Weightlifting Basics

So you just purchased a gym membership, but you are uncertain what to do when you actually go to the gym. Well, this guide will tell you exactly what you need to do to become acclimated with the gym.

First, we must determine your goals. If you are trying to build strength, you want to use heavier weights and less reps. Anywhere between 3-5 reps is ideal when trying to build strength. If you are looking to build muscle mass, higher reps is ideal. Anywhere between 8-12 is a good range. Personally, I like to mix this up. I think regardless of your goal, it is important to incorporate a variety of reps. You cannot build strength without building some muscle mass, and you cannot build muscle mass without building some strength. One popular technique is the 5x5 program. This means that you do 5 sets of 5 reps per set. I integrate this technique with the rest of my workout, and it seems to do the job nicely. The key is variety. If you do the same exercises with the same reps for months, you will notice your body becoming too acclimated to your regimen. Anyways, onto some of the basics when actually lifting weights.

1. Never lift more than you can handle. Do not be embarrassed if you cannot lift too much weight because everyone who is in that gym started out with that much weight. Leave your ego at home.

2. Focus on your technique. While perfect technique isn't essential, good technique is. Bad technique can and probably will lead to injury. Plus, bad technique will not benefit you as much with growth. The first time you lift weights, your technique will probably be poor. I recommend visiting www.bodybuilding.com - they have videos on almost all of their exercises, and you can see the proper technique.

3. Train ALL muscles in your body. This one for sure veterans and newbies alike do not seem to follow. There is no reason to never train your legs. You will start to look disproportionate.

4. Decide whether you are going to do a full-body workout, or individual body parts. I'd recommend a full body workout when starting since your muscles will tire easily. I used to do three upper body day and two lower body days. Now I do a chest day, a back day, a shoulders/traps/forearms day, a leg day, and a biceps/triceps day. You'll be able to figure it out as you go along.

5. Do NOT overtrain. Especially when beginning. I'd recommend spending about an hour to an hour and a half in the gym. No more is necessary per day. Your body starts to fade around an hour, so anything significantly after that will probably suffer from poor form. Thus, you'll end up wasting time and possibly injuring yourself.

6. REMEMBER THE BIG THREE: Squats, deadlifts, and bench press. These power exercises are essential to any workout. You'll see the most gains in strength and mass by incorporating these exercises into your routine. They also burn a significant amount of calories, so they are great if you are trying to lose weight. I generally only see people doing the bench press; much of that has to do with those people only working their upper body. These exercises are ESSENTIAL. Do not skip them.


These are just some of the basics to weightlifting. I'll follow up this article with an article on some more advanced techniques. However, if you are beginning, I highly recommend you follow this advice. It will save you time and potential injury.

Training Basics

I see this all the time; people who do not want to workout and think they can lose weight by avoiding it...WRONG! You MUST workout in addition WITH a good diet. These are non-negotiable. You must have a good diet with exercise to lose weight. Why is this? Simply put, your body will not consume your body fat if there is no reason to do so. If you eat enough food in a day, your body will grab food from there. Only when there is no source of energy from food will the body start to consume body fat for energy. Working out is the safest, most effective way to reduce body fat. When your body runs out of glycogen (sugars from carbs), it will dig into the fat sources. However, this doesn't mean you can avoid eating. If you didn't eat, your body will start slowing down your metabolism and you will end up gaining weight because your body will think it needs less calories. Now that you comprehend the fact that working out is necessary, you must devise a workout plan. While cardiovascular exercise is great, the best way to lose weight is by lifting weights! Yes, this is the most effective way. Why is this? Cardio exercises are aerobic. Lifting weights is an anaerobic exercise. That literarly means "without air." This is because anaerobic exercise requires your body to use sugars (glycogen) in substitue of oxygen. Thus, your body will resort to fat for energy. Along with this, the body will get used to the aerobic exercises and burning off fat will happen less likely. When performing high intensity exercise, your body will tire from it and will cause your metabolism to speed up. A common technique for losing body fat is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT.) This form of training takes less time than aerobic training, and the end result is better. Your metabolism will continue to work for hours after terminating exercise. So what do you need to do?

First, if you beginning to exercise, start with aerobic exercise. Walking at a brisk pace, cycling, and jogging are good to start. Once you have adapted your body to this exercise, you can start to perform more anaerobic exercises. My recommendation for starting: 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weightlifting, DAILY! You must exercise daily in order to get results. After you have been doing that for awhile, you can decide what you need to do to improve your body. Good luck!