Getting Started

This article, Part 1 of 2, focuses on beginners to intermediate weight training programming and includes information that may be well-suited for women, the elderly, as well as athletes. Part 1 includes general weight training information and the fundamentals of establishing a comprehensive resistance training program. Part 2 of this article, which will be published in the March 2010 issue of CoSozo Living will include specific instructions for particular weight training exercises and describe programs centered on firming, strength, and circuit training. 

As with any training program, if you have medical issues relating to your exercise, such as high blood pressure, muscle injury, heart disease, or pregnancy, please check with your doctor before beginning this or any exercise program. Most healthy people can get started without medical complications. Remember: start off with a modest amount of work and then slowly and progressively increase, as determined by post exercise soreness.

Weight training exercise is anaerobic, which is defined in the next section. Anaerobic exercise does not burn fat as fuel, and weight training is perceived as hard to maximum effort. All tissues need oxygen. As a result, individual anaerobic exercises cannot be sustained continuously for a long period of time. In fact, anaerobic metabolism predominates as the primary fuel delivery mechanism for work that can only last for typically less than 5 minutes. Your heart rate should be 85% of your maximum rate or higher. Anything that you can do until exhaustion that lasts for less than 5 minutes is considered anaerobic. The shorter your ability to perform the activity or task, the larger the anaerobic contribution to available energy. 

Note: Weight training promotes muscular development and energy expenditure that can have a significant effect on weight management. It also contributes to many other important benefits, such as decreased aches and pains, osteoporosis prevention, and increased strength.

Weight Training Terms

Aerobic Exercise: Aerobic exercise is exercise that uses oxygen to burn fat and/or glucose to supply your muscles with energy. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, aerobic exercise is any exercise that can be sustained for 5 minutes or longer, is rhythmic in nature, and uses large muscles. Aerobic exercise is exercise that is cardio-focused such as walking, jogging, and bike riding among others.

Anaerobic Exercise: Anaerobic exercise is exercise that does not use oxygen to supply energy to the muscles and includes exercises such as weight training, water resistance training, and other resistance training exercises. It is interesting to note that fat metabolism must use oxygen to convert to energy which ultimately requires aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is exercise that is executed for brief periods of time (typically 30 seconds) after which the focus is changed to another muscle. (For additional information on anaerobic exercise please refer to the September 2009 issue of CoSozo Living.)

Rep: The number of times you complete a specific exercise or number of times you lift the weight.

Set: The number of actual work sessions per exercise, comprised of a number of reps. A set is typically followed by a brief period of rest.

Warming-up to Anaerobic Exercise

Warming up the core temperature of the body and preparing the muscles for more strenuous work is always recommended whether the following exercise is aerobic or anaerobic. Warm up exercises should mimic the exercise routine that will follow and should typically include a 5-10 minute aerobic warm up as well as light resistance training if you are going to be performing anaerobic workouts. For anaerobic warm ups, a light weight should be used to identify any joint or muscle problems and should be light enough that you can lift the weight 25-30 times. Your warm up should be adequate with one set of 12-15 reps.

Some of the best warm up exercises model movements we all perform every day such as the chest press, push up, lat rows, lat pull downs, and squatting. Additionally as the lower back and abdominals can be areas of weakness, it is good to include exercises focusing on those areas in your warm up.. This is a full body workout with just 3 to 5 exercises! 

Note: The lower back is usually an area that many people try to protect. After all, back pain is no fun and back injuries can be quite serious. However, many people will perform work tasks incorrectly, which may place a severe load on the back musculature. Furthermore, by trying to “protect” the back, some people may avoid working the muscles of the back at all, which increases weakness and chances for injury. It may be advisable to wait to perform pure back work until the new exercises you are performing are evaluated, which is discussed in the Muscle Soreness section. When initiating a resistance training program, only perform a few movements and use only machines which incorporate working all of the body’s major muscle groups rather than doing a little “bit” on many different pieces of equipment. By only doing a few exercises that work the entire body, you can have an easier time identifying an exercise that you need to modify or avoid due to conditions such as excessive soreness or muscle strain. 

Muscle Soreness

Muscles tear microscopically if enough stress is applied to them. These tears are what are necessary for the muscle to rebuild itself stronger and bigger. These tears, along with lactic acid and other mechanisms, produce soreness. Some degree of soreness is usually necessary for developing muscular size, strength, or both. Again, start slow and don’t over do it. 

Many people are fearful of being sore and it is also common to do too much at first. However, it is very important to note that controlled soreness is expected and necessary for muscular improvement for most people. When evaluating the level of your workouts, this soreness can be classified into mild, moderate, and severe. 

If you are sore, stretching your muscles, preferably after your warm up set, may help to control and alleviate soreness. In most cases, people usually exhibit only mild to moderate levels of soreness with a controlled amount of initial work. This soreness is only temporary. Muscular soreness is quite different than muscular fatigue. It is very possible to totally fatigue your muscles without getting sore later. In other words, fatigue occurs acutely, and soreness develops over time after the exercise is completed. 

Soreness can occur the night of the exercise, the day after, and sometimes may even be worse on the second day. However, mild to moderate soreness typically subsides rather quickly after one day, in time for your next workout. With mild soreness, you will be able to do all your activities of daily living without having to slow your movements. You will be “aware” that you have worked out. Moderate soreness usually allows you to do all of your normal activities of daily living, only a little slower. Also, you may not want to move a body segment in its full range of motion (ROM). In comparison, severe soreness is an inability to move your body in its full ROM without having a lot of pain. 

The first workout usually produces the most soreness. However, soreness levels usually dissipate upon subsequent workouts. You may be free of soreness after just a few workouts or up to a few week’s worth of workouts. Soreness is usually worse at the beginning stages of an exercise program than at any other time in the future, even with considerable increases in volume, load, and overall work. Soreness levels are a powerful way to evaluate if you are doing too much or not enough. Most people will respond to the workloads described in Part 2 of this article as mild to moderate levels of soreness at the start of their exercise program. If you are severely sore, reduce the weight, volume of exercises, or both. You may also need to rest a day or two longer before your next workout. If you do not feel sore at all, you may need to increase your workload by increasing the weight, volume, or both. Remember, when you increase the work, do so in small increments to avoid undue soreness. Don’t be deterred in starting a weight training program thinking that the common saying of “no pain, no gain” is true. 

Free weights or machine weights. There are two main types of weights in resistance training: free weights and machine weights, both of which have pros and cons. When determining what type of equipment to use, a mixture of both machine and free weights may represent the greatest flexibility for beginners of progressive workouts. 

Machine Weights

Pros: Most weight machines have pre-determined movement patterns, built-in safety stops, and range of motion (ROM) limiters so you can use them safely without a spotter. As a result, they can be great for a beginner, rehabilitative programs, or anyone who works out alone. They are also quick and easy to adjust, perhaps saving you time. 

Cons: Individual machines may not fit every person, you may be too big or too little. Some machines are not built well in terms of their mechanical structure and limit your ROM and comfort. Machine weights tend to be expensive and take up a large amount of space.

Free Weights

Pros: Free weights mimic normal activities of daily living, are cheaper than machine weights, and generally take up less space. They can accommodate any body size and provide for a large variety of different exercises. 

Cons: More experience is usually required to lift free weights in a controlled manner. Several different weights are usually needed to allow the user to adjust to the various strength levels of different movements. One must assume several different body positions in order to work with gravity in order to exercise various muscle groups. Free weights may take more time to set up and adjust throughout your workout. 

Exercise Order

The order of the exercises may not be critical at the beginning of your weight training program. When adding new exercises to your routine, it is usually best to perform exercises that use the larger muscles first. Perform movements that use many muscles at one time before you start exercises that concentrate on specific areas, such as your biceps. Over time, changing the order of the exercises in your routine may be advantageous. 

Breathing

Do not hold your breath. Not holding your breath helps to prevent undue blood pressure abnormalities that could lead to acute problems, such as a stroke. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, can help to significantly reduce blood pressure over time. However, repeated breath holding, called the Valsalva maneuver, can actually raise blood pressure and thus create a condition called left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH. LVH is a condition sometimes seen in “heavy” weight trainers, which is similar to cardiac changes that are seen in people with chronic high blood pressure. Therefore, holding your breath is never recommended for anyone engaged in resistance training. 

The proper breathing method for weight training is to breathe out upon the start of the exercise and continue expelling breath until the end of the range of motion. Then breathe in while returning the weight to the start. This breathing pattern is a way to control rising blood pressure during resistance training and ensures that your body has adequate oxygen.

How Much Weight Should I Use?

Select a desired repetition range first, such as 12 to 15 reps. Then, select a weight in which you will be able to complete the desired amount of reps and no more. This is called voluntary muscular fatigue. Use a certain amount of weight so that you are able to lift it at least 12 times but no more than 15 repetitions, using good form. In this example, if you are unable to complete 12 reps you may need to decrease the weight used or, if you can complete more than 15 reps using good form, increase the weight. Be sure to observe whether you cannot complete the full ROM, have to hold your breath to lift the weight, or are unable to complete the rep using good form. These are all indicators that you may need to evaluate the appropriateness of the weight you selected.

How Fast/Far Should I Lift the Weight?

Normally lift with the full range of motion (ROM) and move from the start to the very end of the movement in a controlled manner. Full ROM is defined as the ability for a joint to move in its fullest range possible. In most exercises, your elbows can be “locked straight,” but your knees should remain slightly bent to maintain stability and prevent injury. To protect your back from injury, keep your torso fairly rigid by a slight contraction of your abdominal and lower back muscles. A good pace may be a 2 second lift and 4 second return to the beginning of the movement. Full ROM should be used unless injury or medical advice suggests otherwise. 

Rest Periods

You should rest for an average of 1 minute in between sets and exercises in order to be able to perform a decent amount of work for the next set. If you feel you don’t need to rest in between sets, then you may not be using enough weight. 

Note: An ideal workload to provide superior results and progress is to work close to or as hard as you can using good form and breathing. This inevitably translates into sets that differ slightly in the reps performed. If you are just endeavoring to meet your rep goal, you are probably stopping because of a pre-determined number, instead of fatigue or ability. At first, it is beneficial to stay at each exercise until you are done. Lift 2 to 3 days per week. Each muscle needs 48 hours of rest in between resistance training, therefore, a Monday/Wednesday/Friday program or a Tuesday/Thursday program frequency works well. 

These fundamentals will serve you well as you begin to develop a comprehensive resistance program. More in depth information will be provided in Part 2 of this article in the March 2010 issue of CoSozo Living. Exercise your right to good health!