The idea of weight lifting may seem intimidating, possibly because of the 'weight' factor.
The truth is it need not scare you.
If you're already working out, then you have an idea of the basic exercises.
Weight lifting is one of the fundamental exercises that are used by professional body builders, athletes and fitness enthusiast alike to build strength and muscle mass.
For the best results, that are long lasting and balanced in their effect on your body, free weights are considered far superior to weight lifting machines.
You may have heard in a lot of advertisements that weight lifting machines are great to build muscle in a specific area.
This may seem attractive in the on set, but the truth is, who wants strong biceps and a weak back? The advantage of free weights is that even though they work specific muscles they also naturally build muscular strength throughout your body.
When you lift free weights, there is maximum contraction in the body muscle.
On the contrary, weight lifting machines just focus the specific muscle the machine is designed for.
Also these machines are a conveyor-belt product, standardized to fit an average body type, they don't really compliment your unique body attributes.
So how do you design a weight lifting program that's just right for you? For starters, get a physical exam from your physician to determine your fitness level.
Next with the help of your trainer, or on your own if you have the basic rules down cold, determine your goals.
An important thing that you should know is that every time you work a certain set of muscles, there is also a secondary set that gets worked as well.
For instance, every time you work your chest muscles or shoulder muscles, your triceps get a work out too.
Similarly, every time you work your back muscles, your biceps get a workout.
The main point here, then, is to create a balance.
So your focus is now on creating 'splits' in your weight lifting program.
Splits are created when you work a set of muscles and their secondary partners then allow them to rest while working another sat of muscles along with their secondary partners.
This is a highly professional and efficient method and the results it achieves are amazing, as you'll surely see.
Your weight lifting program could follow the following lines: Monday: rest Tuesday: back, biceps and abs Wednesday: rest Thursday: Legs Friday: rest Saturday: Chest, Triceps and shoulders Sunday: rest You could choose to not work out on the weekend, it's totally up to you, but there should be rest periods a day long between work outs so that your muscles have plenty of time to heal and grow.
Now the specific work outs that you could do on these days could be: Tuesday: Bent Over Rows 3 Sets of 8 Reps Standing Bicep Curls 2 sets of 8 Reps Crunches 3 Sets of 20 Reps Pull-ups 3 Sets of 6 Reps Thursday: Squats 3 Sets of 6 Reps Sitting Calf Raises 3 Sets of 20 Reps Lunges 2 Sets of 8 Reps Romanian Deadlifts 2 Sets of 8 Reps Saturday: Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 3 Sets of 8 Reps Incline Barbell Bench Press 2 Sets of 8 Reps Military Press 3 Sets of 8 Reps Cable Pull-downs 3 Sets of 8 Reps Side Laterals 2 Sets of 6 Reps The secret to making this program or any other program that you may make by modifying this one is 'progressive overload'.
Progressive overload mean that you increase the number of reps in each consecutive work out or lift greater weight.
You should keep your body in the state that it needs to increase and build up its stamina as this is what the external environment demands of it.
Be committed, consistent and patient with your work out.