Weightlifting Routine

Starting a weightlifting routine can be one of the most beneficial things you will do for yourself. If it’s something you’ve never done before, it can also be one of the most intimidating. Whether you’re a seasoned gym-goer or simply a health conscious individual who knows you should be doing some sort of resistance training, these guidelines can help you get the most out of your weightlifting routine.

Exercises: The Building blocks of your Weightlifting Routine

A good weightlifting routine is a balanced one: a combination of exercises that target all of the major muscle groups: whether simultaneously or one at a time. Legs, glutes, abs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps should all get some attention in a balanced routine.

-Core (abdominals and mid-to-lower back): Your core muscles are your stabilizers; they hold you up when standing or sitting down. Whether your goal is to have a six-pack or simply to stand or walk for an extended period of time without experiencing lower back pain, it’s important to give your core muscles the attention they deserve.

-Legs and glutes: squats and lunges are great overall lower body exercises, and the balance required to perform these exercises well also requires good core stabilization.

- Upper body: Many gyms have a series of machines that target these muscles individually. If you prefer free weights there are a myriad of different exercises to target every area. The important thing is not to shortchange any muscle group.

Going to a group strength training class or working with a personal trainer can be great ways to improve and vary your personal weightlifting routine.

Reps and Sets: The Structure of your Routine

Doing an exercise once-once lunge, one biceps curl, one abdominal curl-is referred to as a repetition, or “rep.” The number of reps you perform for each exercise will depend on your personal goals, but here are some basic guidelines:

4-6 Reps: To build muscle mass. If you’re trying to bulk up, you should be working with weights that cause your muscles to fail (meaning that another repetition is not possible) after 4-6 reps.

6-10 Reps: For overall strength gain. Most of us, with goals to increase and maintain strength and overall fitness, will base our training programs around these numbers.

10-12 Reps: To maintain strength and build endurance. As always, the goal is to work to muscle fatigue. For areas like the core-endurance stabilizers rarely get a break from working-and lower body-especially if you’re training for an endurance sport like distance running or skiing- a higher number of reps is a smart way to train.

If you choose a number of repetitions, and perform and exercise that number of times, you will have completed 1 “set.” Like the number of reps, the number of sets you do of one exercise will depend on your personal goals.

1 set: Generally corresponds with a higher (endurance level) number of reps. Sufficient to maintain strength and muscle mass.

2 sets: Works well with mid-to-higher numbers of reps. Good for gaining or maintaining strength and muscle mass.

3 sets: Usually implemented with low-to-mid range numbers of reps. Traditionally used to gain strength and muscle mass.

Weights: the Simplest Variables in your Weightlifting Routine

Deciding which weight to use for any resistance exercise can seem complicated, but is actually fairly simple. Choose a weight that challenges your body, but still allows you to perform an appropriate number of repetitions of the exercise with good form. You should “max out” or be fatigued at the end of each set, but should recover enough to do another set after only a short rest.

Keep these guidelines in mind, and remember to switch things up-change a method, increase a weight, vary sets or reps-every couple of weeks. Figuring out the details; tailoring your routine to fit your personal goals and needs is the fun part!