If you want to get ripped, weightlifting is one of the most effective ways to build muscles. Weightlifting is a form of strength training that employs weights for resistance to exert an opposing force against your muscles. Weightlifting breaks down your muscles and then your body rebuilds them stronger. Strength training also boosts your metabolism, increases your lean muscle tissue and strengthens your bones. Certain weightlifting workouts can help you get bigger, stronger muscles.
Weightlifting Basics
The American College of Sports Medicine advises doing eight to 12 reps of eight to 10 strength-training exercises twice a week for good health. A basic weightlifting workout should include all of your major muscle groups, such as your upper body, lower body and core muscles. Since weightlifting breaks down your muscles, allow your body at least one day of rest between weightlifting workouts. You can still work other muscles on alternating days, just do not lift with the same muscles two days in a row. Some serious weightlifters do upper body lifting on one day, lower body the next day and core the next day, for instance.
Upper Body Workouts
A comprehensive upper body workout should target your chest, shoulders, arms and upper back muscles. Some effective upper body exercises include the chest press, dips, triceps extensions, biceps curls, shoulder press, lat pull-downs and front deltoid raises. In general, the heavier your reps and the lower your number of repetitions, the bulkier your muscles will become. So if you want to get noticeably bigger muscles, do five to eight reps of each exercise. Choose a weight amount that is challenging by your last rep but not impossible or extremely difficult to lift.
Lower Body Workouts
To get stronger, more toned muscles in your lower body, do weightlifting exercises that target your glutes, hamstrings, quads and calf muscles. Perform squats and lunges by holding dumbbells at your sides or hold a barbell across your shoulders, keeping your back straight throughout the exercises. You can also do exercises such as calf raises with dumbbells, kickbacks with dumbbells, the leg press with a weight machine, bench step-ups with dumbbells and the hamstring curl with a weight machine.
Core Workouts
Core-strengthening exercises can help you get six-pack abs and a strong back, as well as make you look leaner and help you maintain good posture. You can do back extension exercises by using a machine or holding free weights across your chest and doing extensions off the side of a weight bench. Do deadlifts using a barbell to help strengthen your lower back. To target your abs, do crunches while holding a free weight across your chest. You can also use ab machines to target your abs and obliques.
Member Comments