No Pain All Gain

What if we told you that you could injury-proof your bod and fire up your resting metabolic rate at the same time? Yep, we thought you’d like that...

That ache in your back. The slight throbbing in your foot. We’ve all been there. If you’re active, a little soreness is expected. Getting injured, however, doesn’t have to be a given.

Some things are beyond your control, such as your body build. But there are countless variables you can keep an eye on – everything from how many kays you run each week, to your sleep, stress and sitting posture at work – to help ward off minor and major ouches.

One of the very best proactive measures? Strength training. It helps you maintain good form even when fatigued (see ya, exhaustion-related injuries!) and builds resilient muscles that absorb the impact from intense workouts, meaning less damage to your bones, joints and ligaments. Here’s proof: a regular strength-training routine reduces the risk for overuse injuries by more than half, according to a research review published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine.

But lifting weights doesn’t just make your body less injury-prone – 10 weeks of strength training can actually boost your resting metabolic rate by seven per cent, according to a research review in Current Sports Medicine Reports. All that muscle power keeps your body buzzing and burning more kJs every day (even when you’re not sweating). So whatever your goals, you’ve got to try this total-body workout, designed by coach and personal trainer Jeff Horowitz. It will strengthen your MVP muscle groups, while addressing common weak spots. As you tone your arms, shoulders, glutes and legs, you’ll also tap into smaller stabilising muscles from head to toe, building better balance, mobility and core strength. Free weights to the rescue!

The perfect 10