Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Strength Weight Training - What You Need To Know About Weight Training


Weight training is a great way to stay in shape, build muscle, and look great. But if you are just starting out training with weights then there are a few things you need to be a aware of in order to get the most out of your exercise routines.

The most import thing to do when it comes to strength weight training is warming up your muscles prior to physical exertion. Many inexperienced weight lifters don't believe a warm up routine is important.

On the contrary, a solid warm up routine helps circulate blood through the muscle tissue which prevents the chance of serious injury and also helps maximize your strength during repetitions. A good warm up need not last more than five or ten minutes. 


You can warm up by simply reducing the weight you intend to do by 50% and doing ten reps of each exercise. In addition to reducing injury, a good stretching and warm up session will actually make your strength weight training session substantially more effective. Your muscular development will be easier and smoother with just a few minutes of warm up and stretching and you may even notice that the muscle shapes you are trying to achieve are better formed.

You don't necessarily need to buy a gym membership in order to start weight training although that certainly is the best option given the type and quantity of exercise equipment available. Believe it or not, a few pairs of dumbbells will allow you to do dozens of exercises without ever leaving your home. Bowflex recently released a new set of adjustable weight dumbbells that are essentially like buying 10 pairs of dumbbells. You can buy the new Bowflex dumbbells on Ebay for less than $150.

In my opinion, the most important thing you can do to maximize your muscle gains from weight training, other than warming up properly, is to learn the proper weight lifting techniques for each and every exercise. Performing an exercise improperly will not only hinder your gains but could also lead to very serious injury. When starting a new exercise or a new routine always do some research online first or consult an expert trainer before hand. 

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