Weight Training 101
Weight Training 101
The most important part of my weight control programme is – weight training.
‘Why?’ I hear you cry. ‘Why do you hate us so much? Why would you make us lift heavy things and get all breathless and such, with the aches, and the pain?’ To which I can only reply, chill.
It’s not that hard.
And the benefits are amazing. Your body responds really quickly to resistance exercise. You stress your muscles by putting them under unusual strain, and they respond by growing. The end result? Everything gets better. You look better, your appetite improves, your fat melts away, your life gets easier. How much more do you want?
How do you start? By going to your local gym and asking the guy behind the desk to work out a programme for you. Make sure he knows you’ve never done this before and you want to start off easy.
He won’t let you down, not unless he’s a complete idiot. Remember, what he’s after is regular customers who keep coming back. He’s not about to make fun of you or give you poor service, because his livelihood depends on your patronage. If he does either of these things, you take your business elsewhere.
Your programme should concentrate on compound exercises that work the whole body, using many muscle groups at the same time. These work best for all over conditioning, and provide an increase in metabolic rate that burns off calories long after you’ve stopped exercising.
These exercises include the squat, the deadlift, the bench press, bent over rows, and the shoulder press. If your routine includes all these, you’re working your whole body. Don’t try to spot reduce your problem fat areas; it doesn’t work that way. If you’ve got a bit of a belly, there’s no point dodging a whole body workout just to concentrate on crunches and sit-ups. When you work all your body, all your muscles burn calories. You’ll shrink your belly quicker with the whole body workout.
How do you start? Carefully. Ask for help, particularly with correct form and choosing how much weight to lift. If at any time you think there’s too much weight for you to handle, let the instructor know. He’s not looking to get sued.
Here’s what you do…
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