Developing a weightlifting program and learning the right techniques are great ways to get fit and take advantage of everything the gym has to offer. Read on to start building your muscles.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Lift Weights Properly
Step 1. Choose a weight of appropriate value
When you start lifting weights, it's hard to know how much to lift. You shouldn't start with too much weight and stop after a few repetitions, as multiple repetitions allow you to build muscles. Likewise, you shouldn't lift weights that are too light for you. Finding the right amount of weight will take practice.
- Find out what the ideal number of repetitions is for the exercise you are doing. If you are doing bench presses, you will need to do more than 3-4 repetitions to build muscle, so you will need to find a weight that you can lift 10, 15, or 20 times before muscle failure.
- Muscle failure is the point where you cannot physically perform another repetition unaided. The more you lift weights, the more familiar you will be with the point of muscle failure, and the more you will be able to push yourself to the limit.
- Ideally, muscle failure will occur right after your last scheduled rep. Choose the heaviest weight you can lift for the programmed number of repetitions.
Step 2. Lift slowly and at a constant speed
Finishing a workout quickly isn't the best way to maximize the positive effects of weight lifting. Do not lift weights in a hurry, risking injuries and wasting time. Doing fewer repetitions slower and with the correct technique is better than wearing yourself out by lifting too heavy weights and finishing in record time.
Spend at least an hour on a good workout. Do not train for more than a couple of hours and try to train for thirty consecutive minutes to ensure a healthy schedule
Step 3. Make sure you haven't eaten within 50 minutes of starting your workout, or you may end up with cramps
Make sure you don't exercise on an empty stomach or you won't have the energy to do the exercises. Have a meal one or two hours before exercising, and have a small fruit-based snack 15 minutes before starting, if you feel hungry again.
Step 4. Warm up before you start exercising
This will bring more oxygen to the blood and muscles. It also helps prevent - or at least reduce - muscle soreness after training.
A typical warm-up may consist of 5 push-ups and 5 sit-ups. Then rest for 30 seconds. Then do 10 repetitions of each exercise and rest again for 30 seconds; 20 repetitions, rest; then return to 10 and 5. After these sets, stretch your chest muscles and do squats before stretching your leg muscles
Step 5. After your workout, take a few minutes to cool down
You could just stretch or repeat the warm-up. The goal is to gradually reduce the heart rate and prepare the body for rest.
Part 2 of 4: Working the Arms
Step 1. Work on the bench press
Bench presses are probably the most common workouts, and involve lifting a weight directly upward from the chest, from a prone position, usually on a weight bench. It's a smart idea to ask a person to help you load and maneuver weights, especially if you're a beginner and don't have a clear idea of how much weight you are capable of lifting.
- Take the bar firmly, with your hands shoulder-width apart. You will need to hold the bar with a tight grip to generate tension and contract biceps, shoulders and chest muscles. Take a deep breath, pushing your chest up and your shoulder blades back and down towards the bench.
- Plant your feet and push them down as you grab the bar from the support. Bring the bar directly to your chest and keep the muscles contracted.
- Without letting it fall, lower the bar keeping it parallel to the floor, slowly and evenly, until it reaches your chest. Without letting your chest compress or lose tension, push up with your arms and legs, bringing the bar to the "high" position.
- Start with a weight that you can easily lift to learn the technique. Always get someone to help you, especially if you are a beginner.
Step 2. Do some dumbbell lifts
Dumbbell lifts are similar to bench press lifts, but with a dumbbell in each hand.
- Grab two dumbbells of appropriate weight and lift them straight up from your chest in a reclined position. Lower them slowly and at a steady speed until they touch the chest between the shoulder and the nipple. Bring them back up, directly above you.
- For a different but similar workout, do chest curls keeping your arms perfectly straight and lowering them sideways. The dumbbell lift is similar to a push-up, while the curl resembles the movement of the wings.
- To work a slightly different muscle group, consider doing bench press and dumbbell lifts on an incline bench. The technique will be the same, but thanks to the different lifting angle, the body will have to use other muscle groups.
Step 3. Try bicep curls
To strengthen your biceps, do standing or seated curls. Using an appropriate weight, hold the dumbbells in your hands at your hips, and bring them to your chest while contracting your biceps.
- You should keep the dumbbells parallel to your hips. To bring them to your chest, rotate them so that your palm is facing your body.
- You can do the exercise by alternating arms or doing more repetitions with one arm before moving on to the other.
Step 4. Do dumbbell rowing
This is a smart exercise to complement your arm workout. It involves lifting the dumbbells off the ground towards the chest from a kneeling position. Work with one arm at a time.
- Get on all fours, on the ground or kneel on a bench.
- Grab a dumbbell of appropriate weight and lift it off the ground to your chest before returning it to position and completing one rep. Switch arms at the end of the exercise.
Part 3 of 4: Working on the Legs
Step 1. Do squats
Most gyms have squat bars to train the quadriceps, the large muscle group in the legs. Also in this case it is important to get help, especially if you are a beginner. Using a barbell, hold the bar across your shoulders while standing.
- With the barbell still on the bolster, grasp it as you would for a bench press lift and move underneath it, loading it onto your shoulders behind your head.
- Lift the weight off the support and take a slow step back. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your head forward. It is important to keep your back perfectly straight during this exercise, so as not to risk fatigue.
- To perform a squat, bend your knees and hips, bringing your thighs parallel to the ground. Pause for a second before returning to your feet.
Step 2. Practice with the steps
Using a squat-like technique, load the barbell on your back, in front of a raised platform or sturdy step.
- With your feet hip-width apart, lift one knee and plant one foot on the step. The thigh should be parallel to the ground. Step onto the step with the other foot as well.
- Reverse the movement by bending the knee and hip of the first leg that will come down and carefully stepping back.
Step 3. Dumbbell Lunges
Performing a simple lunge while holding dumbbells can be a great leg workout. Keep your back straight, chest contracted, and head and feet forward to perform the lunge with correct technique.
- To perform the lunge, step forward, heel first.
- Slowly lower yourself until you touch the floor with the knee of the back leg.
- Push back with your front foot and straighten your legs. Stand up to complete the repetition. Do the same number of repetitions on both sides.
Part 4 of 4: Developing a Training Program
Step 1. Highlight the muscle groups you would like to train
Try to create a program that you can follow and that inspires you to train. For example, you could structure the week like this:
- Monday: biceps.
- Tuesday: legs and back.
- Wednesday: triceps.
- Thursday: abs.
- Friday: chest.
- Saturday: rest.
- Sunday: rest.
Step 2. Gradually increase the load
After a week of work, you will notice that it will be easier to repeat the exercises with the same weight. Continue with these exercises and weights until the end of the week, making sure you are using the correct technique. After a week, the load increases. You shouldn't increase too much, but just bring the difficulty levels back to similar to that of the first week.
- You should use weights of adequate value, but heavy enough that you can only complete 15-20 reps.
- Use the same weight for two weeks, repeating the same exercises.
- Increase the load and use the new weights for two weeks, repeating the same exercises.
Step 3. Do pyramid sets
Choose a weight that is heavy enough to perform a maximum of 15-20 reps. Then do pyramid sets, like this: one set of 5, one set of 10, one set of 15, before going back to fewer reps. Rest between sets for 30-60 seconds.
After a minute of rest between sets, do another pyramid set that trains the same muscle groups with the same amount of reps and rest. After these 3 sets, move on to another muscle group
Step 4. When you've finished your workout, take a warm shower or bath
They should be as hot as possible without burning; it will help you relax and dilate the arteries of the muscles, allowing oxygen to flow more easily and promoting the expulsion of lactic acids.
