Weight Training Tips For A More Productive Workout
Weight training is the type of exercise that involves the use of resistance to sculpt, shape, strengthen, and (even) enlarge muscles. The main idea of this exercise is that when you lift more weights than what your body can normally handle, your muscles will become stronger along with the bones and connective tissue as you build a lean muscle tissue.
And while most of us believe that lifting barbells and dumbbells will already be enough to form muscles, there are proper ways that need to be followed in order to arrive at the desired outcome.
So read more as we are going to share some weight training tips for a more productive workout.
1. Set Your Goals
Honestly, most people fail because they donāt set their goals in the first place and so they donāt have a designed program on how to achieve it. So donāt make this same mistake and set a goal that you want to attain before you do the actual training. This way, you will be able to plan in detail the type of workout you need to do in order to achieve that goal.
2. Big Movements
Focus on doing to big movements to target multiple joints as much as possible such as:
- Squats
- Bench press
- Dead-lifts
- Chin-ups
- Shoulder press
- Rows
- Dips
- Curls
- Calf raises
- Sit-ups
3. Be Mindful Of The Tempo
Effective weight training does not mean you have to be fast at what youāre doing. Yes, most gym goers apply a fast tempo in lifting weights, but bear in mind that most of these people are professionals. So you donāt have to imitate them because the tempo of the workout can vary depending on your plan.
4. Skip The Machines
While itās a known fact thatĀ exercise machines help you to train much easier, itās still recommended to lift free weights to have a more intense workout. This way, you are pushing your body to work harder. And as a result, youāll have a stronger core which you cannot accomplish using exercise machines.
5. Do Unilateral Exercises
Opting for unilateral exercises like single-arm push-ups and pistol squats will strengthen your muscles faster compared to bilateral exercises. The reason for this is you are forcing one side of the body to work independently. In addition to this, if you are inclined to train your dominant side of the body, you can use unilateral exercise to balance muscle development and strength on both sides of the body.
6. Resting Between Sets
The time you need to rest between sets depends on the intensity of your workout or how heavy are the weights you are lifting. For example, if you are doing a set with 12-15 repetitions, then you need to haveĀ shorter rest periodsĀ specifically, between 45 to 75 minutes. This should be observed as the more repetitions you do, the lighter weight feels and therefore, the quicker the body to recover (in terms of energy) for your next set.
7. Work On Your Grips
Finally, you need to work on your grips as part of your weight training so you can have more control of your wrist. This is also necessary to prevent accidents and injuries from happening. Of course, you can use training gears like theĀ Copper Compression glovesĀ as this also help you achieve a better grip every time you lift weights, carry sandbags, or doing the arm bar.
