Ways to Lift (swimming fitness) Weights Safely
No commentsBy Timothy Nugent
Weight lifting is one of the best things you can do for your body in terms of building strength and endurance, and even when you’re trying to lose weight. But many people get discouraged easily when it comes to trying to keep up with a bodybuilding routine. A good reason for that is working too hard in the beginning or using improper form and causing injuries.
It’s really important to learn the right way to do different exercises and to use the right form when you’re performing different moves. Remember to move smoothly and to pause at the beginning and end of the movement rather than using the momentum of your body movement to move the weight.
Remember to breathe through the lifting as well. It’s usually recommended that you exhale on the hard part and inhale on the easier part (when putting the weight back down). Focusing on breathing and sending the breath to the muscles that are doing the work really can make it feel like the work is a bit easier.
In order to avoid injury, it’s a good idea to warm up a bit before lifting weights. Most exercise experts don’t recommend stretching when your muscles are cold, but you can hop on an exercise bike or treadmill for five or 10 minutes at a moderate intensity before lifting to warm up nicely.
You also need to remember to stand or sit up straight (if you’re working on a machine) and keep good posture throughout the exercise. It’s really easy to slump your shoulders (or hold them too close to your ears) or to lean or bend forward or backward as you lift. This isn’t good for your body or for your muscles because it allows you to bring in muscles other than those you were isolating to help with the weight.
Choosing the right weight can make a big difference in your weight lifting success as well. Some people are so intimidated by lifting that they choose really light weights and use the same weight for much too long to be effective.
The best choice for a weight is one that you can feel like you can only lift about 12 or 15 times while still using good form. Anything lighter and you’re not really challenging your muscles; go heavier and you’re bound to hurt yourself.
Change the weight of your weights at least once a month to keep your muscles challenged. Remember, you really have to work those muscles to the point of microscopic injury in order to build them back up into the lean, mean strong muscles you want.
Tim Robinson is the author of the Fast Muscle Formula, a guide to weight loss, fat burning and muscle development that makes it easy for anyone to lose weight. Learn more at www.tsnmaymembers.com.
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Saturday, October 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.