Basic Guidelines for Beginning Resistance Training – Part 1

Muscular strength and endurance are two of the primary components of “fitness”. Today let’s focus on the benefits of resistance training and important introductory information. In upcoming posts, I will discuss basic guidelines of resistance training, designing a beginning resistance training program, and modifying your program.

These guidelines are intended for those of you who have never tried resistance training. For those of you who have some experience lifting weights, you may find the following guidelines helpful…they may remind you of a few important things you have forgotten along the way. If this information is stuff you already know, well, redundancy is a good thing.

The benefits of resistance training are many. The article “Potential Health-Related Benefits of Resistance Training” by Winett RA, and Carpinelli RN, reviews the science-based research demonstrating that “resistance exercise training has profound effects on the musculoskeletal system, contributes to the maintenance of functional abilities, and prevents osteoporosis, sarcopenia, lower-back pain, and other disabilities. More recent seminal research demonstrates that resistance training may positively affect risk factors such as insulin resistance, resting metabolic rate, glucose metabolism, blood pressure, body fat, and gastrointestinal transit time, which are associated with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.”

Now thats enough to make me want to go out and lift some weights. Seriously. Resistance training increases lean body mass, improves muscular strength and endurance and improves bone health. This is a good thing. It elevates mood (happier people – another good thing), improves our self-esteem (again, happy people), and allows us to be more physically active while decreasing our risk of injury from physical activity.

I think these are a few exceptionally motivating reasons to lift weights. Plus, it’s fun. Really, it can be.

There are two main points to address before jumping in:

1. Know why you are doing what you are doing. There are lots of different elements (which exercises, which type of equipment, how much weight, how many repetitions, etc., etc.) involved in designing a resistance training program. Knowing what your goals are will help you develop the most effective training program drawing on these various elements. So give it some thought…are you looking for general toning and improved fitness? Are you hoping to reduce the pain and limitations of osteoarthritis? Are you training for a specific sport or athletic event? Are you hoping to incorporate resistance training into a weight loss program? Take some time, think it through, and know why you want to lift weights.

2. Technique is everything. Well, okay, almost everything. But without technique you are, quite simply, wasting your time and, more importantly, risking serious injury. I have spent years working out in a gym, and I can’t help but notice what the other members are up to; it never ceases to amaze me how hard people work, how dedicated they are, AND how ineffective and dangerous many of their routines are.

So before we get started with basic guidelines, get somebody who really knows what they are doing, preferably a certified personal trainer, and have them teach you proper technique. This make take several sessions, but it is well worth your time. Trying to infer this information from pictures and descriptions in popular magazines, or even videos on the internet, is just not adequate. Once you understand what to do, how to do it and why you are doing it, you can workout on your own, applying what you have learned to create new and exciting exercise routines.

Learning proper technique means:
-understanding what each muscle group does and how to work each muscle group properly.
-understanding proper body alignment and correct beginning and ending positions.
-learning what variations are helpful and what variations are either ineffective or potentially harmful.
-learning how to use intrinsic, stabilizing muscles while the more superficial, working muscle is doing its thing.
-learning how to use the equipment properly, machines and free weights alike.
-learning how to breathe properly.

If these points don’t make sense to you, it is even more evidence that you need some guidance before you get started on your own.

Stay pumped! Stay tuned…tomorrow I’ll talk about basic resistance training guidelines. That’s when the fun really begins.

In health,
Jess