Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Mike Singh


If you are just starting out weight training then there are a couple of things that you will have to be aware of if you are going to make the most out of your training time and effort.

The first, and perhaps the most important thing to remember is to always warm up before you being each weight training session. Many people do not think this is important as they are not going to be doing an aerobic exercise that involves a lot of movement but the possibility of injury is just as real for weight training as it is for any other exercise routine. By stretching your muscles properly and taking time to warm up before each training session, you will dramatically reduce your chances of being injured in a number of ways.

The other important point is that stretching and warming up will actually make your weight training session more effective. Your muscle development will be smoother and more even and you may even notice that the shapes you are achieving are better formed. As well as this warming up, you should also be warming down after each training session. This is important as it will again reduce the risk of injury but will also help your muscles to recover faster and more efficiently. This will mean both that you will get more out of your training session, and also that you will be able to train more often, thus dramatically increasing the speed at which you notice progress with your body.

As far as equipment goes, this will really only be necessary if you do not have access to a gym or do not want to join one. However, many serious weight trainers who train regularly at gyms also like to have certain equipment available at home so that they can fit in training more regularly, especially short sessions, and also so that they can train when they do not have a chance to go down to the gym.

The most common weight training equipment that people buy for home use is dumbbells. These are the small bars that you can lift with one arm at a time. You will also need a selection of weights to put on them. With this you can do a number of good weights for different muscles in your arms. If you are more serious you can also invest in a bench and a long Olympic bar which will allow you to bench press. Once you have these you can invest in more specialised equipment for the rest of your body.

Guest Author: Kyle Oxenham


The common concept of weight training is that it is done to get really big muscles. What can people possibly get if they allow weight training classes for high school? Will they end up with high school kids that look like wrestlers? Or worse, end up with super buff high school kids that might wrestle their teachers if they fail an exam? How creepy!

Getting extra large muscles is not the only thing about weight training. You can use weight training to have larger muscles. You can stop or stick to your regimen without increasing your repetitions or weights if you are satisfied with your size. Weight training for high school can easily become part of the curriculum such as swimming and wrestling. These sports are equally as dangerous as the others.

But mind you, weight training can be one of the safest exercises around. Weight trainers just need to carefully follow instructions to avoid any injuries. This will not be a problem to highschool students since coaches will be around to observe the students progress. Speaking of progress, weight training in highschool will stick to easier routines and lesser weights. For short, beginners! It will be foolish to let highschool students jump into an advanced class because weight training is like climbing a ladder, you have to be at the bottom before you finally reach the top.

Aside from getting toned muscles, weight training will teach students more about self discipline, endurance and patience. Why these three? Self discipline because the exercise has to be done properly. Students have to follow the correct body posture. Even spreading the weight all over your body can be called cheating. So, if an exercise is for a particular muscle that should be the only muscle thats worked on and nothing else. The exercise is designed to tests your strengths and limits. Sometimes it is near impossible to complete the exercise as you reach the end. Students endurance will be tested. Weight training will also teach them patience because larger muscles do not just grow overnight.

Can weight training in high school teach them more? Yes! Weight training will inculcate these three values in students but there are more that they will find out for themselves. Once classes are done or the students have graduated, they will find out that, not only did they undergo physical changes because of weight training but they also had changes in the inside that they can bring with them and use it in life.



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