To achieve the physique and strength of a bodybuilder, you would think that it would take many hours and a lot of time in the gym.
This is why many beginners believe that you should train multiple times a day and up to 6 days a week to notice any kind of progress. But, is this true? Read on to find out more.
Whether or not youâre a bodybuilder or want to be one, finding out how often bodybuilders train can be very useful when trying to build muscle.
Bodybuilders are known for mastering the art of building large amounts of muscle in a short amount of time.
So, youâre probably thinking you should follow the routine of a bodybuilder to gain muscle. Well, this isnât exactly true.
Letâs visit that common belief again that bodybuilders workout extremely frequently and for long amounts of time.
If you ask most bodybuilders, you will find that this is indeed true. However, everyone is different and some have different routines.
The majority of professional bodybuilders work out every day of the week and target at least one muscle group every day. On every other day, they would usually perform cardio.
To find out more about a bodybuilderâs workout routine and how long their workouts last, read on.
Todayâs blog will be exploring the world of bodybuilding workouts so you can decide whether you want to follow in the footsteps of these arduous exercise routines.
Professional bodybuilders usually work out very often and for long periods. On average, a bodybuilder will train their body 7 days a week.
During these workouts, they will focus on at least one muscle group to build muscle mass and strength. This is interspersed with cardio every other day.
When it comes to the actual workout, this can vary from one bodybuilder to another. Nonetheless, on average, a bodybuilderâs workout will last from 60 minutes up to 4 hours.
As you can imagine, becoming a professional bodybuilder requires time and a whole lot of dedication. Think about hitting the gym every day for 4 hours. Quite a scary thought!
One of the worldâs most famous bodybuilders (and film stars) is undoubtedly Arnold Schwarzenegger.
At the peak of his bodybuilding career, he was training 6 days a week, twice a day, with 2 to 3-hour sessions each time.
This does not mean everyone who wants to build muscle and become stronger should hit the gym as often or for as long sets, however.
For most people, such extensive and frequent workouts can actually diminish any results.
In truth, how much you workout and the results you get do not always match up as you would think.
Of course, the more work you put in, the more results you should see. However, this has to be balanced with a sufficient recovery time between workouts.
If you push it too hard in the gym, and too soon, you may not achieve any results. A delicate balance is required.
One study concluded that considerable muscle damage from varied and/or frequent workouts can inhibit strength and muscle gains.
Instead of overdoing it with the workouts or working too hard, it is best to make small, consistent changes in an exercise regime and the volume at which you complete workouts.
More often than not, it takes a certain period of time for a trainerâs body to start seeing any results.
Bodybuilders are not your average muscular individual. While you can hit the gym and build muscle, bodybuilders go many steps further.
Meet a bodybuilder and you will immediately notice how colossal they are in size. This is because bodybuilders carry extensively large amounts of muscle.
And, these muscles require long and hard training sessions most days of the week.
The larger a muscle is, the more muscle fibers are inside it. Therefore, it takes a lot longer for these muscle fibers to break down.
This is why the average person, or athletes not looking to bulk up, should not train for the long hours associated with a bodybuilderâs workout.
You should not train as often or for as long as a bodybuilder unless your sole ambition is to become a competitive bodybuilder.
Bodybuilders can train more often than most because they are able to recover more quickly. Take the average weightlifter as an example.
They will train a muscle group around once a week while a bodybuilder will target the same muscle group around 3 to 3 times a week.
One of the main aspects of recovery is the level of testosterone. Many bodybuilders take anabolic steroids in order to work out for longer periods and recover quickly.
Then, there is nutrition. The correct nutrients are needed for optimal muscle recovery.
Many bodybuilders spend hours every day measuring out their meals to precision. Most of us do not have the time to do so.
The reality is that working out like a bodybuilder is not feasible for most people. The human body tends to adapt and improve when performing a limited amount of work.
Therefore, you should give your muscles 2 to 3 days to receiver between each training session.
So, that leaves the question, âhow often should I work out?â Well, this can vary for everyone as some of us are able to work out more than others.
But, on the whole, it is dependent on your diet and sleep schedule. If these are in check and healthy, you should aim to work out around 5 to 6 times a week. Each session should last for 45 to 90 minutes.
If you decide to work out this frequently, then you must optimize each workout and split them into exercises that target muscles on different days.
Your split workouts should allow each muscle group you work on to have enough time to recover sufficiently.
Bodybuilders work out more often than most athletes. Not only do they work out 6 to 7 days a week but the workout sessions are usually a few hours long and vigorous.
Unless youâre planning on becoming a world-class bodybuilder, you should not attempt the regular workouts of bodybuilders.
Stick to 5 to 6 days a week with 45 to 90-minute sessions for the best results.
Weightlifting may not spring to mind when thinking of exercises to lose weight.
Most of us think about cardio exercises liking running, cycling, or swimming and, while these can help in the pursuit of weight loss, some weight lifting techniques can be just as effective.
Lifting weights not only helps you become stronger, but it can also help you hit your fat loss goals and become more toned than ever before.
And you can lift weights from the comfort of your own home.
There are a range of benefits from weightlifting. You will increase your muscle mass while simultaneously burning fat. But, donât feel deflated if the scales donât change all that much.
What will change is your bodyâs composition meaning you will have more muscle and less fat. And, thatâs always a plus!
More muscle and less fat can result in an increase in your basal metabolic rate. This simply means that you will continue to burn more calories even while you rest. In the long run, this is extremely beneficial in weight loss.
Of course, not all of us want to become muscle-bound and the next Mr or Miss Universe. Some of us just want to shed a few pounds.
Whether you do this through cardio or weightlifting, losing excess weight is always important for your mental and physical well-being.
If youâre not a weightlifter or only lift weights sporadically, then itâs time to pick up those dumbbells!
Although it may be intimidating at first, weightlifting workouts can help boost your mood and generally improve your lifestyle.
So, read on as we guide you through certain techniques to lose some pounds through lifting weights. Not only will you feel and look better, but your bone health and metabolism can be improved upon.
By the end of this blog, we hope you will be lifting those dumbbells and getting to work on becoming the person you want to be.
To successfully achieve fat loss by lifting weights, you will need to follow some basic principles.
The most important rules to follow include the number of sets you perform, the type of weightlifting exercises used, the amount of weight, and more.
Letâs take a closer look to show you how to lose weight by lifting weights.
If you intend to build muscle rather than burn fat, it is always best to train one or two muscle groups in each workout.
These sessions should work very hard on the muscles to help create new muscle tissue. But, if your goal is to burn fat, then you should focus on full-body workouts rather than one or two muscle groups.
Full-body workouts will help raise your heart rate. These have a similar effect as circuit training and supersets.
However, the rest periods between the sets should be short to achieve the best weight loss results.
If you work on more muscle groups in every workout, you will be exerting more energy. Even after you have trained, your body will require greater energy consumption during recovery.
Therefore, you will continue to burn fat during your resting periods.
If you want to build strength and muscle, straight sets of single lifts are the best method. However, in order to lose some of that belly fat, you should perform different moves throughout the workout and change up the lifts.
Supersets are a great way to lose some unwanted pounds. A superset is when you follow one move with another with little to no rest between.
These movements can target particular muscle groups in the lower and upper body such as the pectorals and quads as well as antagonistic muscle groups such as biceps.
You should also include a tri-set. These are three lifts that are grouped together with little to no rest. Another set to try is the giant set.
This includes a set of four or more moves with little to no rest in between each one.
Some would argue that a giant set is a form of circuit training and, in truth, it is. Giant sets have the same effect as they help to increase the heart rate and result in muscle fatigue.
This is critical for allowing your body to work on losing stored fat.
You may be forgiven for thinking that the heavier the weight, the harder you will need to work and the more weight you will lose. However, this is not always the case.
By reducing the weight you lift, you could increase the speed at which you lose weight. Yes, itâs still important to lift heavier weights if you want your muscles to work hard.
But, by making the weights a little more manageable, whether that is on a bar or using dumbbells, you can then focus entirely on using your muscles to lift the weight.
Doing this will also decrease the risk of injury due to poor form. A lighter weight will help you maintain momentum and achieve quality lifting set after set.
You should prioritize lifts that make two joints move simultaneously, otherwise known as compound lifts.
Examples include overhead presses which work the shoulders and elbows and squats that work the knees and hips.
Compound exercises are great for weight loss as they involve a range of muscle groups that you can target in such one gym session.
The more muscles you use in a workout, the more weight you can lift. Although lighter weights are best for long-term fat loss goals, you shouldnât forget about heavier lifts.
The heavier the weight, the harder your muscles will need to work. This means your heart and lungs will need to work harder to pump blood and oxygen to those muscles being worked.
Therefore, you will burn more calories during your gym session as well as the hours of rest after.
To repair the damage done to your muscles during weight lifting, your body needs to increase your metabolism. This is the rate at which you burn calories.
This also helps oxygen to flow to these muscle groups again after training. For isolation moves such as bicep curls, keep these for the end of your workout once you have completed the heavy lifts.
Lifting weights is a great and fun way to increase fat loss. With careful gym session planning, proper weights for your body to handle, and short rest periods between sets, you could see those pounds drop quicker than ever.
And best of all, it can all be done from the comfort of your own home.
Bodybuilding is something that many of us have heard of, but may not necessarily know a lot about.
Weâve all heard of the big names of bodybuilding such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Flex Wheeler, but if you want to try this for yourself, then thereâs a lot of factors to consider.
So, what exactly is bodybuilding? Find out everything you need to know about this sport in our simple and handy guide!
Bodybuilding can be described as a sport that involves extremely strenuous physical exercise and activity in order to enlarge, grow and strengthen the muscles of the body in order to âbuildâ them.
The whole purpose of body building is to enhance the body and oneâs physique through exercise or by working out.
The main focus of body building is to grow the muscles and tone them, in a way that enlarges and strengthens the body.
The majority of the time, bodybuilders achieve this look through strenuous exercise and weightlifting in order to gain those large, defined and toned muscles.
In bodybuilding competitions, people will compete in order to see who has the most âidealâ image and the best physique out of all of the other competitors.
Bodybuilding competitions focus on mainly the aesthetics of the body, and the goal is to have the perfect physique from head to toe.
For others, bodybuilding is simply a way of life, and a hobby that they like to partake in.
It can be very motivating to see results due to your hard work in the gym, and many people strive to do more, do better, lift more weights and become stronger for their own sense of self-confidence.
Bodybuilding is not just about lifting weights and being strong. You may have to alter your diet, and be careful with what you eat in order to see results.
For optimal muscle growth, you will need proper nutrition, and natural, healthy foods.
For instance, to build muscle mass, you will need to ensure that you have protein and a balance of natural, whole foods filled with nutrients and vitamins.
Drinking water is also essential in growing muscle and in aiding recovery from strenuous exercise.
The vast majority of the time, you are going to want to eat whole foods, along with some healthy fats, fruits and vegetables and enough protein to give you energy to work out.
An important tip to remember is that as the day goes on, you will need to lower your carb intake, as this can help aid fat burning so that you can become leaner.
You should also not be eating fats after training as this can slow down the absorption of nutrients that you need for your muscles.
You should also monitor your weight, and your calorie intake. From there, you can work out what you need to maintain your weight, and what carbs or fats you need to increase/reduce based on your progress.
If youâre new to the world of bodybuilding, then there is a lot of information to remember. It takes hard work and dedication to get that stronger, leaner and bigger body, so how can you achieve this?
Well, the basics are that you need to lift heavy weights, have a proper, healthy diet, take rest days and make use of supplements to help you grow.
But thereâs so much more to learn, but luckily weâve got some tips to help you.
When starting weight training, itâs easy to get caught up and want to go heavier as soon as possible, but itâs not always feasible.
Itâs better to start with weights you can comfortably lift for reps, so that you are in control, and slowly work your way up.
Resting between sets briefly can help your body pump blood to your muscles to maximize your workout.
You can use compound lifts to utilize lots of joints at once such as bench presses, pullups, leg presses or squats.
This can ensure that you are using more than one muscle at the time, for more efficient muscle building.
Always ensure that you are lifting weights and training in the proper way. This can ensure that youâre targeting the right muscles, and that you do not injure yourself.
Most of the time, youâll need to use reps of about 6-12 as this is best for building muscle mass and improving your overall strength.
In order to be a bodybuilder, you are going to have to train more frequently.
For the initial weeks, you may need to train every body part twice a week in order to see results, but donât overdo it as you could injure yourself and have to rest up for weeks.
Hydration is so important. This is good because youâll be sweating a lot during your workouts and you could become dehydrated, but water can also help our bodies heal and muscles heal after a big workout.
Give yourself a time limit in the gym, so youâre not wandering around or being unproductive.
If youâve only got an hour to get your muscles pumping, then you have to get moving in that time.
Eating protein is key in building muscle and body size. It can also help you maintain muscle mass! Just make sure itâs the right kind of protein such as lean meats and fish.
Youâll also need healthy feets to keep your energy levels up and your body healthy.
Fruits and veggies can give you a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, which will highly benefit you if you are trying to lose weight and tone up.
If bodybuilding, then it is vital that you give your body the fuel it needs to become stronger and build muscle mass.
However, it is important not to overeat as this will result in fat gain, as you wonât be burning off the energy you have.
Protein for breakfast can really set you up for the day. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and can give you a great metabolism ready for the day ahead.
Donât be so hard on yourself, you can have a cheat day every once in a while, or even once a week.
Just make sure youâre not overdoing the cheat day with fatty foods and lots of alcohol, and always return to your usual diet and exercise regime the next day.
Try not to stress if you do not see results quickly. Itâs a long process, and one that takes time. Just keep calm, be patient, and keep at it.
To summarize, bodybuilding is when various people work on their bodies through strenuous exercise and weight lifting in order to enhance their physique or body.
The purpose of bodybuilding is for muscle growth, strength and weight loss, so that you can have the most ideal body weight, muscle mass and appearance.
With some of our tips, you can start your bodybuilding journey today.
If you are looking to become fitter, leaner, and stronger, you may have been advised that weight training is something that you should focus on.
Your first thought might go straight to images of extremely ripped bodybuilders, and that might not be your aim.
You may be wondering, what is strength training? Strength training is designed to work your body on becoming stronger, not looking stronger.
Bodybuilding, on the other hand, aims to make your body look as strong as possible from the outside. Depending on what you are aiming for in your fitness training, it is important to be aware of the difference.
As both bodybuilding and strength training require weights, you may be struggling to tell the difference between the two.
Below we have all the information you need to help differentiate strength training from bodybuilding and give you more of an insight into your goals.
Bodybuilding is all about how strong you physically look, not how strong you actually are.
Some bodybuilders arenât as strong as they look due to insufficient energy stored in their muscles, but that isnât what bodybuilding is about.
When you begin bodybuilding, you will need to make a lot of changes to your lifestyle in order to greatly increase the size of your muscles.
Although you wonât be focusing too much on strength, your strength will definitely increase during training.
When bodybuilding, you are looking for your blood to bring oxygen and nutrients to your muscles to increase their energy. Then, you will undertake a process called hypertrophy.
There will then be small tears made in your muscles, which your body will constantly work to repair. Whilst continually being repaired, your muscles will become larger so there is more room to store energy.
Unlike bodybuilding, your muscles will grow over time when practicing strength training as you are working on higher weights and low reps.
You will be focusing on how much force your muscles can produce to lift heavier weights which will improve your overall strength.
As you will be working on lifting heavier weights, your bones, central nervous system, and joints will gradually become stronger over time.
Your muscles will become more prominent over time, but unlike bodybuilding, this wonât be the main focus of your workouts as you are working to improve your overall strength.
Someone who bodybuilds will be leaner than someone who practices strength training as bodybuilders are looking to be perfectly sculpted for competitions, whereas strength training works to gradually improve your overall strength.
Bodybuilding has many positive and negative connotations. If you are looking to begin bodybuilding, then you will need to be aware of all aspects of the competitive sport.
Bodybuilding has been shown to improve your lipid metabolism as bodybuilding aims to reduce the fat on your body which then lowers your cholesterol.
Bodybuilding has been shown to be more effective than resistance training in improving your lipid metabolism.
If you want to build a physically bulky physique, your motivation will definitely be key in succeeding.
As you will constantly be seeing your body change into the body of a bodybuilder, this will help motivate you more to achieve your goals.
Bodybuilding doesnât provide you with the same energy that strength training does due to strict diets and not being as strong compared to strength trainers.
Bodybuilders are placed on low-calorie diets which donât provide sufficient energy during the day.
As you will be entirely focused on your appearance during bodybuilding, this can lead to feelings of dysmorphia.
As you want your body to look a certain way, this can lead to bodybuilders feeling unhappy with their appearance.
Similar to bodybuilding, strength training has both its advantages and disadvantages.
It is also important to make sure you are aware of these before beginning strength training.
This is the main advantage of strength training as you will improve your overall strength and help your body to become stronger.
You will notice differences in your everyday tasks by improving your strength so it will positively impact your life.
Strength training helps to keep your heart healthy as it will lower blood pressure and help to pump oxygen around the body to the heart.
It is important to keep your heart healthy and practicing strength training will allow you to get sufficient exercise to do this.
Finding the right equipment to practice strength training can be hard as if you want to use weights at home, you need to find somewhere to store them.
There is the option of having a gym membership but you would need to find time to spare to have a session at the gym.
It is important to give your muscles a rest for at least a day when strength training as they need time to recover from the previous exercise.
Strength training every day wonât speed up your strength as you will only damage your muscles.
In conclusion, there are advantages and disadvantages to both bodybuilding and strength training, but it is up to you what you choose to practice based on how you want your body to feel.
If you are looking for a purely physical transformation, then bodybuilding will be more suited to you. However, if you want to feel stronger in yourself, then strength training will be your best option.
There is no right or wrong training, but it is important that you make sure that you are aware of all of the advantages and disadvantages.
It is important to push yourself in exercise so that you can improve, but not so much that you suffer injuries or do yourself any damage to yourself.
Whether you choose to begin bodybuilding or strength training, make sure that your first priority is paying attention to the needs of your body.
Bodybuilding is a popular weight-based practice thatâs performed by athletes looking to transform the physical appearance of their body through a series of intense muscular exercises.
In this guide, weâll take a closer look at 10 of the hard truths to keep in mind when it comes to bodybuilding. Weâll also look to answer a few of the frequently asked questions.
The first hard truth is the fact that itâs incredibly difficult and unlikely that youâll become as big and shredded as a natural bodybuilder.
While eating and training right is great for getting in shape, the benefits are ultimately limited, and you wonât be able to develop the same mass and conditioning of pro bodybuilders no matter what routine you follow.
The number of sets that pro bodybuilders perform is so great that if the average person attempted to follow the workout routine of a pro bodybuilder, they would effectively whittle down any muscle mass they had in the first place.
The best case scenario would be minimal amounts of progress over a long period of time.
A number of aspiring bodybuilders often suffer because of the huge amount of contradictory information that exists online.
Trying to make sense of all this information is counterproductive, with it being easy to get lost in the sea of disinformation.
A lot of the products in the fitness and bodybuilding industry are advertised by athletes on some kind of steroids.
This misleads lifters into believing that they can also achieve the advertised physique by following the same programs and taking the same supplements. Unfortunately, this is more often than not, far from the truth.
Consequently, many aspiring, recreational lifters have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the development of their physique, and feel sad and depressed when theyâre unable to achieve, despite the countless hours of hard graft.
If you believe that supplements are essential for your physique, think again. Theyâre not some form of magic component thatâll transform your body, supplements are just a way to monetize the bodybuilding industry.
So, unless youâve got a mouth injury and youâre unable to consume solid food, donât rely on supplements. In fact, even popular supplements like creatine and protein arenât all that important.
Thereâs no denying that squats and deadlifts are two of the most effective exercises you can do to get into shape.
However, they also have some shortcomings, with aspiring bodybuilders and strength trainers often placing too much emphasis on them.
As is the case with supplements, donât rely on the supposed âmagicâ of deadlifts and squats, theyâre just exercises, not the be-all and end-all of bodybuilding.
Needless to say, lifting weights can become very repetitive and a little boring after a while. These detrimental feelings are only enhanced when the results slow down.
Itâs worth noting however, that some bodybuilders view these feelings as a good thing - almost like a test of faith and commitment to the practice.
You might think that the more you work out, the more youâll grow, however this is far from the truth.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as an aspiring bodybuilder is overtraining, therefore itâs important to accept recovery days as an equally valuable part of your training routine.
Training your muscles too often wonât give them enough time to heal properly.
For instance, working a particular body part to complete muscular failure can take between 5 to 10 days to fully recover.
A large number of lifters turn to bodybuilding because they want others to admire their physique.
While this certainly doesnât account for every single bodybuilder in the world, itâs a common theme running through the industry.
If youâre thinking of quitting the bodybuilding lifestyle, good luck. Itâs not as easy as you might think, with the underlying passion for the sport never too far from the surface.
Small breaks for a few months are possible, but quitting for good is a whole different story.
Bulking is an important part of bodybuilding if youâre following a training routine which requires you to put on extra mass for building muscle.
While, in principle, bulking might seem like a fun thing to do, every gram of nutrition past a certain point is stored as fat - which is obviously less than ideal for optimum muscle construction.
The best age is generally between 20 and 30 when youâve experienced full growth. Testosterone levels tend to peak around the age of 19, while they slowly begin to decline after 30.
Unlike a lot of athletes that lift weights with the prime objective of improving their functional strength, bodybuilders lift weights to increase the size of their muscles.
You might think that bigger muscles mean higher levels of strength, however itâs worth keeping in mind that the energy stored in bulky muscles isnât the same as real strength.
Therefore, more often than not, bodybuilders are weaker than they look.
Most pro bodybuilders spend around 10 hours in the gym per week if theyâre following a strict training routine and lifestyle.
This is usually divided into 1.5 hour workouts, four to six times a week.
Bodybuilding has its downfalls. So, for all aspiring or recreational bodybuilders coming into the sport, we hope the above, important factors will help with your bodybuilding workout.
There are hundreds of exercises and variations which can make everything seem daunting but we are here to tell you that all you need are these 10 exercises in your back pocket to get the results you want while developing your strength and learning about the world of weight training.
Whether your goal is to grow muscle, develop your strength, or lose weight these exercises will help you to achieve your goals.
Once you have the basics down and have perfected your form you will be able to start doing variations of all of these exercises as well as incorporating weights if you have solely been using your bodyweight or heavier weights if you have been using weights from the beginning of your training.
The below exercises are the top 10 weight training exercises for beginners. Once you have nailed the form for these exercises you can add more weight or start to perform more difficult variations.
These exercises will help build your strength so that you can progress onto more complex exercises in time.
Equipment Needed: No (weights can be added to increase difficulty)
The basic squat is a great exercise to have in your repertoire. Squats work out every muscle group in your body but are especially great for building strength in your glutes and leg muscles.
Equipment Needed: Yes, dumbbell weights or a weighted bar
Deadlifts are a difficult exercise to master so we recommend perfecting the form without using weights initially and then gradually building your way up to a heavier weight.
You can use dumbbells or weighted bars when performing this exercise but weighted bars are easier as you donât have to focus on moving both arms at the same time, as you would when using two dumbbells.
Equipment Needed: Yes, leg press machine
The leg press machine is great as there are a number of variations of this exercise and you can also work your calf on this machine.
The main thing to remember here is to always have a bend in your knees, never lock your knees at the top of the exercise to avoid a serious accident.
Equipment Needed: No (dumbbell weights can be added to increase difficulty)
Lunges are great for working your legs as well as working your balance.
There are lots of variations when it comes to lunges but take the time to master this basic form before moving onto more complicated variations.
Equipment Needed: No
Working the obliques is important as core strength will help you to lift more. During all weight training exercises, your core is engaged so it is important to work this muscle specifically.
When beginning with crunches, focus on using your core muscles to lift you up to avoid straining your neck.
Equipment Needed: No (resistance bands and weights can be added to increase difficulty)
Planks are a fantastic way of building up your body strength as you hold your entire body weight up and taught.
Begin this exercise on your knees and build your way up. Try holding for 30 seconds and build up the time from this starting point.
Equipment Needed: No
If you want toned and defined arms then this is the exercise for you. Push-ups are a great way of working the arms, shoulder, and back.
Equipment Needed: Yes, a pull up frame or assisted pull-up machine
This exercise can be tricky to begin so we recommend looking for a weight-assisted pull-up machine when starting out with this exercise.
Mastering pull-ups will help with your ability to hold your body weight in other exercises as you progress into more difficult weight training exercises.
Equipment Needed: Yes, dumbbells weights
Curls can be performed two ways, one of which works your biceps and the other way works your triceps.
Donât use any weights and go through the motion before introducing weights. Start with light weights and slowly progress onto higher weights.
This basic move will really benefit the strength of your biceps and triceps.
Equipment Needed: Yes. dumbbell weights
Similar to the curls, this exercise is performed using dumbbell weights usually and can be performed standing up or sitting down.
This exercise links in with pull-ups and push-ups as they all strengthen the upper body, with this exercise focusing on your upper back and shoulders.
When learning a new exercise, perfect the form using only your body weight before introducing any other weights.
This will help you to feel what the motion should feel like when performed correctly and allow you to correct your form when you introduce weights.
Preparing your muscles before exercising is an essential part of weight training.
By warming up you loosen the muscles meaning that they are ready for exercise and injury becomes less likely.
Following a schedule will allow you to become more comfortable in the gym as you will know what you are going to do each time you go there.
Following a schedule will also give your muscles rest days while you alternate working different muscle groups depending on the day.
It is also useful to track your progress so you remember what weights you have lifted previously as well as tracking your reps and sets to ensure you are achieving your goals.
It is always useful to complete an exercise with only your body weight to remind yourself of the correct form before lifting weights.
Correct form is the only way you will get results and also the only way you can protect yourself from getting injured.
Weight training is a great way to build up your strength as well as work on your aerobic health.
When performing weight training exercises your muscles are put under stress which makes them learn how to adapt which leads to an increase in strength.
Your aerobic health is linked to your lung and your heart, working your aerobic health is a great way of strengthening your heart and lungs which can help prevent serious illnesses.
No, this is a gym myth. Weight training, when performed correctly, will increase your strength which will make your muscles grow but it also is a great way of losing weight as lifting weights burns fat.
As you lose fat your newly strengthened and enhanced muscles start to show which makes you look toned and strong.
Weight training is a great way of working the entire body through only a few exercises, like those outlined in the guide above.
It is safe to weight train every day so long as you are not exercising the same muscle groups every single day. Often when weight training you will have a schedule that you follow.
This schedule gives certain muscle groups a rest so that they can repair after being trained. Resting your muscles is extremely important to avoid injury and also to see more visible results.
A basic schedule would be to work your way down your body, starting with a day dedicated to the upper body and a day dedicated to the lower body.
Depending on how often you work out you could divide your upper body workouts across two days, having one push day and one pull day.
You could also include a day for cardio and a rest day which would give you a full five-day schedule, it might look like this:
Are you new to lifting weights? Unsure where to start? We hope the above 10 exercises will help you to get the results you want while developing your strength and learning about the world of weight training.