Weight Training: How to Get Started

Most of us know that cardio is important for getting fit and improving body composition, but how much do you know about weight training and its benefits on muscle and bone health and fat loss?

A weight-training session doesn't always burn as many calories in one sitting as cardio and, of course, cardio is important for weight loss. But weight training burns calories far longer than cardio—even while you're at rest. Plus, it offers many more benefits. Let's dive in.

What Is Weight Training?

Weight training involves using resistance—whether it's bodyweight or dumbbells—to perform exercises that challenge all muscle groups in the body, including your chest, back, shoulders, arms (biceps and triceps), core, legs (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves) and glutes.

Weight training also helps build lean muscle tissue. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. So when you have more muscle, you burn more calories all day—even when you're not exercising.

Weight training doesn't mean using dumbbells or machines, although those work. Anything that provides resistance can do the job—resistance bands, barbells, a heavy backpack, or, if you're a beginner, use your bodyweight.

Benefits of Weight Training

Too often, people skip weights in favor of cardio. Some worry about building too much muscle and looking bulky, which is a notion they should set aside. Bodybuilding of this type requires a specific, dedicated diet and exercise plan.

If you've hesitated to start a strength-training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights can do so much for your body. Weight training can:

• Help raise your metabolism since muscle burns more calories than fat
• Strengthen bones
• Strengthen connective tissue (tendons and ligaments)
• Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance, making everyday activities easier
• Help you avoid injuries
• Increase confidence and self-esteem
• Improve coordination and balance
  

Principles of Weight Training

When you're just getting started with weight training, it's important to know the basic strength-training principles to help set up your workouts for continual progress and to avoid weight loss plateaus.

Overload

To build lean muscle tissue, you have to use more resistance than your muscles are used to. This is important because the more you lift, the more your body is capable of lifting. Increase your workload to avoid plateaus.

This means you should be lifting enough weight to complete the desired reps and no more. Your last rep should be challenging.

Progression

To avoid plateaus or adaptation, you need to increase intensity regularly. You can do this by increasing the weight lifted, changing your sets/reps, changing the exercises, or changing the type of resistance. You can make these changes on a weekly or monthly basis.

Specificity

This means you should train for your goal. Increase your strength by designing a workout plan around that goal (e.g., train with heavier weights). To lose weight, you can benefit from circuit training, which combines cardio and resistance for an efficient, effective workout.

Rest and Recovery

Rest days are just as important as workout days. During rest periods your muscles grow and change, so ensure you're not working the same muscle groups two days in a row.

How Many Reps Build Muscle?

Building muscle, a process known as hypertrophy is achieved through resistance training. But how much weight should you lift, and how many reps should you do? Most people can gain muscle most efficiently using moderate weight resistance with eight to 12 reps per set. Each exercise set should be performed one to three times for beginner weight trainers, and three to six times for those with a higher fitness level.

Where to Weight Train

If you're a beginner, start with a basic total body strength workout to build a strong foundation in all muscle groups. This will help you determine any weaker areas, as well as any issues you may need to address with your physician. It will help you learn the basic exercises you need for a strong, fit body. Beyond choosing the right pair of gym shoes for your workout, the first step is to figure out where you're going to exercise.

Benefits of Joining a Gym

You don't have to buy a gym membership to get a great strength-training workout, but there are some advantages to doing so:

• Access to a wide variety of equipment and machines you may not be able to afford in a home gym
• Personal trainers and other experts to show you how to use different machines
• Variety: You also have access to classes, a fun way to learn how to lift weights
• It's easier to stick to your goals: When you go to a gym, there's nothing to do but work out, whereas you have lots of distractions at home
• Energy: You often get more energy when you're surrounded by people doing the same thing you're doing—something you may miss out on at home

There is the cost of joining a gym and finding one that's convenient and comfortable. It's easy to join a gym and never go, so that's something to consider.

Benefits of Working Out at Home

Gyms aren't for everyone. Doing your workouts at home has some big advantages.

• Convenience: You can work out whenever without packing a bag and driving.
• Privacy: Work out in whatever you want to wear without others looking at you (something that may benefit people who are a little more self-conscious).
• Affordability: You can get a great workout with minimal equipment—like a weight bench and dumbbells.
• Flexibility: At home, you can squeeze in a workout any time, so you don't have to stick to a set schedule (unless you want to).

As for the disadvantages, you have to be self-motivated to work out at home (there's always something to do other than work out), and you have to try harder to get the variety you can easily get at a gym. But remember, there is budget-friendly home gym equipment available that'll help you create a well-rounded, effective fitness routine.

Create Your Weight Training Program

Several components make up every weight training program: The type of resistance equipment you'll use, the exercises you'll do, the number of reps and sets you'll do, how much weight you'll lift, and how much you'll rest (between exercises and workouts).

A good weight-training routine will have volume and intensity and will have variety to keep you and your muscles engaged.

Choose Your Resistance

Depending on where you decide to work out, equipment choices include:

• No equipment: You don't have to start with any equipment if you're a beginner or on a budget and want to start simple. This no-weight workout gives you ideas for how to work out without any equipment.
• Resistance bands: These are great for home workouts and traveling and you'll find them at most gyms, too. They can be used for a wide variety of total-body exercises.
• Dumbbells: You'll eventually want to get a variety of weights such as a set of adjustable dumbbells or a dumbbell rack, but you can easily start with three pairs of dumbbells: A light set (3 to 5 pounds for women, 5 to 8 pounds for men), a medium set (5 to 10 pounds for women, 10 to 15 pounds for men), and a heavy set (10 to 20 pounds for women, 15 to 30 pounds for men).
• Machines: You can buy a home gym machine or use the huge variety of machines you find at the gym.
• Kettlebells: If you know how to use them correctly, kettlebells are great for building strength and endurance. It's best to get instruction from a professional before using them.

Choose Your Exercises

Once you have the equipment ready, choose eight to 10 exercises (one exercise per muscle group). The muscle groups are:

• Chest
• Back
• Shoulders
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Lower body
• Core
  

Even if your focus is on a particular body part, such as your abs, it's important to work all your muscle groups. Spot reduction doesn't work, so doing crunches for your abs or leg lifts for your thighs won't achieve your goal. What does work is building lean muscle tissue and burning more calories.

Most experts recommend starting with larger muscle groups and proceeding to smaller ones. The most demanding exercises are those performed by your large muscle groups, and you will need your smaller muscles to get the most out of these exercises. But don't feel limited by that.

Choose Your Reps and Sets

You've figured out the exercises you should be doing, but what about the number of sets and repetitions? Your decision should be based on your goals. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 4 to 6 repetitions with heavier weight for hypertrophy (increased muscle size), 8 to 12 repetitions for muscular strength, and 10 to 15 reps for muscular endurance. In general:

• For fat loss: One to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps using enough weight that you can only complete the desired reps.
• To gain muscle: Three or more sets of 6 to 8 reps to fatigue. Beginners should give themselves several weeks of conditioning before going to this level. You may need a spotter for some exercises.
• For health and endurance: One to 3 sets of 12 to 16 reps using enough weight that it's challenging to complete the desired reps.

Choose Your Weight

Choosing how much weight to lift is often based on reps and sets. The general rule is to lift enough weight that you can only complete the desired number of reps. In other words, you want that last rep to be the last one you can do with good form.

However, if you're a beginner or have medical or health conditions, you may need to avoid complete fatigue and find a weight that challenges you at a level you can handle.

So, how do you know how much weight you need to challenge your body?

• The larger the muscles, the heavier the weight. The glutes, thighs, chest, and back can usually handle heavier weight than the smaller muscles of the shoulders, arms, abs, and calves. For example, you may want to use 15 or 20 pounds for squats, but 3 to 5 pounds for triceps extensions.
• You'll usually lift more weight on a machine than with dumbbells: The machine keeps the weight stable and moving in a straight line. When you lift with dumbbells or a barbell, you must resist gravity and use smaller stabilizer muscles to keep from falling over. So if you can handle 30 or 40 pounds on a chest press machine, you may only be able to handle 10 or 15 pounds per dumbbell.
• If you're a beginner, it's more important to focus on good form than it is to lift heavy weights.
• Be ready for trial and error. It may take several workouts to figure out how much weight you need.

The easiest way to determine how much weight you should use on each lift is to start with light weights, do a few reps with perfect form to determine the difficulty, and increase or decrease weight as needed.

1. Pick up a light weight and do a warm-up set of the exercise of your choice, aiming for about 10 to 16 repetitions.
2. For set two, increase your weight in a manageable increment and perform your goal number of repetitions. If you can do more than your desired number of reps, you can pick up a heavy weight and continue or make a note for your next workout.
3. You should lift enough weight to only complete the desired reps. You should be struggling by the last rep but still able to finish it with good form.

Every day is different. Some days you'll lift more weight than others. Listen to your body.

Resting Between Exercises

Another important part of training is resting between the exercises. This comes with experience, but the general rule is, the higher the reps, the shorter the rest. So, if you're doing 15 reps, you might rest about 30 to 60 seconds between exercises. If you're lifting very heavy, say 4 to 6 reps, you may need up to two or more minutes.

When using lighter weights and more repetitions, it takes 30 seconds to one minute for your muscles to rest. For beginners, working to fatigue isn't necessary, and starting out too strong can lead to too much post-exercise soreness.

Resting Between Workouts

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends training each muscle group two to three times a week. The number of times you lift each week will depend on your training method. For muscles to repair and grow, you'll need about 48 hours of rest between workout sessions. If you're training at a high intensity, take a longer rest.

Tips for Better Workouts

Throughout your workouts, keep these important principles in mind:

1. Always warm up before you start lifting weights. This helps get your muscles warm and prevent injury. You can warm up with light cardio or do a light set of each exercise before going to heavier weights.
2. Lift and lower your weights slowly. Don't use momentum to lift the weight. If you have to swing to get the weight up, chances are you're using too much weight.
3. Breathe. Don't hold your breath, and make sure you're using the full range of motion throughout the movement.
4. Stand up straight. Pay attention to your posture, and engage your abs in every movement to keep your balance and protect your spine. Weightlifting shoes can also help you ensure good posture and form by providing stabilization.
5. Prepare for soreness. It's normal to be sore whenever you try a new activity.

Where to Get Help With Weight Training

Your first step in setting up a routine is to choose exercises to target all of your muscle groups and, of course, set up a program. You have plenty of great options:

• Hire a personal trainer
• Try home workout videos
• Work with an online personal trainer
• Try a weight-training app

Sample Workouts

For beginners, you want to choose about 8-10 exercises, which comes out to about one exercise per muscle group. The list below offers some examples. Choose at least one exercise per muscle group to start. For larger muscles like the chest, back, and legs, you can do more than one exercise.

• Chest: Bench press, chest press machine, chest press with dumbbells, push-up, chest fly
• Back: One-arm row, double-arm row, back extension, lat pulldown, reverse fly
  

• Shoulders: Overhead press, lateral raise, front raise, upright row
• Biceps: Bicep curl, hammer curl, concentration curl, resistance band curl
  

• Triceps: Triceps extension, dip, kickback
• Lower body: Squat, lunge, leg press machine, deadlift, calf raise, step-up
• Abdominals: Crunch, reverse crunch, woodchop, pelvic tilt, plank

Or try these ready-made workouts.

• Beginner Abs and Back Workout
• Total Body Dumbbell Workout