Muscles are built with the help of external resistance. This comes in the form of body weight, machine weight or free weights. Free weight equipment is anything not bound by an attachment. Dumbbells, barbells and weight plates for example are "free" to move without any cables or pulleys. Unlike resistance machines, free weights simulate real-life lifting situations and promote whole-body stabilization according to mayoclinic.com. Become familiar with their proper usage before doing advanced workouts.
Step 1
Move your body through a dynamic warm-up before using free weights. Dynamic stretches simulate movements you experience when you do exercises. When lifting free weights, there are a number of muscles and joints being activated at once. Reduce your chances of suffering an injury by doing dynamic stretches. Leg swings, arm circles, arm crossovers, alternating toe touches, side bends, trunk twists and reverse lunges are examples.
Step 2
Include compound exercises into your workouts. Isolation exercises like chest flies, front raises, triceps kickbacks and biceps curls work efficiently, but they only work one muscle at a time. Spend the first part of your training sessions doing compound, or multi-joint, exercises which target more than one muscle at a time. Bench presses, military presses, back rows, lunges, squats and stiff legged deadlifts are examples. These exercises will build your muscles the quickest.
Step 3
Execute proper form with your exercises. Do not use momentum, lower the weights slowly, exhale as you exert force and move through a full range of motion. Take the military press for example. Hold the barbell at upper chest height. Take a big inhale, then exhale as you push the weight above your head. Stop when your arms are fully extended, take 2 seconds to lower the weight in a controlled fashion and repeat. Apply these techniques to all of your exercises.
Step 4
Train with a spotter. This especially holds true if you are new to exercise. Have him stand close to you while you do your exercises to assist you with your lifts and take the weight from you if you cannot lift it. This will not only allow you to make your rep ranges, but it will also prevent any catastrophes.
Step 5
Perform enough exercise to get results. Aim for eight to 12 reps with your exercises and do three or four sets. Take at least one day off in between muscle groups to avoid overtraining.
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