Individual strength training

Strength training – an investment in a strong body and health

Strength is needed not only for sport. It determines how easily we do everyday things – lift, carry, climb stairs, stand up, keep balance and tolerate physical load.

With age, muscle mass and strength naturally decrease. The process is accelerated by physical inactivity, illness or longer periods of immobility. So preserving muscle is an important part of long-term health, not only a question of body shape.

Why muscles matter

Muscles do far more than move us. Sufficient muscle mass and strength help to:

• maintain physical capacity and independence;
• support bone health;
• tolerate physical load better;
• keep balance and reduce risk factors for falls;
• support glucose metabolism and metabolic health;
• recover more easily after illness, injury or a period of inactivity.

Research shows that progressive strength training increases muscle strength, helps to preserve lean body mass and improves body function.

It is worth starting to train strength not when it begins to run short, but while there is still something to preserve.

What makes a good strength session?

Strength training is not simply lifting heavy weights. It is purposefully chosen resistance that gives the muscles enough stimulus to adapt. Depending on the person and their goal, we use free weights, machines, resistance bands or body weight.

A session may develop:

• Strength – the ability to overcome resistance.
• Muscular endurance – the ability to sustain work for longer.
• Muscle mass – important for preserving physical capacity with age.
• Power – the ability to use strength quickly.
• Stability and control – the ability to hold body position during movement.

Not everyone needs to train in the same way. The load depends on age, experience, physical readiness, injury history and the goal.

Pilates and strength

Pilates and strength training are not competing methods. They are different ways of training the body, so sessions are chosen according to a person's needs and goals.

Pilates – movement control, stability, mobility, balance and body awareness. Strength training – muscle strength, mass, endurance and the ability to tolerate higher physical load.

There is no single type of training that suits everyone. What matters is choosing what your body and your goal actually need.

Combining Pilates and strength training well makes it possible to work on movement quality, control and physical capacity at the same time – not to train more, but to train more purposefully.

Pilates with large equipment