Strength Training Info

For my regular readers, you already know that I am "obsessed" with weight training. It is a good thing to be obsessed with as long as you do it right! Resistance training helps prevent bone loss, decreases injuries during your every day activities by strengthening the body all over, muscle burns way more calories than fat & the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest along with many other positives! Also, when you hold your body in the correct form to execute the exercises, you are also working the core!

For people new to resistance/weight training, you can start out by doing multi joint exercises that often work more than one body part at the same time. This also gives you the opportunity to start learning your body, the correct form & how the body works together. Examples are shoulder presses rather than side lateral raises for the shoulders, squats, chest press etc.

If you have been working out for a while, you may see that some muscle groups are weaker than others. Once I had established a good muscle base for myself, I started prioritizing my workout based on doing my weaker muscle groups first. Now, this has changed with time as my workouts change with time. I am always reevaluating to make sure I am working to my best potential.

Diet Blog had a great article on 10 essentials of strength training & I have used all of them & still do.... this is a must read for new & seasoned people. Not only does the article discuss the points above but also things like breathing, speed of repetitions, alignment and more. Read the article here:

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2009/02/03/10_essentials_of_strength_training.php

Also off of Diet Blog, read another good article on how to help overweight friends or family members on how to take positive steps to a healthier lifestyle.

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2009/02/04/helping_an_overweight_friend_or_family_member.php