Free Weights or Machines
Weight machines or free weights? As Deion Sanders says, "Both!" You can get good weight training results from either machines or free weights. A combination of both is probably best.
Strength training machines are easier to learn, can be useful for rehab, make it safer to do a weight training routine without a spotter, are more comfortable for beginners, and can allow you to change resistance faster.
Free weights (barbells and dumbbells) allow more variety of movement; train balance and coordination, which weight training machines don?t do; allow more functional movements; and are better for many types of sports training. Make sure you learn correct strength training exercise technique whichever approach you take. Try both machines and free weights, and see what works best for you.
Stretching and Strength Training
Be kind to your body! To avoid strains, sprains, muscle tears, and general soreness while doing your weight training routine, be sure to stretch for at least five minutes. This warm-up will loosen muscles and get the circulation flowing. Try a shoulder rotation and arm rotation (which make your arms and shoulders more flexible for arm shoulder strength training exercise).
When you¡¯ve completed a session in your weight training program, be sure to sit on the floor and cool down (cool downs are equally as important as warm-ups). Try this cool down:
? Sit with your legs spread apart
? Slowly walk your hands in front of you
? Inhale and exhale
? Walk your hands over to your left foot and grasp the toes
? Let your head hang
? Repeat with the right foot
? Slowly roll up
Training for Strength
For a maximum strength weight training routine, do strength training exercise with heavy loads and low repetitions. In your weight training program, use multiple sets and rest periods of 3-5 minutes.
Hilary Swank and Weight Training
It¡¯s not just her acting that won Hilary Swank the Best Actress Oscar. For her role as the gritty Maggie Fitzgerald in ¡°Million Dollar Baby,¡± Swank embarked on a weight training program that made her intimidating in the film. Through strength training exercise, she gained 19 pounds of muscle instead of the 10 pounds she was asked to gain, according to ESPN.
To train, Swank regularly cycles, runs, and does Pilates (it¡¯s no wonder those fight scenes didn¡¯t look like the usual Hollywood fakery). Swank¡¯s strength training and boxing instruction (four and a half hours a day) gave her the physical muscle for those clashes in the ring. She completed her boxing and weight training in 90 days! There¡¯s no guarantee that weight training will turn you into an Evander Holyfield, but it¡¯ll make you feel like a champion.
Proper Breathing
Just breathe! When doing your strength training exercise, always remember to breathe properly. Exhale on the contraction and inhale on the return. Example: in doing arm curls you would exhale as you curl the bar towards your body and inhale as you stretch your arm out, then return the bar back to the starting position. Establish a rhythm during your weight training routine.
Using Unfamiliar Equipment
All weight training machines are not created equal. Don?t expect the resistance to be the same on all similar strength training exercise machines. One lat pulldown or vertical bench may be actually heavier or lighter than another at the same setting, so you may have to make adjustments to get the workout you expect.
Some Cybex strength training machines number their plates. You can?t just add a zero and get the accurate weight--choose the plate that feels right for your workout. When you go to plate loading machines, consider machine weight. The sled on an angled leg press can weigh 50 lb or more, so if you put on 2 plates, it?s not the same as putting the pin in 90 on a selectorized machine.
Most Smith weight training machines are counter-balanced, so the bar weighs essentially nothing. If you put the same amount of weight you?ve been using on the Smith for your squats on a 44-lb free weight Olympic bar, you?re in for a surprise.
Finally, remember that even the same brand machines may feel different if they haven?t been properly maintained.
Lifting Belts
Belt it out: A weight training lifting belt can be used to protect your back during heavy, standing lifts. Don?t keep it cinched tight between strength training lifts, as it can raise your blood pressure. (Check with your doctor before doing heavy lifts if you have high blood pressure.)
In most cases, using a belt all the time will keep your back muscles from getting stronger, so they are a specific strength training exercise tool. Don?t be one of those people you see walking around the gym with a weight belt permanently on. Plus, they don't go with your general wardrobe.
Strength Training Basics
Does the thought of incorporating strength training into your exercise routine intimidate you? Have no fear!
All you really need to get started on a weight training program are some dumbbells and possibly some leg weights. Then, find at least one strength training exercise for each of the major muscle groups. These include the biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, abdominalS, back (upper and lower), glutes (buttocks), hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and shins. (Some exercises work more than one muscle group.)
Remember, KISS: Keep it simple, silly. Keep the exercises basic and perform two to three sets of each strength training exercise two to three days per week. Beginners can benefit from only one set per exercise.
Travel With Resistance Bands
Don't leave home without them! When you?re on the road, a good way to keep up your weight training routine is to pack some rubber exercise tubing or resistance bands and use that for resistance while doing strength training exercise in your hotel room. Practice with the tubing before you leave, so it will be familiar to you and you will be more likely to stick with your weight training program.
Good Weight Gain
Don?t be alarmed if the scale creeps up a bit after you start weight training. Muscle, by volume, weighs much more than fat so that when adding muscle during your weight training routine, you are shrinking if you stay the same weight. We want to pump you up!
For advanced trainees who want to continue to grow bigger and stronger, get creatine information and decide if that supplement is for you.
Lifting Gloves
Should you handle your strength training with kid gloves? If your hands are sensitive, you may want to wear gloves to prevent blisters and callouses when doing a weight training program with machines and especially free weights. Some people feel it improves their grip, but this is personal preference. Most sporting goods stores and many on-line equipment stores have special weight lifting gloves, which should feel snug during your strength training exercise routines.
Muscle Soreness
Airline delays, telephone delays on hold, and now muscle delays. What's an athlete to do? Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is when you?ve worked, or worked out, hard and don?t really feel it until the next day.
In weight training, it happens when you try a new strength training exercise or one you haven?t done for a while, or go up in weights too quickly. Avoid it by starting extra light with a new strength training exercise. If you?re a beginner suffering from DOMS, it?s best to skip a couple days in your weight training program and wait until it clears up before working out. If you?re experienced and feel you can handle it, you can do a very light workout.
The good news is, the next time you do the strength training exercise it won?t hurt nearly as much the next day, unless you?ve let 2 months go by between weight training workouts.
Training for Size
To bulk up, try this weight training routine on for size. For a weight training program that increases muscle size (muscle hypertrophy), choose loads that will allow 8-12 repetitions. Rest 30-90 seconds between sets, and do a variety of strength training exercises.
Repetition Maximum
Don't max out your weight training routine! Repetition maximum (rep max or RM) refers to the number of times you can do a given lift at a given weight with good weight training technique. 1 RM means you can do the lift once but not twice at that weight, such as a bench press 1 RM of 100 pounds. 3 RM means you can do the lift 3 times but not 4. Getting the max from your strength training workout sometimes means moderation.