Home • Fitness & Activities • Resistance Training
find your strength

Resistance Training

Build strength, stay active, and feel your best with welcoming YMCA strength training options that help improve muscle strength, maintain muscle mass, support stronger bones, improve balance, and make everyday activities easier.

Find a Class
Resistance training

Find Your Strength

Resistance Training Benefits

Resistance training is a simple way to build strength, stay active, and support your health at every stage of life. Whether you use free weights, resistance machines, bands, or your own body weight, regular strength-building activities can help you feel stronger and more confident in everyday life.

Build and Maintain Muscle

As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and strength. Regular resistance training can help slow this process by building and maintaining muscle, making it easier to stay active and independent. The CDC recommends muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week as part of a healthy, active lifestyle.

Make Strength Training Part of Your Routine

You don’t have to be an experienced athlete to get started. The YMCA offers welcoming ways to add resistance training to your routine, from strength-training equipment and group classes to guidance and support along the way. Start at your own pace, find activities you enjoy, and build a routine that works for you.

Whether you’re new to strength training or looking to stay active, the YMCA is here to help you build strength and keep moving toward a healthier you.

Man and woman fist bump after light workout
READY TO JOIN?

Find your Strength Here

Build strength wherever your day takes you. With strength-training equipment at every branch and access to all six locations included in your membership, it’s easier to make the Y part of your routine.

Add group exercise classes and a welcoming community, and you’ll find plenty of ways to build strength, grow your confidence, and keep moving forward. Whether you’re picking up weights for the first time or returning to a routine, there’s a place for you here.

Explore Membership Benefits Join Today
Please also note that a “Join Fee” is listed when signing up online — this is not an additional cost. This fee represents 12 equal payments during your 1st year of membership, equaling our standard 1st year rates. You will then receive our Loyalty pricing after one continuous year of membership.

We are not currently able to apply corporate discounts or financial assistance to memberships when signing up online – we apologize for the inconvenience. However, those eligible for Corporate Discounts can join in-person by bringing employment verification to a YMCA of Greater Waukesha County membership desk, where your discount will be applied.

Resistance training is exercise that makes your muscles work against an opposing force. That resistance can come from free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, or your own body weight. Examples include squats, push-ups, resistance-band rows, and exercises on strength machines.

In everyday fitness, resistance training and strength training generally describe the same type of exercise: challenging your muscles against resistance to improve muscular fitness. Weight training is one form of resistance training, but bands and body-weight exercises count, too.

Resistance training helps build and maintain muscle, support bone health, and make everyday activities easier. It can also improve your ability to manage physical tasks as you age, such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, and getting up from a chair.

Adults should aim to strengthen all major muscle groups at least two days a week. Allow at least one day of rest before training the same muscle group again. A consistent routine with time for recovery is a practical starting point for beginners.

Start with manageable resistance and learn proper technique before increasing the challenge. You can begin with body-weight exercises, resistance bands, free weights, or machines. Ask a qualified fitness professional for guidance if you’re unsure how to perform an exercise or use equipment, and gradually increase resistance as your strength improves.