Weight Training: Is It For Everyone :

One of the most common questions which people often ask me is: "I am in my late 50, I would like to start weight training, is it okay?". Well, the answer is Yes. It is a wrong notion amongst people that weight training can only be done by people who are young and strong. This is in fact a myth as weight training can be done by young people as well as seniors over the age of 65 years or more, both male and female inclusive.

So what does weight training consist of? Weight training usually involves the lifting of weights and then gradually increasing the amounts of weights in the later stages. There are a variety of weight training exercises and it is best to ask a gym instructor who will assess your individual's needs and objectives. He or she will then give you a specific set of weight training exercises. If you feel uncomfortable doing any of the exercises, then you should immediately tell the gym instructor and request modification to your exercises.

There are many benefits of Weight training for example, building strength and muscle, weight loss, fat loss and so on. You should start with light weight training and then gradually increase the intensity of your weight training after a few weeks. If weight training is performed often, it will provide a lot of functional benefits to your body and improve your overall health.

Weight training differs from bodybuilding and power lifting as these are regarded as sports instead of exercises. It is also regarded as a part of resistance training. It requires the over training of muscles so that they become more resistant and also become stronger. Weight training requires doing a set of weights and repeating the same for a certain period of time.

In the beginning, you may start with a set of five repetitions. This will build up your strength and endurance. You can gradually move to six to twelve repetitions which will then add up to your overall body strength and endurance and also increase your muscle size. Then comes a set of thirteen to twenty repetitions which will again increase your body strength and endurance further. Aerobic exercise includes a repetition set of more than twenty.

It is necessary to take a break between the repetitions in weight training so as not to burn out the body in the beginning. The weights for each exercise in weight training should be chosen before doing the exercise and the number of sets should also be properly decided. Gradually you can increase the weights and the number of set repetitions.

It is desired to do weight training within the body's permissible limits as excessive weight training can rove to be risky especially for first timers. Hence, we see that weight training can be an effective form of strength training as one can choose their own weights and also choose the number of set repetitions to be done everyday.

Like any other form of exercises, you need to be focus, committed and take consistent action in order to achieve your desired objectives.