Whether you are a sports practitioner or looking for exercises to lose weight and strengthen the body, we have all heard about resistance exercises, but we may not know what their importance is, and what are some of their types? Therefore, we have prepared the following article for you to learn about the most important things you should know about resistance exercises and the importance of practicing them, whether in the gym or at home, their different types, and different examples with steps and photos, so be sure to follow up.

What are resistance exercises?

Resistance training / Strength training is the use of resistance to muscle contraction to build strength, size, and endurance in skeletal muscles. These exercises are based on the principle that the muscles of the body will work to overcome any force and any resistance when needed. When you do this type of exercise frequently and continuously, your muscles become stronger.

Benefits of resistance exercises

Resistance exercises provide both psychological and physical benefits to the person who performs them, and the most prominent of these health benefits include:

• Improve muscle strength, which helps prevent joint injury.
• Maintaining fitness and a level of balance, and this is useful as you age.
• Controlling weight and increasing the proportion of muscle compared to fat, when gaining muscle, the body burns more calories at rest.
• It can help reduce or prevent mental and cognitive decline in the elderly.
• Increased endurance, when the body strength increases, the percentage of fatigue and fatigue decreases.
• Prevention and control of some chronic conditions or diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity.
• Pain control.
• Improved strength and balance.
• Low risk of injury.
• Increased bone density and strength, and reduced incidence of osteoporosis.
• Boosting self-confidence and improving body image and general mood.
• Improved performance in normal daily tasks and activities.

Benefits of doing resistance exercises at home

Strength exercises can be practiced in the gym, and they can also be practiced at home.

• Save time, so you don’t need to travel or wait in the club to use the devices.
• lower price or cheaper.
• It can be practiced at any time, and you can make your own schedule according to the times of your day.
• More privacy.
• Not feeling pressure from people around you, as happens in the gym, who may sometimes be at a higher and advanced level.

Types of resistance exercises

Before knowing examples of resistance exercises that can be done, let’s quickly get to know the most important types:

1. body weight: Exercising with body weight is one of the most popular and easiest types of resistance exercises for beginners, as it helps them learn common forms and patterns of movement that later help them avoid injury when starting with heavier external weights.
2. resistance rope: It is an easy-to-carry, low-cost exercise tool that can be used anywhere, and is a suitable choice for beginners and non-beginners, as the instability or balance provided by the resistance rope, increases muscle activity.
3. free weights: It’s a good way to gauge your progress and muscle strength. Being able to gain weight over time means increasing your muscle strength and endurance.
4. resistance training equipmentMost gyms have dedicated equipment for doing this type of exercise, and a coach can help you figure out which type is best for you.

Examples of resistance exercises

Before starting any exercise, warm-up exercises should be practiced for at least 5 to 10 minutes, and this may include running in place or exercises to activate the muscles of the arms and feet.

Resistance exercises without weights using body weight

After the warm-up exercises, you can start with body weight exercises, which do not require the use of any equipment, only an exercise mat (mat) in case the ground is solid. Examples of resistance exercises using body weight include:

1- Lunges

These exercises help activate the muscles of the lower body, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles. To perform this exercise, do the following:

• Stand up straight.
• Step forward with the right leg, lowering the hips to the ground, until the right leg reaches a 90-degree angle, and the left knee is parallel to the ground.
• Make sure the front knee does not go beyond the toes
• Lengthen (tighten) the spine to keep the torso upright.
• Hold this position for 5 seconds or more.
• Bring the right foot back to meet the left foot, and repeat with the left foot.
• Repeat the exercise 10 to 12 times in one set, then rest and do other similar sets, taking care to rest between each set.

These exercises can include different forms such as lunges with walking, lunges with running, lunges with twisting or rotating the trunk and lunges to the side.

2- Squat to overhead raise

If you are a beginner in resistance exercises, this exercise can be done without any weights, and if you are able to practice this exercise, you can add weights later. This exercise helps to strengthen the muscles of the legs, back, shoulders and triceps muscles. To do this exercise, you can do the following:

• Standing, with the feet in a somewhat wider position compared to the hips, and the arms at the side of the body.
• Slowly lower your hips to a squat position.
• Squeeze and return up again, raising the arms above the head.
• Return back to the starting position.
• Do a set of 3 sets, each set of 8 or 12 repetitions.

3- Planks

Planks are suitable for improving body strength and balance, as this exercise can help strengthen the muscles of the back, chest and shoulders. To perform this exercise, do the following:

• Rest on the forearms and toes only, keeping the body in a parallel line while tightening the buttocks and abdominal muscles.
• Try to maintain this position for 30 seconds, and if unable, try to hold for 20 seconds.
• As time progresses and strength gains, try to hold the plank pose for a full minute or more.
• If you want to add more challenge, try raising one leg, alternating between the legs, while maintaining the plank position.

4- Pushups

Push-ups help strengthen the chest muscles, shoulders, triceps and abdominal muscles. To perform these exercises, do the following:

• Start in the plank position, placing the palms directly under the shoulders.
• Keeping the back in a shallow position, lower the body with the elbows bent until the chest is close to touching the floor.
• Immediately push the body back up, to the starting position.
• Repeat the exercise 8 or 12 times, and you can start with one or two sets, then reach 3 sets with increasing strength.

Resistance exercises with free weights

The following exercises involve the use of free weights or dumbbells, and you can start with a size of 2 or 2 and a half kilos, and as you build strength, it is preferable to increase the weight.

5- Dumbbell shoulder press

This exercise targets the muscles of the arms and shoulders, and can also help strengthen the chest and abdominal muscles. To do this exercise, do the following:

• Stand with your feet and arms open.
• Lift weights to shoulder height.
• The palms of the hands can be forward or towards the body.
• Lift the weights above the head, until the arms are fully extended.
• Pause in this position for a few seconds, then return the weights to shoulder height.
• Do 1 to 3 sets of this exercise, each set 8 to 12 times.

6- Dumbbell triceps kickback

This exercise works the triceps and shoulder muscles. To do this exercise, do the following:

• Make sure that there are two weights (2 dumbbells), one for each hand.
• Bend your torso 45 degrees, and also bend your elbows, until they are in a 90-degree position.
• Straighten or straighten the arms behind you, being careful to engage or move the triceps.
• Each arm can be done separately, or both arms at the same time.
• You can start with one or two sets of this exercise, each set consisting of 8 to 12 repetitions.

Resistance exercises with rubber

Among the most famous tools used in resistance exercises, is the resistance rope, and according to many studies, the rope activates the muscles as free weights and machines do. Some examples of resistance rope exercises to try include:

Resistance band pull apart

This exercise targets the muscles of the back, shoulders and arms. To do this exercise, you can follow these steps:

• Stand with your arms extended in front of you at chest level.
• Hold the resistance rope with both hands, the rope should be parallel to the floor.
• Keeping the arms straight, pull or tighten the rope toward your chest, by moving the arms out to the sides.
• Start the movement from the middle of the back.
• Press your shoulder blades together, keeping your spine straight, then return to the starting position.
• Do 3 sets, each set of 15 to 20 repetitions.

Hip extension

This exercise works the muscles of the hips and legs, and you will need a light or medium resistance rope. To perform this exercise, do the following:

• Place the rope around the ankles, and a chair or wall can be used for balance.
• While keeping the body straight, pull the left leg back as far as possible, keeping it straight if possible.
• Slowly return the leg to the starting position.
• Do 12 times with the left leg, then repeat the same steps with the right leg.
• Make sure to do at least two sets per leg, and then increase the sets as the strength increases.

Resistance band leg press

This exercise works the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, as this exercise makes you work against gravity. For this exercise, do the following:

• Lie on your back with the feet raised off the ground.
• Bend the knees at a 90-degree angle, then bend the feet with the toes pointing up.
• Wrap the resistance rope around the feet and grab the end or end of the rope.
• Press your feet into the rope firmly for a full leg extension trick.
• Bend the knees until they return to a 90-degree angle.
• Do 1-3 sets, each set of 12.

Finish the resistance exercise with rest and cool-down for 5 or 10 minutes. This will allow your breathing and heart rate to return to normal (resting position). This can be done by walking in place or doing some light stretching exercises.