Weight Lifting Tips

Weight lifting is the best way to go when you want to build muscles. It involves lifting weights in several repetitions in order to induce muscle repair and growth. Aside from building muscles, weightlifting can also promote a faster metabolism. This is due to muscles requiring more calories as energy than fat.

Further, weight loss can be achieved with faster metabolism. It can also strengthen the bones, the process of which basically works like the strengthening of muscles. Muscular endurance is also developed as well as minimizing injuries when exerting.

Getting the most out of your weight lifting program simply means doing it right. Be sure to follow what’s in your program to build muscles safely. You can follow these few weight lifting techniques to make your routine more effective.

• Lift heavier weights - weight lifting exercises simply won’t work if you keep lifting the same weight, unless of course you’re just maintaining a size. Muscle building works on the principle that the body compensates for the additional load by gradually building muscles. So be sure to also gradually increase lifted weights until you get your desired size.

• Increase intensity – aside from increasing weight, you can also increase the repetitions and intensity of your weight lifting workouts to attain a steady increase in strength as well as endurance.

• Program around a goal – your weight lifting program must have a target and it must be designed around this target. If you want to go for strength, focus on lifting heavier weights. If endurance is your goal, go for more repetitions. If you want to simply lose weight, vary your exercise to target different muscles which will lessen build up that can increase weight.

Weight lifting, though, is not without its hazards. Unlike other forms of exercise where the body is pitted against itself weight lifting makes the body deal with an outside force that can suddenly seem to be too much to handle. Injuries such as strains, fractures and dislocations are very real in weight lifting. Always have safety in mind and do the necessary things to minimize risk as much as possible.

Here are a few weight lifting tips to make your exercise safer:

• Consult your doctor – have a physical check up to assess whether weight lifting poses no health threat to you. This is most advisable for those above 40 years of age. Weight lifting in the midst of a physical problem is counterproductive and dangerous.

• Warm up and stretch – this should be your pre-weightlifting routine. Stretch your joints to the range of motions that you’ll be using when you’re lifting. This prevents ligament and tendon problems which stems from a shocked joint. Warm ups are useful because it readies your muscles for a more strenuous exercise by supplying it with an increased amount of blood and nourishment.

• Breathe properly – never hold your breath while lifting. This will result to an increased blood pressure. Be sure to follow proper breathing procedures.

• Wear appropriate gear - weight lifting gloves can help you overcome slippery conditions experienced in bars. Further, weight lifting belts can prevent hernia and back problems. Gear up on these to further amplify safety.

Weight lifting is indeed an exercise that achieves result. However, you need to put your safety first when doing such because it is an exercise that needs extreme caution so as to avoid any fatal injury.

The Advantages of Weight Machines

Fitness equipment such as free weights, dumbbells and barbells may all be great tools for physical fitness. However, a weight machine has several advantages that other weight fitness equipment just can’t match.

As with every other piece of fitness equipment, it is naturally important to exercise caution whenever you use a weight machine. However, compared to other weights, this fitness machine is still a much safer bet. With a weight machine, the odds of dropping a weight are practically non-existent. Plus, spotting someone on this fitness machine is much more convenient, as well.

Weight machines are fairly simple to use, yet offer a wide variety of physical fitness exercises to work every muscle group. Almost all of its options provide a means to work the triceps and the deltoids, while most of this fitness machine’s models also have a station to work the biceps. The ideal weight machine to use however would be one that works the quadriceps and the hamstrings, as well as all of the back muscle groups and more, in one swift and easy method.

Stack machines are fitness machines that provide a stack of weights that can be adjusted with a pin. Plate loads also offer this simple option, although with this fitness equipment, that weights can be removed. With one quick movement that is safe, quick and practically indestructible, the weight can be moved from any weight range as you wish without any need to waste time or energy to remove a bolt or friction lever or strapping on a number of discs, as can be done with other fitness equipment, like free weights.

A good weight machine will offer a strong set of handlebars that will allow you to maximize your physical fitness workout by working the deltoids, the trapezoids, the pecs and other groups. It will also provide a similar bar on a cable to work the triceps, biceps, abs and more. Even the dorsal muscles can get a physical fitness workout through a swivel and pate assembly that may be attached to the weights of the fitness machine. Plus, all of this is easily adjustable. You can even get one with chinning bars, while some have a station with a rowing machine, offering one of the best physical fitness workouts imaginable! Not only will these fitness equipments work every muscle in your body, but they are also helpful for health fitness through the cardiovascular system.

A good weight machine will also come with an adjustable incline on the bench, offering an easy and safe way to complete sit-ups and crunches at various levels that you might need. This same bench has dual purposes, as it may also be used to do bench presses with the use of a range of weights. Plus, it conveniently lets you start at an easy level, but keeps up with you as your strength level rises. A weight machine is a piece of fitness equipment that will take a while to outgrow, if ever.

Some weight machine models allow the bench to be used as an incline plane, as well, which works wonders if you often do hyperextension exercises, an excellent way to build your back and abdominal muscles.

As with any other fitness equipment, however, weight machines are not perfect; they come with their own drawbacks. Weight machines tend to much more expensive than free weights, so they should really only be considered as a long term investment. While a regular set of free weight can cost as little as a hundred dollars, most weight machines only start at $400, and those are only those with a bare minimum of features.

From a physical fitness workout perspective, it takes a fair amount of planning, as well as a good weight machine to avoid overworking the same muscles over and over again. Because of the limited motion ranges, there is the possibility of getting stuck in a rut, so beware of that. Keep in mind that it takes strength, coordination and balance, plus a focus on different directions to optimize your physical fitness workout on this fitness equipment. However, a weight machine that offers a number of variations makes it completely possible to overcome these problems in an easy manner.