As the body becomes older, muscle mass naturally declines. This is one of the main reasons for the older population to do weight training. Younger people who are athletes or bodybuilders lift weights for other reasons. In either case, proper lifting techniques are needed to maximize workouts and ensure safety. By doing weight training, you also strengthen your bones, control your weight, boost your stamina and sharpen your focus, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Step 1
Begin your workouts with a dynamic warm-up. When you lift weights, there are multiple muscles and joints being activated, in some cases at the same time. Loosen up your body beforehand by doing dynamic stretches. These are done in motion, and they get the body ready for exercising movements. Forward leg swings, walking lunges, arm crossovers, arm circles, shoulder shrugs, shoulder rotations, ankle bounces and alternating toe touches are examples.
Step 2
Lower the weights slowly. When you lift weights, you have an eccentric phase and a concentric phase. The eccentric is the lowering phase. Do not rush a rep through this phase. You will cheat yourself out of muscle fiber recruitment. Take the bench press for example. Hold the barbell above your chest and take at least two seconds to lower it. Push it back up in half the time of your lowering phase.
Step 3
Squeeze your muscles forcefully at the midpoint of your exercises. This ensures that you are targeting your focus muscle and getting a solid contraction. Hold the squeeze for a full second before lowering the weight.
Step 4
Use a full range of motion. If you do not use a full range of motion, your muscles will become shortened and you will risk injuring yourself with daily functions. Take the triceps kickback for example. If you do not fully extend your arm when you move the dumbbell backward, your muscle will adapt to this range of motion. Then when you play tennis with a friend and forcefully extend your arm behind your head, you run the risk of pulling your triceps muscle because it is not used to this full range of motion.
Step 5
Breathe properly when lifting weights. Inhale deeply before you do a rep, and exhale for the whole duration of effort. Inhale for the whole duration of your lowering phase and exhale again. Take the biceps curl for example. Exhale as you lift the weight toward your chest and inhale as you lower it.
Step 6
Use adequate resistance. Use a resistance that will allow you to do eight to 12 reps with proper form if you are looking to build muscular strength. Lift a weight that will allow you to do 12 or more reps if you want to build muscular endurance. Muscular endurance is the ability to do muscle contractions for a long time frame, and it applies to such sports as, basketball, tennis, soccer and boxing.
Step 7
Rest your body adequately. Take at least one day off between muscle groups with your training. Working the same muscles daily will cause overtraining and increase your chances for an injury.
Member Comments