Weight Training Basics
Are you looking to incorporate weight training into your daily exercise routine? Regardless of whether you're a man or woman, young or old, a weight training program can have an advantageous effect on your health. This is a good way to build—or rehabilitate—muscle. For example: give a healthy elasticity to areas of your body that you believed were doomed to stay jiggly. Two quick points:
- it does not have to be too strenuous
- you don't have to purchase pricey equipment
Does the vision of large men raising heavy barbells over their heads come to mind when you hear the term "weight training"? For a clearer picture, here's a definition: weight training is a specific form of strength training that utilizes free-weights or weight machines to improve the strength, and increase the size, of the muscles by both shortening, and lengthening, (contracting) the muscles under load.
Weight Training Equipment
Weight training equipment consists of:
- Free-Weights
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- barbells
- dumbbells
- pulleys
- The Body
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- pull-ups
- push-ups
- Weight Machines
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- Smith machine
- power cage (or squat cage)
- stack machine
A personal trainer at your local gym can show you how to use good form and proper breathing techniques with a weight training routine. The benefit of joining a gym—besides the training—is the access to a wide variety of weight machines. Some target the whole body and others are for specific muscle groups. If you're not sure how to use a particular device, don't hesitate in asking for assistance. A properly executed workout is a safe one.
Weight Training Exercise At Home
You can do your weight training exercise at home, as well. Simple dumbbells that weigh 1 to 5 pounds can be used. By walking with the weights in hand you can include cardio in your workout. Or, you can do sets of reps. A strength training DVD will show you how to get the most from your routines.
If you want to create a weight training gym at home, you can purchase a weight bench and barbells or a machine. Be sure and do some initial research, so you're more likely to get something that you'll actually like using. If you rapidly become weary, or find that your workout is too hard, you are probably going to quit before you experience any actual results.
