How to Lift Free Weights

Lifting free weights properly can be the cornerstone of your lifelong commitment to health, longevity and wellness. Along with a solid cardiovascular routine and nutrition plan, free weights help create and maintain a fit, attractive and resilient body. Take care to utilize proper form at all times when lifting free weights, and listen to your body's limitations.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Free weights

Lift Free Weights

1. Strive to complete at least three sets of each exercise for each body part, aside from your light warm-up set.
2. Exhaust your muscles on the last set of any move to maximize your results with free weights.
3. Use a spotter when increasing your weight in large increments, not only to avoid injury, but to maximize your weight-lifting potential. You will be able to experiment with more weight with a spotter than on your own.
4. Listen to your body. If it hurts, do not proceed. Learn the very important difference between soreness and pain.
5. Keep track of your progress by writing down each exercise you complete, along with the weights lifted.

Choose the Right Weight

6. Employ the general rule of thumb that doing six to eight repetitions with heavy weights is best for bulking, while doing 10 to 12 repetitions with lighter weights is optimal for building and toning.
7. Ask a fitness trainer at your local gym to help you decide how much weight to lift and how often. It is well worth the money to buy a couple of sessions with a trainer to develop a safe, practical routine.
8. Switch to a heavier weight when you become able to complete more than 12 repetitions of any exercise easily, or lose the muscle-building benefits of your free-weight routine. You can continue at the same weight if you wish to simply maintain your current level of muscle mass.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch your posture, and maintain a neutral spine to protect your back at all times.
• Never assume you know how to execute an exercise properly without consulting a professional fitness instructor or book.

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