5 Things You Need to Know Before You Begin a Weight Training Program

This is a guest post by Andrew Salmon

Weight training is the best way to develop the entire musculature. Building muscles can be easy and fun but there are some things you need to look out for. So whether you’re a novice or someone looking to get back into shape, here are 5 things you need to know about weight training.

1. Work The Whole Body

Walk into any gym and you’ll see them: the guys with big arms and legs like sticks or runners with bulging thighs and upper bodies like 90 year old librarians. It’s important to realize that looking good via weight training is a fringe benefit of pumping iron, it’s not the goal. Fitness should be what you’re aiming at and you can’t be fit if you’ve neglected muscles groups in your training. The human musculature is a system of interlocking muscles. Every muscle group has to be toned and developed.

2. Say Goodbye To Dieting!

Beginning a weight training regimen, you need to think about diet. Notice I didn’t say you need to think about going on a diet. If you’re going to be lifting weights with the goal of building lean muscle, you’ll find you actually need to eat more than you usually do, not less.

Of course we’re talking about healthy eating here. The proper balance of protein, carbs, fat and gallons of water are the essential building blocks for muscle mass. Lean meat, greens, a variety of fruits, yoghurt, nuts and just about everything else Mother Nature stocked her larder with need to be on you menu. I’d recommend consulting a nutrition guide because poor diet will hinder your training.

3. Stretching

If this is your first time in the gym or your first time in a long time, you’ll probably be stiff and sour the next morning. But, if you neglect to stretch beforehand, you’ll wish you were dead after that first workout. I can’t stress enough how important a warm up routine is to your training. Stretch all the muscles groups, slowly, with no bouncing, then hit the weights. Pulled or strained muscles are not only painful but can take weeks to heal if the injury is severe, leaving you unable to train until the injury heals.

4. Make Sure Weight Training Is Right For You

You might think that this one should be a little higher on the list but, the truth is, you can’t reconcile this in your mind until you’ve tried training with weights. That morning after soreness might help sway you but you need to stick it out. Try a full range of exercises and make note of the ones you enjoy doing for each muscle group, see if your new eating habits give you more energy. How do you feel after a good workout?

5. Just The Beginning

Improving your fitness level through weight training should really only be the start of your fitness campaign. To be truly physically fit, you’ll need to add more activities to your lifestyle. Luckily weight training will give you the strength and ability to do so. Remember the muscles aren’t for show, they are the tools you need to be active in this great wide world of ours.

Andrew Salmon contributes articles on a number of topics including fitness and financial subjects like life insurance in Canada.