Everything has its first time in life, and deciding to abandon a sedentary lifestyle by exercise and good nutrition will have many fears, doubts and challenges that you have to face.
The first day in the gym is unique: it could be defined as a mixture of inner emotions because finally has the body-health you want, but then you run into a reality: there are many machines and do not know which one to start (Maybe you would not know how to use them either).
Maybe hire a monitor (personal trainer) for general advice on how training works with weights could be costly for your budget; so our purpose is to show you everything you need to know before you start training with weights.
Why is it important to lift weights?
To regulate the functions of the organism and obtain better physical and mental performance it is necessary to optimize your metabolism. Through weight training, accompanied by a healthy diet and cardiovascular exercise is achieved accelerate metabolism, since muscles use a lot of energy for maintenance. That is, the more muscle you have, the more you will require energy and metabolism will increase dramatically.
On the other hand, weight training will contribute to the correction of your body posture, mainly due to the imbalances generated by improper sitting during office work. It is also important for those who practice other sports such as football or tennis in order to prevent injuries and improve endurance / body strength.
What effects does it have on our body to train with weights?
Do you want to know where magic happens with the weights? Well, it is not so difficult, with a bit of logic we will understand: when we submit to the muscles to an “extra” weight the muscle fibers that compose begin to tear (quiet, are small breaks). This process is called hypertrophy. The organism, through the synthesis of proteins, will proceed to repair those small tears, causing the muscle to become more resistant and, of course, bigger.
Depending on your goals (develop endurance or increase muscle mass) you must formulate a specific routine for each activity. For example, if your goal is to increase muscle mass and strength, the routine will be based on a higher weight but with few repetitions, whereas if the goal is to develop endurance you should opt for a more comfortable weight but doing more repetitions.
How to start weight training
- Find a place to train
You may have seen different methods to train at home, or aerobics which did not need to use any weight; However, to train with weights it is necessary to have the correct equipment to properly carry out your exercise routine.
Whether at a local gym, buying dumbbells and machines for use at home or enrolling in a Box CrossFit, having a site for the exercise will be of vital importance. You can also use your creativity and make your own dumbbells filling bottles with water, or using backpacks with books to practice from the comfort of your home.
If you are a beginner and do not significantly affect your budget, you should have a few sessions with a personal trainer to teach you the correct technique for most exercises. Besides being a good investment, you will avoid unnecessary injuries.
- Learn to use gym machines
Depending on the place you have chosen to start weight training, you can find a lot of variety. It may only have a few barbells and dumbbells, while elsewhere you’ll find machines for muscles that you never knew existed, along with a variety of kettlebell, conventional, bands, medicine balls, etc.
When you have at your disposal such a variety of machinery you could get to confuse you and not knowing what to use, so your condition beginner weight training you must choose those that provide stability, ease of use, and above all, less risk of injury.
Most of the time on the same machines you will be given the instructions for use: once having improved your fitness with machines can proceed to train with free weights.
- Build a solid foundation
When we started training with weights are excited and want to do all existing exercises, sometimes even with a higher weight than we can resist. This is common to see when we are still beginners. However, in this case we must focus on developing a good technique of movements. Do not rush to increase intensity; the important thing is to encourage endurance by maintaining proper performance.
When you have perfected the technique and have better muscular endurance you will be prepared to increase the weight, in addition, you will also begin to notice results (physical and mental) and of course, you will have avoided injuries.
- Hire a coach
There are gyms that include in your service the attention of a coach; however, in other places you must pay for your advice. Do you really need a personal trainer? As long as you are a beginner, it is probably necessary.
Weight training can become quite complex, especially for the injuries you will be exposed to; So a coach will help design a specific routine according to your needs and physical problems that you may be suffering. In turn, you will correct the deficiencies and errors at the time of each exercise.
- Begins to prevent injuries
Neither the most professional are exempt from injury; this is more common than we believe, especially when we are learning to use the weights. Weight accidents occur, however the anticipation of these is based on using a light weight during the beginning.
Usually, when we begin to promote our muscles, we forget that there are very small muscles that are not developed, and when exposed to a weight that they cannot bear, they are torn. In addition, the human body is not only composed of muscle, there will also be essential elements that you must keep in mind, such as tendons and ligaments; Which are quite prone to injury with poor technique or inadequate weight.
- Make friends or join a group to exercise.
There is a principle that also applies to training: two are better than one. When you get to a place and do not know anyone it is difficult to break the ice and get in touch with others, sometimes for fear of rejection and other fear of making a fool of yourself. Beyond such difficulties, finding friends on the training site will help create a commitment and help you feel more comfortable.
According to a study, it was concluded that people who exercised with a friend not only work more intensely in the gym, also they burned more calories and were Persistent over time.
If you find it difficult to get a friend to help you train do not worry: Most gyms also promote group activities (such as spinning and Body Pump) that usually includes weight training and cardiovascular.
- Plan an exercise routine
The organization will also determine most of the successes you can have when you start in the world of training.
Every day people seek to be physically better but do not know how to do it. To start training, you should be aware that the body is not used to the constant physical activity, therefore we recommend you train three days a week while gaining strength.
The first few days you will feel that they have passed a flatter over your body, so it is important that there is a day of rest between training. It is also important that you determine the intensity of the training you will perform, and what type of exercises you will perform. Regardless of your goals, use a light weight and do more repetitions (from 12 to 15); Completing 3 sets for each exercise you execute.
- Learn Basic Exercises
Usually basic exercises such as squats, military press or bench press cover more than one muscle area, making these exercises complex and not like others working isolated muscles.
When you are a beginner it is necessary to cover a large part of the muscular area to develop it in a balanced way, especially when training to increase strength and muscle mass.
In addition to the main benefit just mentioned, they are usually easy to learn exercises that do not cause any complications. In addition to this, the basic exercises will contribute to developing a good technique.
- Be disciplined
You will not be able to find a place to exercise, have a personal trainer and an exercise routine if you are not able to meet your goals. To achieve goals in weight training it is necessary to be disciplined and able to make sacrifices in life.
Experts say that to create a habit is necessary to carry out such activity between 25 and 45 days. We invite you to trace your goals and be constant to get the results; remember: the important thing is not how you start, but where you end up.