Weight Training

Performing regular weight training exercises is very important for your overall health. The benefits of weight lifting are great and include increased energy and strength levels. Muscle building is one of the key goals of strength training workouts. Remember that muscle burns calories continuously thus if you are overweight, adding a few pounds of muscle can have a dramatic effect in helping you to lose weight fast.

There are many ways to get an effective weight training workout. If you have a very limited amount of time then there are only two exercises you can do to target the major muscle groups in your body and they are the bench press for the upper body and the squat or leg press for the lower body.

Of course you are more than welcome to do more targeted exercises like the dumbbell curl for the biceps and such but the above exercises are ideal to target the major muscle groups. It is important to keep in mind that it takes your body a lot of time to recover from strength training workouts. Unfortunately, most people that train with weight regularly tend to overdo it and end up in a state of overtraining. It is critical that you avoid this otherwise your immune system will become weakened and you will become susceptible to all kinds of illnesses.

The amount of time you need to rest depends on the intensity of your workouts. If you are a beginner and are lifting fairly light weights then taking a one week break between workouts can be sufficient. However if you lift significant amounts of weight then you may need to take three to six weeks between each workout session. A good way to tell if you are over trained is by checking the amount of the weights you are currently lifting.

If you are pushing more weight than your previous workout then you have given yourself enough rest. If you find yourself struggling to lift more weight than your last workout then you need to make sure to take more time off the next time. Consider joining a local gym and taking a few lessons from a personal fitness instructor on how to properly do the weight training exercises if you have never done them before. Take a friend with you if you can as this will make things more fun and you are more likely to stick with it long term if you enjoy your workouts.

There are also many quality home gyms you can purchase which can be ideal as it will allow you to get the exercise you need from the comfort of your own home. The fact is that it does not take much time to do an effective workout. As long as you are lifting weights that you find somewhat challenging is all it takes to reap the benefits. Make sure that you do not strain yourself too much during your workouts, if you feel any significant pain during an exercise be sure to stop and rest.

If your goal is to lose weight then remember that lifting weight alone is not enough. You will also need to make sure you are getting enough aerobics or cardiovascular exercise and also implementing effective dieting and nutritional habits. Check out our section on weight loss from the menu on the left to get further assistance in this area.

For many people, lack of time is the biggest reason they fail to engage in a regular exercise program. Static contraction training can help to solve this problem as this method of weight training takes very little time while still delivering great results. The concept of static contraction training (SCT) is to perform the exercises from the strongest range of motion and simply holding the weights for a few seconds. You will be able to lift much more weight using this method so be sure to use a spotter if necessary. Also you can purchase custom static contraction training equipment. Even though the cost is high, if your budget permits, it can be worth the money. You can visit http://www.precisiontraining.com/ to learn more.