WEIGHTLIFTING PART TWO

WEIGHTLIFTING

PART TWO

4) To make a plan you must determine your objective. Usually this would be either to build strength, lose weight or acquire definition which is a combination of the first two. Weightlifting can also increase flexibility, increase speed, prepare for other athletic pursuits and in general, make you feel better. Your plan will depend on which of these goals you have.

5) In simplest terms, your plan controls: a) which exercises you do and in which order you do them; b) how much and which kind of weight, if any, you use for each exercise; c) how many repetitions per set that you do; d) how many sets per workout that you do.

6) The lifting part of your workout should last between 20 and 60 minutes - never longer than that. Always look to consolidate and shorten the time.

7) Keep this in mind when designing your plan: More weight = more strength. More repetitions = more weight loss. You find your current ideal weight per exercise by continually increasing weight until you can no longer perform the exercise with perfect form for the number of repetitions you are shooting for. Look at 7 to 10 repetitions of an exercise as a middle ground and a good spot for those equally interested in losing weight and gaining strength. For losing weight as a primary goal, go to 12 to 15 repetitions per exercise. For strength as primary goal, use 3 to 5 repetitions as a basis.

8) Work the whole body! No matter your goal, work the whole body. If you feel a certain muscle or muscle group is deficient, its ok to do a little extra for that area but never neglect the rest to satisfy that need.