WEIGHT TRAINING
All physical training must be progressive in its severity and must be applied regularly. Knowing something of the function of the muscles being exercised helps as it aids understanding of the movements involved and helps one understand why it is so important to adhere to correct technique. Any exercise that steps up the circulation, and creates a deep, natural respiration, will do you a lot of good.
Weight exercise descriptions
Checking your measurements
A sample dumbbell course.
A sample barbell course.
Why Train?
Results you may expect.
The apparatus needed.
How to train.
How to gain weight.
How to lose weight.
Training Schedule of weights and repetitions.
Arms
In order to develop muscular arms one must be willing to spend a lot of hard work on a variety of exercises. Variety is essential in developing the arms.
Warm-up:
Rowing; 30 press-ups, 30 dips.
Weight-training
3 sets of 8 reps. Bench, dumbell.
Sit on the edge of a bench, grasping a dumbell in each hand. Allow the arm to hang straight down between the knees, knuckles facing forwards. The body should be inclined forwards and the non-lifting hand placed on the corresponding thigh. Keeping the body motionless, raise the dumbell up to the right shoulder by fully bending the arm. As the bell is raised, the hand should be turned inwards. It may make the biceps ache. Excessive pain means you should reduce the weight. Return the dumbell to the commencing position – twisting the hand outwards as you do so.
3 sets of 8 reps. Bench, dumbell.
Standing, lean forwards from the waist and place the free hand on a bench – holding a dumbell in the other hand, arm hanging straight down. Keeping the upper arm steady, bend the elbow and raise the dumbell across the chest, up to the opposite shoulder. Pause briefly, then lower the weight to the starting position. The action should be confined to the arm, so you must resist the temptation to sway the body in an effort to get the weight moving.
3 sets of 10. Bench, swingbell.
Commence by sitting on the edge of a bench, swingbell gripped with the knuckles facing forwards, arms hanging straight down, elbows resting on the inner part of the thighs. Now bend the arms, ‘curling’ the swingbell up to the chest. Don’t allow the wrists to bend over.
3 sets of 10. Bench, barbell.
Lie face down on a bench with the shoulders and arms projecting over the end. Grasp your barbell, then fully bend the arms, raising the barbell up to the shoulders. Keep the weight under control and don’t allow it to touch the floor as the arms are returned to commencing position.
3 sets of 8, dumbell.
Press a dumbbell overhead with one hand and stand comfortably erect, with the free hand folded across the chest. Keeping the upper arm close to the chest and perfectly rigid, bend the elbow and lower the dumbbell down to a position behind the head. Keep the elbow pointing straight up. Then, straighten the arm, making sure that the upper arm remains steady and close to the head. It is very imoprtant to confine the movement to the forearm only. Lowering the elbow causes a lot of the tricep-building traction to be lost.
3 sets of ten, dumbbell.
Place the fingers of both hands under the disc of the dumbbell, and press the weight to arms length above the head. Lower the dumbbell behind the head by fully bending the elbows. Keep the upper arm still with the elbows pointing up. Steadily straighten the arms, forcibly locking the elbows to ensure maximum contraction of the triceps. SAFETY TIP: Always ensure the collars of the dumbbells are secure before performing this exercise.
Warmdown:
Rowing, Wrist stretch, elbow stretch, shoulder stretch.
Chest
The aims of chest building are to mobilise the rib-cage, allowing greater lung expansion and to develop the muscles covering the chest wall, particularly the pectorals.
Warm-up:
Rowing or jogging; 30 press-ups.
Weight-training
3 or 4 sets of 12 to 15, barbell.
Support a heavy barbell on the back of the shoulders, feet two feet apart, take three full complete breaths. Hold the last inhaled breath, bend the knees and sink down to squat position, with the thighs parallel to the ground. Repeat with three more breaths. It is essential to keep the back straight throughout this movement. The heels may be raised on a platform for comfortable descent.
3 or 4 sets of 10, dumbbells.
Lie back. Hold the dumbbells on straight arms above the chest, knuckles to the rear. Steadily lower the arms backwards to a position behind the head - down as far as they can go, while inhaling deeply. Exhale as the arms are returned to the starting position above the chest.
3 sets of 12, dumbbells.
Lie back. Hold the dumbbells on straight arms above the chest, palms facing inwards, bend the arms and lower the dumbbells downwards to chest level, turning the hands outwards. Press back strongly to the starting position above the chest.
3 sets of 10, dumbbells.
Hold the dumbbells on straight arms above the chest, palms facing inwards, bend the arms and lower the dumbbells downwards to the shoulders, turning the hands outwards. Press back strongly to the starting position above the chest.
3 or 4 sets of 12 or 15, barbell.
Lie back. Hold a barbell above the chest in a straight arm position. Lower the weight to just above the chest then press to straighten the arms, tensing all the muscles of the body.
This exercise may be varied by lowering the bar to the head or neck or lower chest, middle chest, or upper chest. Very wide, wide, medium or narrow grips may also be used.
Warmdown:
Shoulders
The deltoid is the muscle which covers the shoulder joint. Its split into three sections, anterior (front), lateral (side), posterior (rear). These are all sets of fibres. The chief action of the deltoid is to abduct or raise the arm sideways to a little above shoulder level - the lateral fibres are the prime movers. The anterior fibres assist in raising the arm forwards and upwards and the posterior action draws the arm backwards. No set of fibres acts entirely independent of the others. Deltoids require a lot of hard exercise for full development.
Warm-up:
Climbing; Rowing; Dips.
Weight-training
3 sets of 8, dumbell.
Sit comfortably upright, with a pair of dumbbells held at the shoulders,palms facing inwards. Take a full inhalation, tense every muscle in the body, then press the dumbbells to full arms length overhead. Pause briefly, then lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. Ensure that you do not lean back from the waist and press the weights well back as you move them up.
4 sets of 8, barbell.
This exercise can be performed either seated or standing.
Start with the barbell behind the neck, gripping the bar with the hands fairly wide apart. Now press the barbell to full arms length overhead, pushing the weight well back as it travels upwards. Return the bar to starting position, behind the head. Try, tensing all the muscles of the body as the bar is raised overhead, as a firm lifting foundation allows for a more vigorous drive with the arms and results will appear more quickly.
3 sets of 8, dumbbell.
Grasp a couple of light dumbbells then sit down, allowing the arms to hang straight down at your sides. Keeping the trunk erect, steadily raise the arms sideways and upwards until they become level to the shoulders. Pause very briefly, then reverse the action, returning the arms to the sides. Lower the dumbbels very slowly, in order to maintain full contraction of the shoulder muscles. Breathe in as the weights are riased and out as they are lowered.
3 sets of ten, barbell.
This movement involves the anterior (front) section of the deltoids, and the arms. Grip the barbell with a 4" (10 cm) hand spacing, arms hanging straight down in front of the body, knuckles to the front. Vigorously pull the bar up to the level of the neck, at the same time, raising the elbows high. The wrists should not turn over. The bar should be kept in close to the body as it is raised and you must try not to lean back from the waist. Lower and repeat.
3 sets of 8, dumbbells.
Stand with your back against the wall, a light dumbbell in each hand, knuckles forward. Raise the right arm, at moderate speed forwards and upwards to overhead. Pause briefly, then lower to the commencing position. As the right arm is lowered the left arm commences its upward journey. Make it a good rhythmic action - and take care not to allow the dumbbells to meet at the halfway position. Breathe naturally, through the mouth.
Warmdown:
Shoulder stretch, neck stretch.
Thighs
Some of the largest and strongest muscles in the bosy are situated in the thighs and they can absorb enormous workloads.
Warm-up:
Cycling; 30 squats, 30 lunges, 30 burpees.
Weight-training
3 or four sets of 15. Barbell.
Start with the barbell supported across the back of the shoulders, feet comfortably apart. You may raise the heels a couple of inches (5 cm) on a plank or barbell disks. Keep the back straight, bend the knees and sink
3 sets of 10. Each leg.
4 sets of 8. Barbell.
2 sets of 10. Each leg.
3 sets of 10. Barbell.
Warm-down:
Groin and inner thigh stretch, psoas stretch.
Calf
Warm-up:
Weight-training
4 sets of 15. Barbell.
3 sets of 15. Barbell.
3 minutes. Barbell.
2 sets of 10. Each leg. Dumbells.
Warm-down:
Seated calf stretch, psoas stretch, ankle stretch, knee stretch. Calf massage.
Abdominal
Warm-up:
Weight-training
2 or 3 sets of 10.
2 or 3 sets of 10.
2 sets of 15.
30 each side. Dumbbell.
Warm-down:
Back
You cannot have a strong body unless, you have a strong back.
Warm-up:
Rowing, 30 press-ups, 30 sidebends.
Weight-training
Warm-down:
Lower back stretch, lumbar-spine stretch.
Checking your measurements
A sample dumbbell course.
A sample barbell course.
Why Train?
Results you may expect.
The apparatus needed.
How to train.
How to gain weight.
How to lose weight.
Training Schedule of weights and repetitions.