We all spend enough time under tension, right?!?

I’m not talking about bad tension – as in “stress.” I’m talking about good tension – resistance training.

Feel stronger!

Resistance training is great to firm up, to make your bones stronger, to have better range of motion, and, to do all sorts of fun things with the kids, and around the house.

Quality time under tension should do the trick.

Resistance training isn’t necessarily about lifting weights. Resistance training can be body weight resistance exercises; like push-ups, sit ups and seated dips. Or, you could do Pilates mat work. Lifting weights is great exercise though too – so don’t count it out!

I encourage you to try lifting weights! It’s easy to add resistance exercises into your routine, here’s how:

1. Grab some light weights (3 lbs. to start)

2. Start with lower body. Do squats, squat kicks, plies and plie slides. Try 3 sets of each exercise, 10 to 12 reps.

2. Next, move to upper body. Try  bicep curls, triceps kickbacks and overhead shoulder press. Then for your back, try bent row (lean your torso over, arm hanging straight down and pretend you’re starting a lawn mower). 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps to start.

3.Finally, move into abs. Good old crunches are a good place to start. Try bicycles for obliques. And then for lower abs, raise your feet toward the ceiling and pretend to stomp your feet on the ceiling. Try 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

With all of these exercises, it’s important to remember that the quality of the time you spend counts. Don’t rush your reps, and don’t over-extend your joints.

It may take going through the exercises a time or two to figure out the right amount of reps for you. Don’t let your form go in order to complete the exercise. If you’re fatigued enough that you have to use momentum or you have to bend to support the weight, that’s a sign that you’re muscles have had enough.

You can also try some integrated exercises that work multiple muscle groups. For example, try bicep curls while you’re doing squats, shoulder raises while you plie, or chest press with a front kick.

Lifting weights doesn’t automatically mean bulking up. Light weights and high repetitions (like suggested here) will help you get stronger while building lean longer muscles.

And lean longer muscles help add support for your body and bones, and they increase metabolism – the leaner you get, the more calories you burn – even while sitting still ;)