Creating a home workout plan can be a great way to stay active and improve your overall fitness without needing a gym membership or expensive equipment. And what better time to get working on your health and fitness than the turn of the new year and heading into spring.

Often the most challenging thing is knowing where to start, especially if you’re new to working out. In this article, we'll provide a comprehensive guide on how to structure a home workout plan that includes both strength training and cardio exercises. But first, let’s find out a little more about these two types of exercises.

The benefits of strength training

Strength training, also known as resistance training, is a type of exercise that involves working against resistance to build muscle and improve overall strength. This can include using weights, resistance bands, or even your own body weight as resistance. Strength training is an important aspect of any workout plan, and there are many physical and mental benefits to incorporating it into your routine. Some of the benefits include:

• Increased muscle mass: Strength training increases muscle mass, which can lead to an increase in overall strength and power.
• Improved bone density: Strength training can help to improve bone density, which can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and other bone-related conditions.
• Increased metabolism: By increasing muscle mass, strength training can also help boost your metabolism which can lead to weight loss and improved overall health.
• Improved cardiovascular health: Strength training can improve cardiovascular health by increasing the strength and efficiency of the heart and lungs.
• Improved balance and coordination: Strength training can help to improve balance and coordination, which can reduce the risk of falls and injuries.
• Increased self-esteem: Strength training can help to increase self-esteem and body confidence by improving physical appearance and strength.
• Better mood: Strength training can also help to reduce stress and improve overall mental health.

The benefits of cardio

Cardiovascular exercise, also known as cardio, is a type of exercise that raises your heart rate and increases blood flow to the muscles and organs. The main goal of cardio is to improve cardiovascular fitness, which includes the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system.

Some examples of cardio exercises include:

• Running, jogging or sprinting
• Cycling
• Rowing
• Swimming
• Skipping rope
• Dancing
• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Cardio is another important aspect of any workout plan and it offers many benefits to your overall health. Some of the benefits of cardio include:

• Improving cardiovascular health: Regular cardio exercise can help improve heart and lung function, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Burning calories: Cardio is an effective way to burn calories and lose weight.
• Improving mental health: Cardio has been shown to improve mood and reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression.
• Improving endurance: Regular cardio can help improve endurance and overall fitness.
• Improving sleep: Cardio can also help improve sleep quality and insomnia.
• Increased energy levels: Cardio can help to increase energy levels, which can improve overall productivity and mood.
• Improved immune function: Cardio can help to improve immune function by increasing the number of immune cells in the body.

Overall, a well-rounded home workout routine includes both cardio and strength training, as they both provide different benefits and target different aspects of your health and fitness. Now you’ve learnt about the different benefits, it’s time to get planning your home workout routine! Here are our top tips on how to create an effective routine and maximise results.

1. Assess Your Fitness Level

The first step in creating a home workout plan is to assess your current fitness level. This will help you determine which exercises are appropriate for you and how much weight you should be lifting. Don’t feel bad about yourself if your fitness is very low, we all have to start somewhere. Just make sure to start with light weights and low-intensity cardio exercises, and gradually increase the weight and intensity of your workouts over time.

2. Set Specific Goals

Before you begin your home workout plan, it can help you achieve the best results if you set specific goals for yourself. This will help keep you motivated and on track. Common goals for strength training include increasing muscle mass, improving overall strength, and building endurance. For cardio, you might set goals such as increasing cardiovascular fitness, burning calories or losing weight. Whatever your goal, notice when you see some improvements and use that as motivation to keep going!

3. Create a Schedule

Once you've assessed your fitness level and set specific goals, it's time to create a schedule for your home workout plan. Exercising little and often is the best way to achieve long-term results - it's better to do a shorter workout 3-5 days a week than to do a long workout once or twice a week. This will help to keep your body active and promote muscle growth and strength gains. Often people work out too hard too soon or add too much cardio to their routines, which only leads to burnout. It's also important to schedule rest days to give your muscles time to recover.

4. Choose Your Exercises

When it comes to strength training, it's important to focus on exercises that target multiple muscle groups, such as squats, deadlifts, and push-ups. These exercises are known as compound exercises and are great for building overall strength and muscle mass. In addition to these exercises, you can also include isolation exercises, such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, and leg curls, to target specific muscle groups.

Add intensity to these exercises by incorporating equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells. AMP’s 2kg per weight strength bars are the perfect addition, helping increase resistance to tone, sculpt and shape your muscles.

For cardio, you can include exercises such as running, cycling, or jumping rope, as well as bodyweight exercises such as jumping jacks, burpees, or mountain climbers. These exercises are great for burning calories and improving cardiovascular fitness.

When adding cardio to your exercise routine, make sure to choose activities that you actually enjoy, otherwise, you might be put off entirely. Experts recommended aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio per week, or a combination of both, so try to work your way up to this.

Increase Intensity Over Time

As your body adapts to your workout routine, it's important to increase the intensity and weight of your exercises.

This is known as progressive overload and will help to ensure your muscles continue to grow and get stronger. However, you don't need heavier weights to do this, you can achieve progressive overload by increasing the number of reps, or the number of sets. But always start with a weight that is comfortable for you, otherwise, you risk injury - remember, you have nothing to prove!

As you become more advanced, you can also try incorporating more advanced exercises and techniques, such as supersets, dropsets, and pyramid training.

Mix it Up

As you progress with your home workout plan, you might want to mix up your routine to prevent boredom and keep your body challenged. This can include trying new exercises or incorporating different types of training, such as circuit training or high-intensity interval training. If you’re stuck for ideas, there are some great (free!) home workout videos you could watch online as well as online fitness programmes you can subscribe to. Let us know your favourites!

Recovery

Recovery is a crucial aspect of any workout routine. Make sure to give your muscles enough time to recover, and don't forget to stretch before and after your workout. You can also use foam rollers, massage balls, and stretching bands to help relax your muscles.

AMP’s release and stretch foam roller is a great tool to support muscle recovery. When used regularly after exercise, it can help increase your range of motion, flexibility and mobility while boosting circulation and lymphatic flow to relieve inflammation and soothe your muscles.

Be Consistent and Track Progress

The key to achieving the best results from your home workout plan is consistency. It's important to stick to your schedule and make exercise a regular part of your routine, but staying motivated can be extremely challenging. Keeping track of your progress is one of the best ways to stay motivated as it can help you see how far you've come and how close you are to reaching your goals. You can track progress by taking measurements, such as body weight, body fat percentage, or muscle measurements, or by taking progress photos.

But remember, life happens and sometimes things don't go as planned. Be flexible and adaptable, and don't get discouraged if you miss a workout or two. Just get back on track and keep going!

Get Enough Sleep and Nutrition

Exercise is only one aspect of overall fitness. Without proper sleep and nutrition, all your hard work will be futile and you are likely to find exercising much more tiring and demotivating. To support your body and all the hard work it is doing, aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night and eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy. Protein is especially vital, as it provides the building blocks to support new muscle growth and muscle repair.

Summary

In conclusion, creating a home workout plan that includes both strength training and cardio exercises is a great way to stay active and improve your overall fitness and health. By assessing your fitness level, setting specific goals, creating a schedule, and increasing the intensity and weight of your exercises over time, you can achieve the best results. Remember to be consistent, stay motivated and adaptable, and don't forget the importance of recovery, sleep, and nutrition in achieving your fitness goals. With a little bit of effort and dedication, you can create a home workout plan that works for you and helps you achieve your fitness goals. Good luck!

Focusing on your wellbeing in 2023

The new year is a time when we look back on the last 12 months and decide what changes we want to make for the future. The fitness industry has seen a significant increase in the number of people making New Year's resolutions to start exercising more, eat healthier and lose weight. However, January can also be a hard month to get going on these plans. It's cold, dark and busy, so we can feel more like hibernating in our free time than jumping around. If you're one of these people, you might be wondering how to keep up with your goals throughout the year. Here are some tips:

Set some goals. It doesn't have to be new year new you, or require making a 180 degree change in lifestyle, but if you want to get into healthier habits and make those fitness changes you want to make stick for the long term, then you have to start somewhere. Goals can be a really fun, motivating way of turning habits into a healthy lifestyle, particularly when they incorporate all of your wellbeing. They help in many ways, from scheduling time to relax and enjoy self care, to spending time with friends and family, getting those finances in order and prioritising sleep as well as improving your exercise and nutrition. Taking a more balanced approach and using small step changes, can help you improve the likelihood that you will make positive and lasting changes in all areas of your health.

Make it specific. The first step in setting New Year's health and fitness goals is to make them specific. Instead of saying "I want to get more exercise," try "I want to walk (run/bike/dance) three times a week for 30 minutes after dinner." Schedule it in your diary, but if something comes up that prevents you from walking one night, at least you can count it as missed instead of giving up completely and you have 3 days out of 7 to achieve your goal. If you want to achieve more strength and tone, you could sign up to an online class and commit to taking two full body 30 minute classes a week to start off with, then review your actions each month to ensure you're moving towards your goal.

Make sure your goals are realistic. If you're just starting out, don't expect to run a marathon or lose 50 pounds in a month. Setting unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration if you don't reach them right away, overeating when you've restricted yourself too much and burnout from trying to do too much too soon, which can lead you to stop all together. Instead of aiming too high, start small and increase your level of activity gradually over time. Consistency in exercise routines and approach to nutrition is key to those health and fitness goals, and you don't need a gym or heavy equipment to achieve body confidence or a toned physique, but you do need to allow time for yourself to get there in a healthy and sustainable way. Read our blog on the benefits and reasons to use light weights in your workouts here. And remember, abs are made in the kitchen! 

Set small goals that are easily measurable. For example, if your goal is to run five miles every other day by June 1st, instead of saying "I'll run five miles every other day," write down "I'll run two miles, three times a week for the first month." You then have a starting point (achievable for you) which can help you to break down your goal over the next 6 months and work out how you can build up to achieving it realistically from there. Writing down your goal helps you stay accountable for it as well as track your progress toward achieving it. If you can share them with a friend or create an accountability partner, you're also more likely to stick to them. Depending on your overall goal, you don't have to be strict or rigid in your approach, allowing flexibility in your goals can help make them more enjoyable and achievable. You could set an intention, such as "workout 3 times per week for half an hour," as this lets you then choose the workout you feel like doing on the day so you're more likely to stick to the routine and feel good when you've done it, whether it was HIIT, sculpt or yoga. 

 

Some examples of simple SMART fitness goals: eat 5 servings of fruit/veggies every day (ideally aiming for 30 different types of plant over a week for optimal health benefits); go for a 30 min walk 3 times/week (at a time which works for you); do 10 push ups every other morning or before bed (build up to add a one minute plank hold!); drink 6-8 glasses of water per day throughout the day; get 8 hours of quality sleep every night; spend 1 hour reading each week, set aside 20 minutes 3 times a week. These small habits can then build into lasting lifestyle changes for overall wellbeing.

Lastly, it's important to take the time to think about what you want from your fitness plan. What are your ultimate fitness goals? What do you want to achieve in the next month or year? How do you want to feel by the summer? Once you have an idea of what you want, write them down so that you can break them down and track your progress along the way. What goals can you set today? We'd love to know how you're getting on, let us know in the comments below.

Dragging oneself out of bed in the morning to exercise can be a challenge; especially as the winter is approaching and the mornings are darker and colder.

Morning exercise has several significant health benefits and is a great way to set you up for the day ahead. If hitting the gym first thing is out of the question, home workouts are equally effective and for many people, much more achievable.

In this article, we will provide a brief overview of some of the main benefits of morning exercise.

1. Healthier food choices

Interestingly, research suggests that morning exercise can change your relationship with

food. It is believed to encourage healthier food choices throughout the day and reduce overall food intake. By starting your day with a healthy activity, it is likely that you will want to keep that feeling throughout the day. After all, we don’t want to undo all our hard work!

2. Better sleep quality

Early morning workouts are also hugely beneficial for sleep and energy. According to research, morning exercise can help improve sleep quality by increasing deep sleep and reducing awakenings and the time taken to fall asleep. It also helps increase the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin at night for further sleepy benefits. What’s more, if you prefer to exercise outside, the light exposure can help keep your body clock in check so that you fall asleep easier and wake up feeling refreshed.

3. Increased weight loss

If your goal is to lose weight, you might see better results if you work out in the morning before breakfast. Exercising on an empty stomach means there is no food to provide immediate energy to your muscles. This means your body switches to burning fat as a source of fuel. According to one study, you can burn up to 20% more fat by working out on an empty stomach!

4. Better mood and brain function

Morning exercise can help you start the day on a positive note because, during physical activity, the brain releases an influx of “feel good” hormones that help relieve stress and make you feel happy.

Scientists have found that exercise also improves mental clarity, attention and energy by increasing the levels of a vital brain molecule that plays a role in learning and memory.

The perfect home workout accessory

Every home workout needs the right equipment. And what better place to start than a trusty fitness mat? AMP’s eco-friendly fitness and yoga mat provides 6mm of cushioned support and a slip-proof surface to perform all of your exercises. Whether you choose yoga, pilates, HIIT workouts or weight training, this multipurpose mat has got you covered. 

Summary

Now you’ve learnt about the benefits of morning exercise, it might seem more worthwhile getting up for. Not least does it enhance multiple aspects of physical and mental health, but it also sets the right tone for the day ahead.

According to scientific research, starting your day with physical activity increases the likelihood of you making healthier food choices and eating less throughout the day. It also helps support faster weight loss, improves sleep, reduces stress and enhances brain function and mood.

When do you prefer to workout? Let us know!

Having strong, toned arms can make all the difference to our appearance and body confidence. With the festive period in full swing and Christmas parties just around the corner, you might be wondering how to tone your arms fast.

Well don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! The following are some of the most effective exercises to include in your at-home arm workouts. For best results, repeat each exercise for three sets of 12 reps. And don’t forget to rest in between sets!

1. Bicep curl

This is a classic arm exercise that is great for targeting your biceps on the front of your upper arm.

How to do it:

• Begin standing with your feet hip-width apart.
• Hold a dumbbell in each of your hands at your sides, palms facing forward.
• Keeping your arms tucked into your sides, bend your elbows to bring the weights to your shoulders.
• Lower back down and repeat.

2. Triceps kickback

This exercise targets your triceps which are located at the back of your upper arm. They help stabilize your shoulders and support movements that involves extending your arms.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing each other.
• Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the waist.
• Keeping your arms close to your sides, straighten your arms and push the dumbbells backwards so that they are behind you.
• Hold and slowly bring your arms back to starting position.
• Repeat.

3. Chest press

Chest presses target multiple muscles in your upper body at once including your triceps, pectorals (chest muscles) and deltoids (shoulder muscles).

How to do it:

• Lie on an exercise mat on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
• Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing the floor.
• Bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle and hold the dumbbells wider than your chest. You are now in the starting position.
• Keep your elbows bent and push the dumbbells up above you until your arms are straight - don’t lock your elbows!
• Slowly lower back down to the starting position and repeat your reps.

4. Front and lateral raises

Lateral raises are great at working out your shoulder muscles and triceps, while front raises target shoulder and chest muscles as well as your biceps.

How to do a lateral raise:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing towards your body.
• With your elbows slightly bent, raise your arms so that they are parallel to the floor.
• Slowly lower to starting position and repeat.

How to do a front raise:

• Get into the same starting position as with a lateral raise, but hold your dumbbells in front of your legs and palms facing your thighs.
• Keeping your arms straight, raise them out in front of you so that they are parallel to the ground.
• Return to the starting position and repeat.

The perfect arm workout accessories

Ready to get cracking but don’t have the right equipment? Our 4kg dumbbell strength bars are the perfect match for the exercises above. They are easy to hold and add just the right amount of resistance to your movements to help tone, sculpt and strengthen.

If you’re just getting started and looking for something lighter, try our 6lb fitness bars instead. Again, these are easy to hold and help you achieve toned and lean looking arms.

Let us know how you get on, we'd love to know what you think!







What are your favourite arm exercises? Tell us in the comments below.

Lose weight and keep it off by lifting weights

If you’re wondering how to keep weight off once you have reached your desired scale reading, the key is to weight train. Lifting weights helps you build muscle and boosts your metabolism, both of which are essential for maintaining your weight.

In this article, read our top tips on how to lift weights to lose weight and learn why weight training is the best way to keep weight off.

Can you lose weight by lifting weights?

The answer is: definitely! While weight training generally doesn’t burn as many calories as a cardio workout, it benefits weight loss in other ways.

Firstly, weight training helps you build muscle which raises your resting metabolic rate (RMR) - the number of calories you burn at rest. This is because muscle burns through more calories at rest than other tissues like fat, meaning you will be torching the calories without even moving! According to one study, men and women who took part in 24 weeks of weight training increased their metabolisms by 9% and 4% respectively.

Weight training also boosts calorie burning long after a workout. When we exercise, our muscles require more energy to power their movement. Makes sense, right? But what scientists have found is that after a weight training session our metabolism can stay raised for up to 38 hours in order to continue to provide the energy and nutrients needed to restore muscles. This is known as the “after-burn effect”.

So, probably by about now, you’re eager to get weight lifting. But before you go do your thing, read our top tips on how to lift weights to lose weight to ensure you get the best results.

Tips on how to lift weights to lose weight

Set realistic goals

Weight loss targets are extremely effective at motivating you to stick with your training programme. But it is important that your goals are realistic, otherwise they might do the opposite.

Use a combination of strength exercises

There are two main types of strength exercises: compound and isolation exercises. Include a mixture of these in your workouts for maximum results.

A compound exercise uses multiple muscle groups at the same time to perform a movement. These include: 

• Squats
• Lunges
• Dips
• Deadlifts

An isolation exercise targets one specific muscle group and uses one joint. These include:

• Bicep curls
• Lateral raises
• Leg extensions
• Hamstring curls

AMP’s 4kg dumbbell strength bars are the perfect addition to your workouts, helping strengthen, tone and sculpt your muscles. By adding resistance, they can increase muscle growth to boost your metabolic rate and promote weight loss.

Looking for something heavier? Try our peak strength triangles for an added boost. With two weights included, one 10lb triangle and one smaller 7lb, these will add an extra burn to all your arm, leg and core exercises.

Include cardio in your training regime

While weight training is great for building muscle, cardio workouts burn more calories per session and can help you achieve a calorie deficit which is required for weight loss. According to research, cardio combined with weight training is the most effective way to achieve long term weight loss.

Eat a healthy, balanced diet

There’s no use putting the hard work into weight training if you’re going to follow a session with an unhealthy meal. All weight loss 'diets' are based on a calorie deficit, but also often miss vital nutrients and are not sustainable, or healthy, in the long term. We suggest you stick to eating healthy, balanced meals throughout the day, based on your individual calorie requirement, as the key to keeping weight off. Make sure to eat plenty of protein-rich foods, such as fish, nuts, eggs and tofu, as protein provides the essential building blocks for muscles. Avoid refined sugars, saturated fats and processed foods.

Summary

Weight training is essential for helping you maintain your desired weight for two main reasons: It builds muscle which helps boost your RMR so you burn more calories at rest, and it also keeps your metabolic rate elevated in the following hours after a training session.

For best results, set yourself realistic weight loss goals and incorporate a combination of compound and isolation strength exercises as well as cardio into your training programme. And, don’t forget about the importance of nutrition! Eating a healthy, balanced diet alongside a good exercise regime is key for achieving weight loss and maintaining results.

Let us know how you get on!

Strength training is often overlooked and regarded as something you should only do if you want to add bulk. But increasing your strength offers countless benefits to your health and physical performance, as well as being able to tone up for that long, lean look. And it isn’t all about the heavy lifting.

Working out with light weights is proven to be equally effective at increasing muscle mass and strength. Lighter weights are also suitable for all ages and abilities, and you don’t even need to head to the gym! You can easily incorporate them into any home workout - you will be surprised how much difference it makes to your results by adding just a few pounds.

In this article, we explain why working out with light weights is an important part of a healthy exercise regime and provide some light weight high-rep exercise examples to get you started. But first, let’s take a look at what exactly is strength training and how it benefits the body.

What is strength training?

Strength training, also known as weight training and resistance training, involves performing exercises using your own body weight or equipment to put your muscles under tension, with the aim of building muscle mass, strength and endurance. Strength training can take numerous different forms depending on what your goals are, whether that’s to get bigger muscles or improve your posture.

Examples of weight training include:

• Using your body weight and gravity in specific movements, such as pushups, squats, plants, and lunges.
• Free weights such as dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, wrist and ankle weights, or even objects around the house!
• Resistance bands that are made of rubber and provide resistance when stretched.
• Weights machines with adjustable loads.
• Suspension equipment that contains ropes or straps that allow you to use your body weight and gravity to create resistance.

Why strength training is important

Gaining strength benefits everyone, as it can help you perform your daily tasks much easier - suddenly, lugging your kids around or carrying heavy shopping bags isn’t so strenuous! Strength training can also improve your posture, flexibility and balance, and can help make your bones stronger, all of which are particularly beneficial to older people and can reduce the risk of injuries or falls.

Strength training can also boost your metabolism to help you maintain a healthy weight. This is because it promotes fat loss and increases lean muscle mass, which burns more calories at rest. Building more lean muscle also means you will appear more toned and defined, something many people desire.

But the benefits of strength training go far beyond building muscle. Not only does it benefit your physical appearance and performance, it also improves many other aspects of health. Multiple studies have found that strength training can benefit heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol, boosting blood circulation and strengthening the heart and blood vessels.

Strength training can also help keep blood sugar levels in check and lower the risk of diabetes. This is because muscle requires glucose to power its metabolism, which helps remove glucose from the blood. It also increases insulin sensitivity, allowing cells of the body to use blood glucose more effectively, reducing overall blood sugar levels. One study found that over a 10-year period, women who engaged in weight training were 30% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

What are lightweights?

Many people believe strength training involves slogging it out at the gym lifting overloaded weights. This is actually not the case. Working out with light weights is one of the best ways to incorporate strength training into any workout and is also a very effective way to gain strength and muscle. Light weights can help add that little extra challenge to help you see results.

But what counts as a light weight? Essentially, it’s any weight that feels light to you - we all have different strength abilities. Things like dumbbells (2-4 pounds) such as AMP's fitness bars (in peach, black or neon pink) or kettlebells are common choices for a light weight workout (AMP Peak strength triangle provides a great, easy to use, alternative).

There are also types of light weights you can attach to your body to increase the resistance on your muscles and turn up the heat. We recommend trying AMP’s adjustable ankle or wrist weights

Simply adding a small amount of extra weight can significantly increase the intensity of your workouts and increase your strength and muscle tone faster. But you don’t have to restrict yourself to wearing these solely during strength training workouts, you can wear them during any fitness activity, such as walking, yoga, pilates or running. You can even wear them as you go about your everyday activities to create a regular workout without any extra time or effort needed. House in need of a spruce? Put these on and suddenly your cleaning chores turn into a mini workout!

Sounding good so far? Keep reading to find out more about the benefits of working out with light weights and why they should be an essential part of your exercise regime.

The benefits of working out with light weights

1. Easy and convenient

   Lifting light weights is the easiest way to build muscle - you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your own home! All you need is a set of light weights and your own motivation.

   Light weights are also easily transportable, so are perfect for those who are constantly on the move. If you are away from home a lot, it’s likely that gym visits are infrequent. And we all know that a regular exercise routine is important for achieving results. Light weights mean you can stick to an exercise regime no matter where you are. Plus, if you purchase weights that attach to your body, you can incorporate a workout into your everyday life with ease, no time out of your day required.

   

2. Better all round workout

   If all you use are heavy weights, you are likely to develop muscle imbalances and only target larger muscle groups. This is because when the weight is too heavy, larger muscles take over and overpower other smaller muscles. Working out with light weights targets smaller muscles too, as they are able to manage the loads themselves without relying on the big muscle groups.

3. Builds muscle

   Contrary to popular belief, lifting heavy does not necessarily equal the most muscle gain. Studies show that effort is equally important as load and that lifting with light weights is also an effective way to build muscle. According to one recent study, training to the point of muscle failure promotes greater muscle hypertrophy (an increase and growth of muscle cells) when lifting low loads than lifting heavy loads.

4. Better range of motion

   If you’re lifting extremely heavy loads, the chances are you won’t be able to perform the exercise through the full range of motion. This can negatively impact results. For example, one study found that participants who performed 12 weeks of strength training with a full range of motion achieved greater gains in muscle strength and size than those who only used movements with a short range of motion.

5. Builds muscle strength

   When we think of building muscle strength, our minds tend to automatically picture deadlifts and overloaded barbells. But interestingly, research has found that lifting light weights for many repetitions is as efficient at increasing muscle strength as lifting heavy weights for fewer repetitions.

6. Builds endurance

   Exercising with light weights involves sustained smaller movements and develops your slow twitch muscle fibres, which are important for endurance activities. As a result, you can seriously ramp up your stamina and muscular endurance

7. Reduces risk of injury

   

   Lifting heavy loads might seem impressive and make you feel like the hulk, but even the slightest mistake or incorrection in form can lead to serious injury. And once you have sustained an injury, you are more at risk of injuring yourself again. Lifting heavy also puts a lot of pressure on your joints and body.

   Switching to working out with light weights allows you to work on achieving the correct posture and form so that you can lift properly, and carries a much lower risk for injury. Often referred to as functional workouts.

8. Great for all ages

   It is often believed that strength training is only for bodybuilders and gym bunnies, but this is completely not true. In fact, strength training with light weights is suitable for all ages and abilities!

   Are you new to strength training and don’t feel confident with lifting heavy weights? Then start out small and build your way up to bigger ones, if that is what you desire. Working out with light weights is less daunting and can help you remain motivated to stick to your exercise regime. But light weights aren’t just for beginners, even the most experienced weight lifters can benefit from lifting lighter loads to work on their endurance and other aspects of fitness.

   The convenience and transportability of light weights make them ideal for young professionals and middle-aged parents who want to build effective at-home workouts - no gym membership required! Working out with light weights can easily be squeezed in around other life commitments.

   Light weights are also especially beneficial for older people. As we age, our muscles start to deteriorate, balance is lost, bones weaken and we become frailer. These are all factors that increase the risk of falls and injuries, which can be serious. Working out with light weights can help you maintain a basic level of fitness and strength, well into your older years, and help you stay healthy, mobile and injury-free. Regular strength exercises can also help keep chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes at bay, which is even more important the older we get.

How to use light weights to achieve results

Light weights are all about endurance and exercising muscles to the point of failure. For best results, you will want to perform a high number of repetitions - 12 or more reps. And, when we say light weights, we don’t mean light enough that you don’t feel anything. You should choose weights that are heavy enough that they still challenge your muscles. Ideally, at the end of your set, you should be struggling to complete your last rep.

Setting goals can help you maximize your training and motivate you to stick to your exercise regime. Decide what would like to achieve and create your routine accordingly. Setting an exercise schedule can also help you stick to it.

Once you have built up more muscle strength, you will likely be bossing your reps using the same weight. At this stage, you can switch to a slightly heavier weight to keep seeing results, a technique known as progression. This is an extremely effective way of building muscle mass and strength. 

But equally, once you have reached your goals, there’s no need to push yourself further and start lifting heavy weights if you don’t want to. Stick with regular workouts with light weights to maintain your physique and continue to reap the benefits.

Examples of light weight high-rep exercises

To help you get started, below are five great at-home exercises you can perform with lighter weights.

1. Lateral raise

   This exercise is great for targeting all the muscles in your shoulders as well as your triceps.

   How to do it:

   Start by standing with a weight such as a light dumbbell in each hand at your side. You can also wear wrist weights.

   Lift your arms up and out to your side, until they are at shoulder height, keeping your hands slightly in front of you.

   Hold here for a few seconds and lower back down slowly.

   Repeat for 12 reps.

2. Renegade row

   This one combines a push-up, row and plank and is perfect for strengthening your arms, chest, back and ab muscles. If it’s too difficult, you can modify it to make it easier by dropping your knees to the floor.

   

   How to do it:

   Begin in the high plank position, arms straight, with a weight in each hand.

   Lower your body down into a push-up and press back up.

   Follow this by bending your right elbow to lift your hand up until it meets your chest, and lower it back down.

   Repeat on the opposite side for 12 reps.

3. Superman

   This exercise gives your back, arms, shoulders, glutes and legs a good workout. Plus, you get to feel like a superhero doing it!

   How to do it:

   Lie on your stomach with your legs stretched out straight and your arms extended infront of you - pretend you are trying to make yourself as long as possible.

   Hold a weight in each hand, or attach weights to your ankles and wrists to intensify the exercise.

   Engage your core and raise your chest, arms and legs off the ground, holding for a few seconds before releasing back down.

   Repeat for 12 reps.

4. Overhead squat

   Our favourite, you’ll feel the effects of this one in your legs, glutes, core and shoulders

   How to do it:

   Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a weight in each hand, a single weight or weights attached to your wrists.

   Extend your arms up above your head, keeping your palms facing forward, and tense your core to begin your squat.

   Send your hips back and lower your bottom half towards the floor, keeping your knees behind your toes, arms in line with your ears and chest upright.

   Lower as far as you can, ideally until your thighs are parallel with the floor and then slowly rise back up.

   Repeat for at least 12 reps.

5. Weighted glute bridge

   This is a great beginner’s exercise that works on strengthening your back, glutes, hamstrings, calves and abs.

   How to do it:

   Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Place a light weight just above your hip bones and hold it in place.

   Engage your core, squeeze your glutes and push through your heels to lift your hips upwards.

   Aim to form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees at the top and pause for a few seconds before lowering slowly back down.

   Repeat for at least 12 reps.

Conclusion

Strength training is an important part of any exercise regime and can benefit people of all ages. Increasing your muscle mass and strength can help improve balance, posture, mobility, flexibility, heart and bone health, blood sugar levels, and weight management.

But in order to reap these benefits, you don’t even need to lift heavy! Working out with light weights is equally effective and also has some great advantages. They are much easier and more convenient to use, meaning you can fit a workout around your busy life. Light weights also provide a better all round workout, help you work on your form and technique, and build endurance. Older people will particularly benefit from using light weights, as they help reduce the risk of falls and injuries, and generally help keep you fit and healthy.

To see results with lightweights, you must perform a higher number of repetitions to the point of muscle failure. Try our exercise suggestions using light weights and see how you get on, we'd love to hear from you when you do!