Weight Training
If you want to
change your body, one of the most important things you can do is lift weights.
Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your
body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a
strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights
can:
training can be confusing--what exercises should you do? How many sets and
reps? How much weight? The routine you choose will be based on your fitness
goals as well as the equipment you have available and the time you have for
workouts.The Basics
If you're setting up your own
program, you'll need to know some basic strength training principles. These
principles will teach you how to make sure you're using enough weight,
determine your sets and reps and insure you're always progressing in your
workouts.
points in mind:
For
beginners, you want to choose about 8-10 exercises, which comes out to about
one exercise per muscle group. The list below offers some examples:
Sequence of Exercises
Make sure
you choose at least one exercise for each major muscle group.
with your larger muscle groups and then proceeding to the smaller muscle
groups.The most demanding exercises are those performed by your large muscle
groups and you will need your smaller muscles to get the most out of these
exercises. But, don't feel limited by that. You can do your exercises in any
order you like and changing the order is a great way to challenge yourself in
different ways.
How Many Reps/Sets To Do
You've
figured out the exercises you should be doing, but what about the number of
sets and repetitions? Your decision should be based on your goals. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends
8-12 reps for muscular strength and 10-15 reps for muscular endurance. They
also recommend at least 1 set of each exercise to fatigue although you'll find
that most people perform about 2-3 sets of each exercise. In general:
Long To Rest Between Exercises/Workout Sessions
This will
depend on your goal. Higher intensity (i.e., when lifting heavy) exercise
requires a longer rest. When lifting to fatigue, it takes an average of 2 to 5
minutes for your muscles to rest for the next set. When using lighter weight
and more repetitions, it takes between 30 seconds and 1 minute for your muscles
to rest.
The American College of Sports
Medicine recommends training each muscle group 2 to 3 times a
week. But, the number of times you lift each week will depend on your training
method. In order for muscles to repair and grow, you'll need about 48 hours of
rest between workout sessions. If you're training at a high intensity, take a
longer rest.
Where to Workout
You don't have to
join a gym to get a great strength training workout. A gym is nice because
you'll have access to both machines and free weights, so you have plenty of
variety. If you do join a gym, it's a good idea to incorporate both types of
equipment into your workout routine for variety. Learn more about free weights vs. machines.
If you decide
to workout at home, here are a few items you might want to consider
buying:
If you want to
change your body, one of the most important things you can do is lift weights.
Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your
body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a
strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights
can:
- Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more
calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn
all day long.
- Strengthen bones, especially important for women
- Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
- Help you avoid injuries
- Increase your confidence and self-esteem
- Improve coordination and balance
training can be confusing--what exercises should you do? How many sets and
reps? How much weight? The routine you choose will be based on your fitness
goals as well as the equipment you have available and the time you have for
workouts.The Basics
If you're setting up your own
program, you'll need to know some basic strength training principles. These
principles will teach you how to make sure you're using enough weight,
determine your sets and reps and insure you're always progressing in your
workouts.
- Overload: To build muscle, you need to use more resistance
than your muscles are used to. This is important because the more you do, the
more your body is capable of doing, so you should increase your workload to
avoid plateaus. In plain language, this means you should be lifting
enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of
reps. You should be able to finish your last rep with difficulty but
also with good form.
- Progression. To avoid plateaus (or adaptation), you need to
increase your intensity regularly. You can do this by increasing the amount of
weight lifted, changing your sets/reps, changing the exercises and changing the
type of resistance. You can make these changes on a weekly or monthly
basis.
- Specificity. This principle means you should train for your
goal. That means, if you want to increase your strength, your program should be
designed around that goal (e.g., train with heavier weights closer to your 1 RM
(1 rep max)). To lose weight, choose a variety of rep ranges to target
different muscle fibers.
- Rest and Recovery. Rest days are just as important as
workout days. It is during these rest periods that your muscles grow and
change, so make sure you're not working the same muscle groups 2 days in a
row.
points in mind:
- Always warm up before you start lifting weights. This helps
get your muscles warm and prevent injury. You can warm up with light cardio or
by doing a light set of each exercise before going to heavier weights.
- Lift and lower your weights slowly. Don't use momentum to
lift the weight. If you have to swing to get the weight up, chances are you're
using too much weight.
- Breathe. Don't hold your breath and make sure you're using
full range of motionthroughout the
movement.
- Stand up straight. Pay attention to your posture and engage your abs in every movement
you're doing to keep your balance and protect your spine.
For
beginners, you want to choose about 8-10 exercises, which comes out to about
one exercise per muscle group. The list below offers some examples:
- Chest: bench press, chest press machine,
pushups, pec deck machine
- Back:
one-armed row, seated row machine, back extensions, lat pulldowns
- Shoulders:
overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
- Biceps: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration
curls
- Triceps: tricep extensions, dips,
kickbacks
- Quadriceps:
Squats, lunges, leg extension and leg press machines
- Hamstrings:
deadlifts, lunges, leg curl machine
- Abs:
crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists, pelvic
tilts
Sequence of Exercises
Make sure
you choose at least one exercise for each major muscle group.
- The muscles to work include: Chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps,
quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominals.
- If you leave any muscle group out, this could cause an imbalance in your
muscles and possibly lead to injuries.
with your larger muscle groups and then proceeding to the smaller muscle
groups.The most demanding exercises are those performed by your large muscle
groups and you will need your smaller muscles to get the most out of these
exercises. But, don't feel limited by that. You can do your exercises in any
order you like and changing the order is a great way to challenge yourself in
different ways.
How Many Reps/Sets To Do
You've
figured out the exercises you should be doing, but what about the number of
sets and repetitions? Your decision should be based on your goals. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends
8-12 reps for muscular strength and 10-15 reps for muscular endurance. They
also recommend at least 1 set of each exercise to fatigue although you'll find
that most people perform about 2-3 sets of each exercise. In general:
- For fat loss: 1-3 sets of 10-12 reps using enough weight
that you can ONLY complete the desired reps.
- To gain muscle: 3+ sets of 6-8 reps to fatigue. For
beginners, give yourself several weeks of conditioning before going to this
level. You may need a spotter for many exercises.
- For health and endurance: 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps using
enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired reps.
Long To Rest Between Exercises/Workout Sessions
This will
depend on your goal. Higher intensity (i.e., when lifting heavy) exercise
requires a longer rest. When lifting to fatigue, it takes an average of 2 to 5
minutes for your muscles to rest for the next set. When using lighter weight
and more repetitions, it takes between 30 seconds and 1 minute for your muscles
to rest.
The American College of Sports
Medicine recommends training each muscle group 2 to 3 times a
week. But, the number of times you lift each week will depend on your training
method. In order for muscles to repair and grow, you'll need about 48 hours of
rest between workout sessions. If you're training at a high intensity, take a
longer rest.
Where to Workout
You don't have to
join a gym to get a great strength training workout. A gym is nice because
you'll have access to both machines and free weights, so you have plenty of
variety. If you do join a gym, it's a good idea to incorporate both types of
equipment into your workout routine for variety. Learn more about free weights vs. machines.
If you decide
to workout at home, here are a few items you might want to consider
buying:
- Resistance bands are around $6 to $15. They're
small, light, travel well and you get get a full body workout with
it.
- Dumbbells are relatively inexpensive and you can do a variety of exercise
- The larger muscles of the glutes, thighs, chest and back can usually handle
heavier weight than the smaller muscles of the shoulders, arms, abs and
calves.
- You'll usually lift more weight on a machine than with dumbbells. With
machines, you're usually using both arms or both legs for the exercises while,
with dumbbells, each limb works independently. So, if you can handle 30 or 40
pounds on a chest press machine, you may only be able to handle 15 or 20 pounds
with dumbbells.
- If you're a beginner, it's more important to focus on good form than it is
to lift heavy weights.
- It may take several workouts to figure out how much weight you
need - For set 2, increase your weight by 5 or more pounds and perform your goal
number of repetitions. If you can do more than your desired number of reps,
heavy up again for your 3rd set.
- In general, you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY do the
desired reps. You should be struggling by the last rep, but still able to
finish it with good form.
with them. Find them at your local Target or Walmart. Other options include a
barbell set, an exercise ball and/or a weight bench.
An exercise ball can be used for everything from
core work to a weight bench and is a great way to work on balance and stability
while building strength and endurance.
Choosing how much weight to lift
is often based on how many reps and sets you're doing. The general rule is to
lift enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. In
other words, you want to work to fatigue. However, if you're a beginner or if
you have medical or health conditions, you may need to avoid complete fatigue
and just find a weight that challenges you at a level you can handle.So, how do
you know how much weight you need to challenge your body? Below are a few tips
to help you decide:
each lift is to guess (not very scientific, huh?):
- Pick up a light weight and do a warm up set of the exercise of your choice,
aiming for about 10 to 16 repetitions.