Strength training

Buy Strength Equipment

Various home weight machines are the solution for smart muscle-building workouts from home. With your own strength equipment, you can train regularly, save yourself a trip to the gym and continuously increase your fitness in your own home gym.

Buy strength equipment easily and risk-free: If you don't like your new muscle building equipment, you can return it to us within 14 days and get your money back.

How does training with strength equipment work?

The human body adapts to the load required of it. The central nervous system improves muscle coordination and the body repairs damaged muscle tissue. After a training load, your body not only prepares itself to be able to repeat the same load, but also uses the recovery phase to increase its performance beyond the original level and maintain it at that level for a certain period of time. This principle is called supercompensation and is the basis of all muscle building training.

How does strength training affect my body?

Regular strength training has a positive effect on your body in a number of ways. It defines your muscles and tones your body. Not only does it look good, it also has positive effects on your health. Strength training increases your physical performance and improves your posture.

Regular strength training at home

• burns calories
• reduces body fat
• increases bone density
• strengthens tendons and ligaments
• prevents osteoporosis
• lowers blood pressure
• protects the heart and blood vessels from overload
• ensures healthy posture
• strengthens self-confidence

You can find more information on the positive effects of strength training in our Fitness Knowledge article: Positive effects of strength training.

How do I build muscle?

The best results are achieved by training as much as possible on weight machines in as short a time as possible. As a rule, you should not train for longer than 45 minutes (3-4 times a week) so that you do not exceed the maximum amount of muscle-building training. You should also add enough variety to your training so that your muscles are constantly exposed to new stimuli. For your strength training at home you can use free weights in combination with a power bench or you can equip your home gym with a Power Station .

The most important components in muscle building training are:

• Regular training
• Proper nutrition
• Recovery & regeneration

A good start is to have a training plan. Progress can only be made if you train several times a week. The aim of muscle building training (also called hypertrophy training or muscle cross-section training) is to thicken the individual muscle fibres. You can achieve this by training your exercises slowly at 70-85% of your maximum strength (is the greatest possible force that a nervous muscle system can exert against an insurmountable resistance). 6-12 repetitions in 3-5 sets is ideal.

No muscles without the right nutrition. Nutrition is the be-all and end-all of muscle building. Some athletes even claim that muscle building is 70% dependent on the right nutrition. Only with the right building material can the body develop, optimise or even repair muscle strands.

The following components should be considered:

• Protein: Muscle cells consist mainly of proteins. Therefore, protein is particularly important in muscle building.
• Carbohydrates: These are the body's energy sources. Complex, fibre-rich carbohydrates such as wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bread or pulses are the right choice.
• Unsaturated fats: Fats are also important sources of energy for the body. For the body to use fats sensibly, it needs unsaturated fats, which can be found in nuts, fish or olive oil, for example.

Rest is a must! During breaks, your body rebuilds your muscles and tissues. Especially with strength training, it is important to give your muscles enough recovery time. On average, a muscle should be allowed to recover for 48-72 hours after an intensive workout.

What should I bear in mind when training to build muscle?

To avoid giving your muscles a cold start, you should warm up for 5-10 minutes before each workout. For beginners, training 2 times a week is already good, 3 times a week is ideal. Important: The training does not have to be particularly long, it is more a matter of sufficient intensity.

You should keep the following points in mind:

• Warm-up workout
• Intensity
• Number of repetitions
• Number of sets per exercise
• Length of rest
• Training frequency
• Continuous increase of weights
• Technical execution
• Vary exercises
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Breathe correctly
• Cool down exercises

How do muscles burn fat?

Humans have around 650 muscles. Every blink of an eye, every smile, every step is performed by our muscles. Every movement requires a contraction of our muscles. 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week - our muscles are in use around the clock and consume a large proportion of calories in the process. Our muscles function like engines, even when at rest they burn fat and energy permanently and sustainably. The more muscle we have, the more fat our body can burn.

So what exactly happens when we gain muscle? Every muscle cell has an important component: the mitochondria, also called the "furnace of the cell". This is where energy production for the body takes place. Mitochondria convert fats into energy. If the number of mitochondria increases, our body can burn more fat.

So if you build up one kilogram of muscle, you increase your basal metabolic rate by about 100 kcal per day. With 1 kg more muscle mass, the body will lose 3 kg of fat within a year! With the belly, you can quickly and easily calculate your individual basal metabolic rate.

How can I get even more out of my training?

Over the decades, a number of training strategies have been developed in strength training and bodybuilding with which the stimulus on the muscles can be intensified even further. In this way, all performance reserves can be exhausted and an improved effect in terms of muscle and performance building can be achieved.

• Supersets: In supersets, you do 2 or more exercises in a row to push muscles harder and make them grow faster. Super sets can also be done in a circuit, working two or more muscle groups in succession without rest. The intensity is reduced with each set until only a small amount of weight can be overcome at the end. Start with a weight that allows a maximum of 12 repetitions. The sets always contain a maximum number of repetitions that can be performed. For example, when bench pressing, you first train with a 70 kg dumbbell , then with a 50 kg-dumbbell and finally with a 30 kg-dumbbell .
• Repetitions after pre-fatigue (pre exhaustion principle): With the pre-fatigue principle, the muscle to be trained is preloaded with an isolation exercise and then completely exhausted with a complex exercise. For example, you start with the butterfly machine to fatigue the pectoral muscle and then perform a few final repetitions of the bench press. The only important thing to remember is that there should be almost no rest between the isolation exercise and the main exercise.
• Partial reps: This is where the muscle is brought to full fatigue with about 5 repetitions and then 2-3 more repetitions are performed with incomplete range of motion. In the bench press, for example, the Dumbbells or the Barbell is no longer lowered completely to the chest, but the pressing movement is already started at half the downward amplitude.

What are the advantages of strength training at home compared to a gym?

Training in your own home not only saves you time and money in the long run, but you also benefit from being your own boss. Nobody but you decides which TV programme is on or whether you prefer to lift weights to your favourite music. That's why it's best to set up a home gym in your own four walls and train regularly. Our experts will advise you in detail on which home strength equipment is best suited to your goals and how to train properly with it. Our fitness experts have selected very specific exercises for you that will define your muscles and build your endurance step by step. If you train regularly and pay attention to the correct execution, you will soon see and feel the first successes.

Strength training for women

Fit and toned with strength training? Strength training not only tones your tissues, but also shapes your body. It also has positive psychological effects. Studies show that women who train their muscles have a higher self-esteem.

We recommend the following exercises:

• Tight Legs & Tight Butt - Rope Deadlift
• Proud & Upright Posture - Seated Rowing
• Beautiful cleavage - Butterfly
• Firm & Tight Arms - Standing Biceps Curls
• Beautiful & Firm Legs - Leg Extension
• Firm buttocks - one-legged squats
• No more riding trousers - standing abduction
• Flat stomach - crunches

You can find more exercises with and without strength equipment, tips & tricks in the Fitness Knowledge article Strength Training for Women.

Which strength equipment suits me?

 Take advantage of our service and let our experienced staff advise you on the various weight training equipment. The various fitness machines offer extensive training possibilities for the entire musculature. Tell us your wishes and goals and we will advise you individually.

Give us a call: HAMMER expert phone: +49 731 974 88-518 (Mo - Sa from 9 am - 7 pm). We will also be happy to call you back.

You are welcome to test your new fitness equipment in detail before you buy it and get personal advice. We look forward to your visit to a HAMMER store near you.