Muscle and fitness go hand in hand. Building muscle through strength training and lifting weights has a number of benefits, including:
It helps to raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn throughout the day. On average, a pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories a day as opposed to a pound of fat, which burns just two calories.
It strengthen bones
It increases strength and muscular endurance
Helps avoid injuries
Increases confidence and self-esteem
Improves coordination, balance and posture through a stronger core.
Equipment
You don’t need to belong to a gym to achieve muscle mass. The following types of equipment will help you to build muscle and increase your fitness levels.
Hand Weights. Weight training is essential to a well-rounded fitness program, and hand weights are some of the most inexpensive exercise equipment you can find. Depending on your fitness level, you should get hand weights of 5, 8, and 10 pounds. Advanced exercisers and men may want to purchase 12- and 15- pound hand weights as well. These are great for building and toning muscle. These can be purchased in any sporting goods store for $5-15 apiece, depending on the amount of weight.
Exercise Bands. Exercise bands can be used in place of hand weights and provide an adjustable amount of resistance, depending on where you place your hands. Exercise bands can be used for arm and leg toning exercises, and there are many books available that illustrate various moves for exercise bands. Exercise bands are a good substitute for weights for people who travel, as they can tone as well as weights and weigh very little, making them portable. Reebok makes exercise bands for $5.99 and have varying resistance levels.
Stability Ball. A stability ball is a popular piece of fitness equipment for doing ab work. It helps to isolate the abdominal muscle, making your ab workouts more effective. Most ab exercises that are done on the floor can also be done on the stability ball. Most stability balls are the same, and no brand is particularly better than the other
Exercises
The following exercises should be incorporated into your fitness routine as they will help build up all parts of the body.
Tricep Kickbacks. Stand with your fit hip-width apart and tip forward from the hips, keeping your back flat and abs in until your torso is parallel to the floor. Start with your elbows bent and pulled up to ribcage. Tighten the triceps and then straighten the elbow, bringing weights up behind you.Lower back down and repeat.
Hip Abduction. To do this leg exercise, lie on one side with your hips stacked and knees slightly bent. Lift top leg, squeezing the glutes, then lower back down without completely relaxing. If you want, you can use ankle weights for added resistance
Chest Press. For this exercise, lie on a bench or floor with your abs contracted and your back flat against the bench.Begin with the weights straight up over chest, elbows slightly bent.Bend the elbows and lower arms no lower than shoulders, making your arms look like a goal post.Contract the chest and push arms up, making sure the weights don’t touch at the top.