Strength training can improve your appearance and athletic performance, as well as offer other advantages. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis, according to the Mayo Clinic's website. Strength-training machines, dumbbells and barbells are all used for muscle building. If you are new to exercise, learn the basics before you do advanced routines.
Step 1
Target all of your major muscle groups. The major muscle groups include the chest, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps and legs. Work all of these muscle groups with exercises such as bench presses, shoulder presses, back rows, triceps extensions, biceps curls, squats and leg presses. All of these exercises can be done with dumbbells and barbells except leg presses, and all of these can be done with machines except squats. Start with weight machines and move to free weights as you adapt to the exercise movements and feel more comfortable.
Step 2
Utilize a full range of motion with free-weight and machine-weight exercises. Not using a full range of motion will cause your muscles to adapt to this range, and you will risk injuring yourself when your muscle has to move further with an activity. Take the leg press for example. Sit on the seat of the machine, push the steel plate up and flip the safety latches over to the sides. Lower the plate down by bending your knees and stop when your thighs are right in front of your chest. Your knees will be bent approximately 90 degrees at this point. Push the plate back up and fully extend your legs, but do not lock your knees. That is a full range of motion.
Step 3
Execute proper form. Contract your focus muscle forcefully for a full second at the midpoint of your lifts, regardless of whether you are using machines or free weights. Breathe out as you exert force, breathe in while you lower weights, and lower the weights slower than you lift them. Do not use momentum with your exercises.
Step 4
Adjust your weights properly and lift heavy enough resistance to build muscle. Add weights to machines by sliding weight plates onto circular tubes or sliding a pin into a stack of weights. Add weights to barbells by sliding weight plates on the ends and securing them with collars. Use a weight with your exercises that enables you to do eight to 12 repetitions with good form.
Step 5
Increase your resistance progressively to keep gaining muscle. Aim for a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in weight every week. For example, when you use the machine shoulder press, if you lift 100 pounds this week, aim for 105 to 110 pounds next week.
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