Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Weight Training Routine at Home

Weight lifting can be a great addition to your home training regime. It must, however, be done right to avoid unnecessary injury. If you are new to weight lifting and would like to add it as a regular feature to your workouts, these ten tips will help you to do so the right way.

One: Always and without exception warm up before you begin lifting weights. A few minutes of moving and stretching warms your body up for more complex tasks and can keep you from pulling a muscle. Spend a few minutes stretching and moving each part of your body. You can choose any activity you like that will get your heart pumping and the blood flowing.

Two: Select a weight size that is proper for your experience. Do not make the mistake of thinking you will get bigger (or burn fat faster) if you lift more than you are comfortable or capable of doing. Weight lifting requires gradual increase in weights over time, to be truly effective. It may take you weeks or even months to get up to the weight amount you would like to lift, but in the long run, if you do so properly, you will reap major benefits. If, on the other hand, you forge ahead and lift more than you are truly capable of doing, in a responsible manner, then you are very prone to causing injury that will keep you out of the weight lifting arena for longer than it would have taken you to work your way up to it.

Three: If you are going to be using heavy weights, always, always, always have a spotter. A spotter is someone who stands over you and helps you to properly lift the weight bar back into place if you become over fatigues or have strained your muscles too much to do so. You may think it is not necessary to have a spotter, but I assure you it is. That one or two times you need him or her may save you from very serious injury. If at any time during your weight lifting, you become dizzy or lightheaded, inform your spotter and stop lifting entirely.

Four: Do use proper technique when lifting weights. Keep your back straight and be sure to use smooth and continuous motions while lifting. If you are jerking to get the weights up or not moving in a fluid motion, you are causing unnecessary stress somewhere in your body that can lead to injury and prevent an effective workout.

Five: Be sure to use the proper technique when moving weights around the room too. If you follow all precautions when lifting and then recklessly move your weights about the room between exercises, you are not exerting caution to prevent yourself from becoming hurt. The weights are heavy and must be properly lifted or moved, regardless of the circumstance they are being moved in.

Six: Monitor your breathing while you are lifting. Breathing allows oxygen to flow freely through the blood. If you stop, you are hindering your workout immensely. If the weights are so heavy, or you are doing so many repetitions that you feel the need to hold your breath, you need to fight the urge to do so, and readjust your routine.

Seven: Do not become distracted by other things around you. You have to remain focused on what you are doing to allow you to do it in the proper manner and to help you ensure your personal safety. Focusing also helps you to get the most out of your workout because you are concentrating on doing the most for your muscles when you do, versus haphazardly going about your workout if you are thinking about other things.

Eight: Go slowly and use the proper form for each exercise that you do. If you do not know the proper form, get a book or consult a professional to help you. One repetition done the right way is bound to be more effective than several done the wrong way. Also, if you are taking your time and lifting slowly, you are getting more of a benefit than you would from just breezing through the exercises. You want to make those muscles work.

Nine: Use common sense and learned knowledge when you are working out by making sure not to over do any exercise, to properly balance out and vary your routine, and to allow time in between workouts (suggested time is usually twenty-four to forty-eight hours) for muscle to repair themselves from the strain a workout gives them and be ready for the next workout.

Ten: Be sure to cool down after you have worked out with any type of weights. This is just as important as warming up and will help regulate your body back to a normal temperature and heart rate.

Following these ten tips will aid you immensely as you begin your weight lifting journey. With a little time and perseverance, and a lot of caution and care towards doing your workouts in the correct manner, the chances of reaping the benefits you would like to from a regular weight lifting regime are very favorable.