Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits

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While some individuals are strictly interested in obtaining muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, you’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for you…

Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.

Increased Bone Density
Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.

Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.

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Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.

Decreased Frequency of Injuries
When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.

If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.
Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.
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Reduction of Health Related Risks
Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems

Prevention of Fat Gain
The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.

Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.

This is most certainly not the case.
Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.
Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.

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One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.

Who’s going to build the bigger house?
The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with. Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.

It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).

Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.

You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.

So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.
So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.
When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.

Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.

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How to Avoid Over-training to Maximize Muscle Growth

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Almost anyone that's picked up a set of weights has or will experience symptoms of over-training at one point in there muscle building program. Over-training can lead to serious injury, chronic fatigue, and even muscle loss.
Over-training is very common amongst athletes and particularly bodybuilders, since they figure that training as much as possible is the fastest way to massive muscle gains.
This couldn't be any further from the truth however...
Training too much, or at too high of an intensity will lead to over-training.
Now this doesn't mean you don't have to put plenty of effort in to see some decent results... Whether you are a bodybuilder, athlete, or just someone that wants to add some additional mass to your frame, you need to train hard and be consistent-that's a given. In order to get the most out of your genetics, you have to progressively overload the muscles by increasing the weight and / or intensity of each weight training workout.
The problem is however, that many of us increase the intensity of our workouts or get insufficient amounts of rest, or even worse, a combination of both. The trick is finding the right balance between workout volume and intensity, and rest and recovery. And that is exactly what I'll cover in this article.
The Effects of Over-Training on Bodybuilders
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First, let's take a look at some of the effects of over-training and how one can prevent over-training from happening in the first place.
The Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System
Over-training effects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in the following negative ways:

• Higher resting heart rate


• Weak appetite


• High blood pressure


• Weight loss


• Trouble sleeping


• Increased metabolic rate


• Irritability


• Early onset of fatigue

If you are experiencing more than one of the symptoms outlined above, you may be in a state of over-training, and should evaluate your routine as soon as possible.

The Effects of Over-training on Hormone Levels

Many studies have indicated that over-training negatively effects the levels of hormones, as well as the hormone response in the body. Since hormones play such an important role in the muscle building process, this can have a detrimental effect on your training progress.

Over-training has been show to:

• Decrease testosterone levels


• Decrease thyroxine levels


• Increase cortisol levels

The increase in cortisol levels along with the decrease in testosterone levels is a deadly combination, since this leads to protein tissue break down. This will ultimately lead to a loss of muscle tissue.

The Effects of Over-training on the Immune System
perhaps one of the most alarming repercussions of over-training is it's negative impact on the immune system-you're bodies first defense against harmful viruses and bacteria.
Over-training can drastically decrease the levels of antibodies and lymphocytes in your body, making you much more susceptible to illness. Simply put, this means that if you are in a state of over-training, you are much more likely to get sick. Since you will have to skip workouts while you are sick, your muscle building progress will slow considerably.
The Effects of Over-training on the Metabolic System
Here is a list of how over-training can effect the metabolic system. These symptoms are the ones that are most commonly discussed, and are ones we can't ignore:

• Micro tears in the muscle


• Chronically depleted glycogen levels


• Slow, weak muscle contractions


• Depleted creatine phosphate stores


• Excessive accumulation of lactic acid


• Extreme DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)


• Tendon and connective tissue damage

So you must get the point by now... Over-training effects the entire body, and can seriously impact the results of your muscle building program.

Now let's take a look at the different types of over-training, and what we can do to prevent it.
Is it Worse to Over-Train With Cardio or Weight Training?
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Any form of over-training is a bad thing, however, I've personally experienced both types of over-training and can honestly say that over-training in the weight room is much worse, and much more prevalent than over-training through cardiovascular training.
Here are some of the reasons why:

• In order to grow, muscles must fully recover from their last workout, every workout. If you are over-training and work the muscles before they have fully recovered, you will break down the muscle tissue before it has rebuilt-making it impossible to build muscle!

• Over-training with weights makes you more susceptible to nervous systems hormone and immune system issues, which all pose serious health risks.

• It can lead beginners down the wrong path, perhaps wasting money on unnecessary supplements, or even worse, steroids.

I personally believe that only competitive athletes such as swimmers, runners and bikers run a serious risk of reaching a state of cardiovascular over-training, since there are often training for two or more hours daily.

The bottom line is that it is much easier for the average person to over-train while weight training than while cardiovascular training, and I think the effects can be more serious.

How do I Determine if I'm Over-training?

Determining if you're currently over-training is fairly simple. If you're in tune with your body, you can often see the signs of over-training before they get serious. If you are losing interest in workouts, are having trouble sleeping, and feel weak and irritable, you may be in a state of over-training and should take a week or more off.

If you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms outlined earlier in the article, this should raise a red flag.
Another variable you can use to determine if you are over-training is by tracking the performance of your workouts.
Has your physical performance improved compared to your last workout?
For example, let's say last workout you were able to perform 8 pull-ups using your body-weight, but were only able to perform 6 pull-ups the following week. This means that you have not "out done" your previous workout, have not fully recovered, and therefore are likely over-training. You nave to re-asses your program and make modifications so that you see progress every workout.
How Can I Prevent Over-training?
n order to avoid over-training, you need to take a multi-facited approach. Determining the correct training volume and intensity, eating the right foods, and getting the right amount of rest and recovery must all be taken in to consideration. Now let's take a look at each of those factors in more detail.
Correct Training Volume
Determining the correct training volume can be difficult, especially when you are first starting out. You have to determine how much weight to lift, how many repetitions and set to perform for every single workout.
You need to use your own judgment in this case, based on your recovery ability and your recovery methods. Remember that the goal is that you improve every single workout, and if this isn't happening, you have to decrease the intensity of your workouts.
This is where many people go wrong though. You begin your workout and realize that you have not fully recovered. You can either continue to train at a lower intensity than the previous workout, or skip the workout entirely.
As hard as it may be, skipping the workout is the right way to go. Just turn around and go home! Your body is telling you that it needs more rest, and you must listen to it!
There is no point in training at a lower intensity, further breaking down the muscle tissue. By doing this you will increase your risk of injury, and make it harder for your body to fully recovery for your next training session.
Proper Nutrition
Your diet plays a huge role in your muscle building program. It helps regulate hormone levels, provides energy, and provides the raw building blocks that are used to create new tissue.
Here are some dietary recommendations that will limit the chance of over-training:

• Do not skip breakfast. This is one of the most important meals of the day. Skipping breakfast is very catabolic, and can promote muscle loss.


• Never let yourself get hungry. If you're trying to build muscle mass, you have to constantly feed your body quality foods so that it never has the chance catabolize muscle tissue.


• Unless you are trying to build muscle and lose fat, make sure you have eaten prior to your training session and are not hungry.


• Have the largest meal of the day within an hour after your workout. Do this every single workout!


• Consider taking proven supplements like creatine, and antioxidants to increase performance and fight free radicals.


• Eat every 2-3 hours to ensure that your body remains in an anabolic state.


• Keep glycogen levels at full capacity to inhibit muscle tissue breakdown.

Rest & Recovery
Rest and recovery is essential when it comes to avoiding over-training. Make sure that you get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, and that you are on a consistent schedule. As for recovery time, it's important that you have days off between weight training workouts. Try to have one rest day between weight training workouts, and never train the same muscle groups on consecutive days.
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3 Bodybuilding Myths That Are Sabotaging Your Good Results

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The problem with putting on muscles and physical exercise is that so significantly details get's passed around that folks just start out accepting it as truth since so many other folks have currently said it. Never brain the actuality that it's absolutely bull and has no basis actually. Right here are several bodybuilding myths that will hinder your success.

1.) To search like a bodybuilder you should train like a bodybuilder.

That is on the list of most common myths as men and women will point with a bodybuilder and say "See! It operates!" They entirely ignore the fact that numerous of these bodybuilders have incredible genes or have spent hundreds of dollars on all sorts of supplements to help their bodies recover in the traditional 5-6 day teaching routines with 5 exercises per system element. Education the "traditional" way for the normal man or woman will only hurt their lengthy phrase ambitions. The identical men and women will then say you "just must train harder" and "use this product" to obtain the entire body you desire. I say bull!

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2.) If you're not getting a pump, you are wasting your time

This myth is so total of bull that it is a wonder individuals even now say this. You can get a pump in your muscle tissue by lifting a five pound pounds 100 times. Does that mean you're getting larger? Of course not. All a pump is is just blood acquiring stuck with your muscles. That's it. It doesn't mean something else whatsoever. What's worse are the persons that say a pump suggests your muscle tissue are receiving nutrients or whatever to support them grow. Your blood continuously circulates by means of your system and does this. The only issue backed up blood inside your muscles is going to perform is hinder new blood from having to it. Which would you choose your muscle to possess; old, stale blood or rich, new blood? Appears like a dumb question, perfect?

three.) You ought to train to failure

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Now I think somewhere along the way, this message was screwed up. While you train with weights and increasingly enhance the quantity of weight and intensity of the exercise, your entire body will react and try to grow new muscle tissue to adapt towards raising quantity of demand you're placing on it. In other words, continuously perform harder and your system will boost. To lots of people will lift the exact same bodyweight more than and above and wonder why they're not receiving any bigger. You have to always keep improving; either the bodyweight or the intensity.

Now somehow this message got twisted into "If you don't lift till failure, you are not sparking new muscles growth." Everywhere else is the world, people never do anything till failure and their physique adapts just fine. Sprinters and speed skaters have incredibly muscular bodies and they do not run and skate right up until they fall more than. Swimmers can hold their breath for lengthy periods of time and their body uses oxygen really efficiently, but they don't train till the pass out under water. Education to failure just isn't needed and accomplishing it just to the sake of itself will only tire out your muscle groups and hinder future development.

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