A Beginner’s Guide to Weight Training

If you’re a newbie, then it can be pretty hard to start with strength training. Not knowing what to do, why to do it, and which exercise is good and which not can first of all be pretty challenging, and secondly, it can be very demotivating and nerve-wracking. This is why you should always familiarize yourself with the exercises and see how and why they are done. Once you get the gist of strength training, you will easily begin to craft your own workouts and target the muscles that you want, which will make your workouts much more interesting. So, without further ado, what are the things that any beginner should know beforehand?

Know the benefits

First of all, you should know everything about the benefits of strength training.

1. Burns more fat – Even after a strength workout, muscles remain active for a long period of time, which means that you burn more calories during the day.
2. Prevents injuries – Having strong muscles means that you will also have strong bones and connective tissue. All of that contributes to you having a stronger body and the ability to endure more stress than people who don’t do strength exercises.
3. Keeps you young – There are studies that show that resistance and strength training can enhance your overall health, especially heart health. It can furthermore reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels, also in addition to reducing lower back pain, increasing bone density and improving sleep. All of these symptoms lead to a healthier lifestyle that is going to keep you young longer.
4. Improves your mood – Strength workouts are not only great for overall health, they can also improve your mood. They are known to reduce anxiety and even fight depression and boost your confidence.

Misconceptions

It’s perfectly natural not to know everything about strength training; a lot of people have some misconceptions. That’s why we’re here, to clear that up. First of all, the most important thing to know is that you don’t necessarily have to join a gym. There are plenty of benefits of working out at home, but you need to have proper equipment. Also, you don’t have to take a break if you’re travelling somewhere, as you can find places to conduct your daily strength training wherever you are. For example, you can always book quality personal training in Hong Kong or a nearby city and thus not miss a workout, and perhaps you will be able to learn something new.

Moreover, if you’re new at the gym, you don’t have to know how all of the equipment works right from the start. All of us were beginners at a certain point, so it’s not embarrassing to actually ask for help and directions from a person who knows his job, such as a personal trainer. Take advantage of your free orientation and learn more about the strength-training program, the gym and the equipment. Finally, know that you don’t have to use weights or machines if you don’t want to. You can work with your own body weight (which is an amazing thing to do and highly recommended), but you can also use bands and free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells or kettlebells. Once you start with your strength training, make sure that you combine your weights – have a light set, a medium set and a heavy set.

Important steps

Finally, before you start with your first strength training, let’s go over some important steps.

• Start with a simple program, as your goal is to do a routine that works for all muscle groups (on 2 days of the week that are not consecutive). This will help you build a strong foundation.
• Always start with your warm up as you don’t want to get injured.
• Focus on the form as this will help you reap all the benefits of a strength workout. This means that you should pay attention to your posture, move slowly and remember how to breathe properly.
• Have a day off to recover, as it’s not very healthy to be working out every single day of the week.
• Spice things up from time to time. This will help you train your body in a better way and will keep your workouts much more interesting.

Don’t be afraid to start with weight training. It can be quite spooky in the beginning, especially if you don’t have any experience with workouts, but you will easily get the gist of it. And once you do, you will learn how to have fun and enjoy!