Tone It Up – The Basics of Weightlifting

We each have our different styles and preferences when it comes to strengthening our muscles, but here’s some important information to keep in mind as you train:

– If you don’t/can’t maintain proper form through the entire motion of each exercise, you WILL injure yourself. You WILL create a negative impression towards lifting. Ask for help from a professional if needed, or decrease the weight as you practice to get the form correctly.

– Do not lift everyday. If you are able to, then you didn’t use enough weight or do enough reps/sets the day before. Two or three times a week is enough. The other days can be left for cardio, Yoga, Pilates, body weight exercises or stretching for recovery. Your muscles NEED to rest or they will break down and not strengthen.

– If your heart rate needs it, or it’s just your exercise style, you may completely rest between sets (30-90 seconds) or move onto strengthening a different muscle while the first muscle rests, and then come back to it for another set/round.

– If you have absolutely no idea where to begin, or what exercises to do, ask a professional, or do your own research. Research is a bit more time-consuming, though cheaper. It won’t critique your form, but with basic, simple exercises you can start to build up a bank of exercises and increase from there.