduate student in health and human performance, she can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Q: I just read in USA Today (June 1, 1998) that a person only needs to do 13 exercises with weights at 75% of their maximum to gain benefits from exercising with weights. Is that true?

A: Yes, and any personal trainer or exercise professional worth her (or his) salt will confirm this. Now that this “information” is in USA Today, suddenly people are taking notice!?

Much has been written about the benefits of cardiovascular training, but until recently only a little attention had been given to strength training. There are more myths and misconceptions about strength training than any other area of fitness. While research continues to uncover more reasons why working out with weights is good for you, many people avoid resistance training, especially women, for fear of developing Herculean size and proportion.

You don’t need to be a bodybuilder (or become one) to benefit from strength training. A well-designed strength-training program can provide the following benefits:

• Increased strength of bones, muscles and connective tissue (tendons and ligaments).

• Increased muscle mass — most adults lose about 1 pound of muscle mass per year after the age/s of 20-25 and gain between 1-10 pounds of fat each decade! This is largely due to decreased activity, eating too much dietary fat and a decreased BMR (basal metabolic rate). Muscle tissue is partly responsible for the number of calories burned at rest. As muscle mass increases, BMR increases making it easier to maintain a healthy body weight.

• Enhanced quality of life. As general strength increases, the effort required to perform daily routines will become less taxing.

You should consult with a certified, personal trainer to learn safe and proper lifting techniques before starting a strength-training program. Be sure you have a medical doctor’s release before starting ANY exercise program. The prescription in which you will definitely see changes in your body composition (the ration of lean mass to fat mass) consists of the following:

• 8-12 repetitions (this refers to how many times the weight is lifted), working the muscle to the point of fatigue is usually sufficient.

• Breath normally through out the exercise. Lower the resistance with slow, controlled cadence throughout a full range of motion.

• Lifting the weight to a count of two and lowering it to a count of 3 or 4 is effective.

• When you can lift and lower the weight 12 times correctly, without cheating (this includes swinging the weight, dropping the weights, not using full range of motion), increase the amount of resistance by 5-10% to continue to progress safely.

• Machines and free weights are effective tools for strength training. Using both machines and free weights provides variety, which offers subtle differences that will enhance your progress and also provide variety for both psychological and physiological reasons.

• Aim to exercise each muscle group at least two times per week with at least two days of rest in between. Training more frequently or adding more sets may lead to slightly greater gains, but the added benefit may not be worth the extra time and effort (and incidences of injury) unless you have very specific goals, such as training for an event or competitive sport.

• To help keep your motivation up, find a partner to train with you.

Avoid comparisons to others you see, at the gym or elsewhere, and remember that no two people are alike. Focus on how good exercise makes you feel rather than how you would like to look.

The research is clear and continues to demonstrate that strength training increases both muscle and bone strength, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. A safe strength training program combined with cardiovascular and flexibility training will give you the benefits of a total fitness program.