Free Weight Training Guide

This free weight training guide will give you everything you need to start working out with weights. We'll go through the reasons to do weight training, the effective starting routines for weight training, and how to get the most out of your training.

Weight training is one of the best methods of strength training! If you want to start weight training safely and effectively, with the best info, diet, and routines, check out the 5 Day Beginner Weight Training Course!

Free Weight Training Guide:

Why Do Weight Training?

Basically, why should you use this guide? Why should you do weight training as opposed to aerobic training (running, biking, etc.), machine work, or other kinds of exercises?

Weight training...

• Is great for increasing raw strength.

If you want to lift heavier things than you do now or have an easier time with the things you can lift, there's nothing better than for you than training with barbells and dumbbells.

• Works your stabilizer muscles.

Free-weights such as barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells don't give you support in your movements (like machines do), so working these tools with heavy loads gives you better balance and stability.

• Includes compound exercises that stress to your whole body.

Large movements like the squat and deadlift are so taxing that, when properly executed, they can actually cause muscle stress (and strength increases) in the rest of the body.

• Gives you the ripped look.

There's nothing like weight training to give you that ripped, muscular look. Weight training is the fastest way to develop large, strong muscles.

• Heightens Your Metabolism.

Lifting weights speeds up your metabolism for the hours after the workout and, if it was a really tough workout, even elevates your metabolism for up to the next 48 hours.

• It's Fun!

It's weird but true - weight training can be really fun. The smell of stale sweat, the achievement of lifting more iron than you did last week, that feeling of being righteously sore the day after...

If you learn one thing from this free weight training guide, never forget the crazy fun of lifting weights ;-)

Free Weight Training Guide:

How To Get Started...

When you're getting started you want a simple weight training routine. Nothing too elaborate so you can just go to the gym and do it.

Here are some basic weight lifting routines for use with free weights. You can print out the PDFs & take them to the gym to workout.

If you have access to kettlebells you might try a kettlebell routin. Again, choose something simple and straightforward, and you can look up the other kettlebell exercises from that page.

Don't go to the gym at its peak hours. Most gyms are really busy 4-7PM Mon., Wed., and Fri. Choose different times, or go on different days; it's less intimidating to start that way. You might even want to go with a friend.

Finally, get some decent gym clothes. Nothing fru-fru or designer, just clothes you aren't embarrassed to be active in. These shouldn't be expensive at all.

That's it. Get to the gym, lift the metal, and record your workouts.

Free Weight Training Guide:

How Can You Get The Most Out of Your Training?

• Sweat and Hard Work!

It's simple but very true. Without sweat and hard work, nothing else in this free weight training guide will be any help.

Wear yourself out at each workout: do one more repetition of each lift than you think you can. Work yourself as hard as you can, and then work harder!

Make sure you don't injure yourself, but always lift more or heavier weight the next time you go to the gym. It's the only way to make progress.

• Keep Adding Weight

This goes along with sweat and hard work: keep adding more weight to the bar. If you aren't adding weight you aren't getting stronger.

As you get more advanced, weight gain will be slower - but it won't stop for a long time. You need to keep just putting one... more... pound... on... that... bar...

• Start With Big Exercises

The routines in the free weight training guide focus on big exercises like the squat, deadlift, and standing press since they work your muscles all together. That's the way your body is supposed to be used.

They build useful strength, rather than isolating your muscles to work on them one by one - like the bicep curl, tricep extension, etc.

• Always Keep Good Form

Always, always, always keep good form when you're lifting weights. I don't care how much weight you lift when you don't have good form, you're doing it wrong. And you'll probably get hurt.

I always chuckle when I see buff-looking guys in the gym pick up a dumbbell for bicep curls and move it about 6 inches for each rep. They're just trying to show off. Silly. Stupid.

When you train, cultivate real strength.

• Warm-up And Stretch

Along with good form, always spend time warming up and stretching. You may be rarin' to go on your workout, you may not want to wait, but a short warm-up will help you stay not hurt.

And not hurt along with continually building strength is really good.

• Pen and Iron In Accord - Plan, Plan, Plan!

If you don't record your workouts then you have no idea if you're making progress. Always, always, always record your workouts.

This is basic to the free weight training guide: record your workouts. Did I also mention to record your workouts? ;-)

When you're going to the gym you should know exactly what you're gonna do and how much weight you're gonna lift - a coherent battle-plan. And you can see from you're plan how much you should be lifting.

It's inspiring to look back at your workout schedules from just a few months age and find out how much stronger you've become. Whether it's a notebook, binder, or pages printed from a computer, meticulously record what you are doing.

• Make It A Habit

Work your workout into your schedule. Choose a time like when you get off work, when you get up in the morning, during your lunch break, whenever.

The important thing is to get so that going to the gym is a regular habit and part of your day. To the point where you don't even question skipping it or not doing it; you just do.

• Accept That There Will Be Setbacks, Injuries, And Tons Upon Tons Of Reasons To Quit.

If you lift seriously then you may get injured eventually. Not badly, hopefully, but it will happen. And there will be days when you honestly can't make it to the gym, and times you just want to give up and stop.

Don't Give Up!

Like anything that can give you great rewards, it takes effort and fortitude to keep going to the gym.

• Live Life, Enjoy Training, Show Off, and Make Sure It's Fun!

If weight lifting is like taking a vile pill, you won't stick with it. Neither me, nor this free weight training guide, your spouse, friends, etc. will keep you doing it if it's not fun.

Yes, it's hard. It's not like eating-ice-cream fun or laying-in-a-hammock fun.

But you need to enjoy the lifting, getting worn out and sweating, being sore, and the experience of lifting weights. Take some pleasure in it, day by day, and you'll keep doing it.

Oh, and be sure to sign up for the e-zine Starting Strong to get monthly strength training, exercise, and diet tips e-mailed to you - and access to the free e-book Train Smart, Eat Smart: Exercise Nutrition Hacks!

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Free Weight Training Guide
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