your bones and muscles haven't finished growing yet, which makes you more vulnerable to injuries. Parents should consult with their child's doctor if you want to know what type of exercise is appropriate.
Chapter 2 - How Much and How Often?
The type of strength training routine you do and how often you work out will depend on your goals. One word of advice that applies to everyone is -
Start Off Slowly!
Don't start off with a program that's extremely challenging if you haven't done strength training before -or recently. You’ll find when you start a new program your muscles are probably sore the next day. This is a normal and healthy sign.
However, if you overdo it you can experience pains and injuries that aren’t a good sign. This will only slow you down, and may discourage you from keeping up with your new exercise program.
Think of it this way: you have the rest of your life to get fitter and stronger and to achieve any other goals you might have. Don't be in too much of a hurry, as this ends up slowing down your progress. Even a light to moderate strength training routine can do wonders for your health.
Men in particular often have to be careful about trying to lift weights that are too heavy for them when they first start out. This is because men usually have their egos attached to their physical strength, especially if they’re working out at a gym.
It's better to start off with weights you can handle fairly easily and gradually increase the level, as you get comfortable with the routine. Even if it seems easy, you’re using your muscles in a way you might not be accustomed to, so you don't want to strain anything.
The same is true for repetitions. It's fine to start out with one or two sets, but don't start out with any more than that.
Strength Training and the Rest of Your Life
No matter what your main goals are, remember that the rest of your habits and lifestyle choices should support your strength-training program. Diet plays an important role in your health and is obviously a major factor if you want to lose or gain weight.
Certain supplements may also support your efforts, and we'll look at these later on. Just keep in mind many things in your life; such as the amount of sleep you get, your stress levels and staying away from bad habits will all make your exercise sessions more beneficial.
The attitude you have when exercising is also important. You can achieve a lot more if you exercise in a focused way than if you try to rush through them just to get them done. Your body responds to mental imagery, so try to visualize the results you want as you work out.
Chapter 3 - Starting Your Strength Training Program
The first thing you have to do is decide what type of strength training program to start out with. You have a variety of choices.
· Free weights
· Strength training machines
· Free standing exercises
You also have the choice of whether to work out at home or at the gym. If you go to a gym or fitness center, you have to choose what to focus on - free weights, machines, classes or some combination of them.
Let's look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of these.
Free Weights
There’s a longstanding debate amongst bodybuilders and fitness experts over whether free weights or machines are superior. We aren't going to spend too much time on that question for the simple reason you can gain great benefits from either one! What's really important is you find a workout that suits you and stick with it.
That said free weights do have certain advantages.
· Relatively inexpensive to buy
· You can add weights in very small increments (such as 1/2 pound)
· Very good range of motion with exercises
· Many diverse exercises for each muscle group
Of course, if you join a fitness center, it won't matter to you how much it costs to buy weights. However other advantages are all relevant. Many people who workout at fitness centers like to use both weights and machines, so don't feel it's a question of one vs. the other.
A good example of what we mean by range of motion is when you use a strength-building machine, the range of motion that exists in that machine limits you. With free weights, you’re not.
As we’ll see in the next section, there's another side of this coin. Namely, machines are arguably safer than free weights. In other words, there's less chance of injuring yourself on a machine by going beyond a safe range of motion.
There's no debating you can do more exercises with weights. Take, for example, a simple exercise such as a dumbbell curl. With a biceps machine, you typically have one exercise you can do. With dumbbell curls, you can do them standing or seated and in dozens of different positions. In this way, machines simply cannot compete with free weights.
The Benefits of Machines
Although weights have their benefits, so do machines. Here are some of them:
· Neater and more compact for home use
· Safer for beginners
· Easier to use proper form
If you plan to workout at home, you can buy either weights or a machine. As we'll see, you can even work out using freestanding exercises or with very simple equipment. Weights are not expensive, but they do take up room.
If you want to target a variety of muscle groups (which is what you should be doing), you’ll need a bench of some kind and both barbells and dumbbells. You'll also need weights of many different sizes, from as small as 5 pounds (or even less) up to 25 pounds. This will vary according to your strength and the type of routine you're doing, but you’ll certainly need some variety.
A machine, by contrast, is usually one single unit, which has everything you need. Some machines are made for smaller spaces and can even fold up. So this is one potential advantage of machines for home use.
Machines can also be safer. It should be stated it's possible to get injuries with any type of exercise. With weights, however, you have certain risks that are generally not present with machines.
Weights can fall and hit you. There are also risks of doing certain exercises, such as bench presses, without a partner spotting you. At the gym, this may not be a problem but at home you may not always have someone nearby.
As we mentioned, weights give you greater range of motion but this also means you can overextend in a way that causes injury. With a machine your movements are constrained.
Again, this is a two-sided coin, as experienced people may prefer to be able to control their range of motion. Generally speaking beginners prefer machines; bodybuilders and those who have more experience with strength training prefer free weights.
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