Weight Training

Weights training is a type of resistance training. The resistance in this case is weight/ bands or body weight. 

During this form of training, you would perform specific movements/ stay in positions for certain amounts of time. If you complete the task easily, you add weight to make the exercise more challenging. 

As you train with the resistance the body will develop, making it easier and easier until you can increase the weight/ resistance further.  

Weight training works similarly to most other training; there is controlled damage to the muscles, and the body repairs and adapts to prevent this damage from occurring again in the form of muscle growth. 

When you do an exercise in weight, the added weight will cause muscle fibres to rip. This will then start the repair process. When this muscle fibre repairs it will be surrounded with more fibres/ be thicker so that the muscle is less likely to rip when put under the same pressure. 

muscle fibres rip and repair. 

This process can result in: 

- Increase muscle size

- Increase strength 

- Improve fitness - (due to exercise).

- Possible ascetic improvements. 

All of these could make makes daily life easier. 

Weight is sometimes seen as a very dangerous form of training. At times, yes it can be dangerous however usually is very safe if you are sensible and you follow rules. 

There are exercises which are more dangerous than other especially for people just starting with weights. there are factors which will affect the exercises you chose to do: 

• What outcome you want from doing weights will affect the exercises you will do. 
• How much do you know about lifting weights before starting. 
• How sensible you are - (The amount of weight you lift, how regular, how careful with technique). 
• Willing to take a long-term journey - (getting 'bigger' or stronger is not a quick process. If you try to take shortcuts or are risky with training then your risk factor will increase greatly. 

See more details further down the page in the safety precautions section. 

Everyone will have a different opinion on what is 'attractive'. Some people find muscular figures unattractive and some find extremely muscular people attractive. The most important view is your own. What you think is nice is where you should set your targets. 

The process of weight lifting, building muscles and changing a physique takes a long time. 

If you are worried about training and becoming too muscly make sure to track ur process from how you looked at the start of your journey and not from week to week. 

Each week you won't notice a change but over long periods of time, there will be noticeable changes. 

A lot of people may think that you do weights just to 'get big muscles'. Yes, doing weights training can increase muscle size but there are different methods which will cause different results:

Injury prevention - You can do weight to prepare for specific movement patterns which help prevent injury. This type of weight will usually not be maximal lifts, (not as heavy as you can) but still high resistance. A lot of elite athletes will do injury-preventing weights/ s+c so they can perform highly and safely in their sports. 

Strength gain - Some people do weights to become stronger. This will often change how you look which is discussed further down. There are different types of strength you can work on in weights. These could include - explosive strength/ power, muscular endurance and static strength. Different exercises/ doing exercises at different speeds/tempos will alter what result you can achieve. 

Ascetic purpose - Ascetic weights will include doing weights to get bigger muscles, change your body shape and lose weight etc...

There is nothing wrong with doing weights to change how you look, some people think it looks good others do not like a muscular figure. the process of doing weights for ascetics is long. The changes will not happen quickly, without you noticing. With the changes in looks, you will also experience changes in strength, and stamina as a by-product. 

Health/ fitness- Doing weights for fitness will usually include muscular endurance exercises. usually lighter weights combined with higher receptions. Weights is not the most effective form of trying for fitness gain however some people choose it over running for example due to enjoyment. 

When starting lifting weights it can be hard to figure out when to go, how often and when not to go!

The average person should do 150 minutes of exercise a week. This can even be spread over 4 days! Weights are more of a muscle-based exercise and will benefit the cardiovascular systems much less. I would recommend starting with 2 weight sessions a week, keeping 2 other sessions for cardiovascular training such as running or swimming. (If you want to learn more about cardiovascular exercise, go to the bottom of the page and follow the link to the endurance exercise page). 

When starting to lift weights it can be difficult to figure out how much weight to add to the bar. 

There are variations such as age and sex which will affect this greatly. On top of these two obvious factors; some people are naturally stronger and larger. which will affect how much they can lift. 

The weight you use could depend on the factors shown above but also each exercise will change the amount you can lift. Naturally, your legs will be stronger than your chest muscles. 

Before starting any exercise, a good practice is to run through the exercise with an empty bar. This will warm up the muscles, check the range of movements and prepare a certain muscle group before adding weight. 

When you do this, feel how hard an empty bar is, and add weight relating to the feel on each exercise, each day- (some days you may be able to lift more than others, this is normal). Add weight slowly, maybe adding 5kg or 10kg on each side until you find a weight that is hard by the last repetition. 

If you are still unsure of where to start or need more specific advice, follow the button below, fill out any questions you might have and we will get back to you asap!

Technique :

Proper technique is essential to reducing the risk of injury. If you do not know how to do a lift, don't attempt it! Doing a weighted lift incorrectly could easily do more damage than growth.

When you know what exercises to do, make sure you maintain steady breathing. 

You will be more likely to get more benefits if you use a full range of motion on each exercise rather than rushing and cutting exercises short. (This excludes more competent weight lifters doing exercises such as partials). 

Progression: 

Start slowly when lifting. What this means is to keep the weight light and do the movements carefully instead of being overall confident at the start. 

It is better to go slow and light rather than too heavy and too fast resulting in possible injury. 

When you know that you can lift a weight easily with full correct technique, increase the weight. When increasing this weight, do it with small jumps; increasing no more than 5kg on each side each time. Jumping up weight too quickly can again increase he risk of injury.