Weights

• Weights and Fitness

• Working Muscles in Tandem

Jaime Longval, M.S., C.S.C.S.

A: Adding weight or resistance strength training to your physical activities is a great move! Working out with resistance—whether you use hand-held weights, machine weights or resistance tubing—can decrease your fat mass, increase lean body mass (muscle, bone and other tissue that isn't fat) and raise the rate at which you burn calories while resting. The result: you have more strength and power, may lose weight and are able to maintain physical independence.

If you're on a weight-loss program, strength training is particularly important. When you're not exercising, for every pound of fat you lose by controlling food intake, another quarter-pound of lean mass goes with it. The right strength training program prevents that.

To get started, decide what your goal is:

• Strength: You want to increase the amount of weight your muscles can lift. This helps in everyday life, so you can pick up and hold your 20-pound child, carry filled boxes or lift and place luggage in the overhead compartment on an airplane.
• Shape: You want to shape your body so things are a bit tighter (and you feel more confident wearing sleeveless clothing!). Using weights yields small increases in muscle size, which creates shape. Women don't get bulky muscles because they have less of the male hormone testosterone.
• Endurance: You want to sustain physical activity over a period of time with minimal fatigue—such as when you play tennis and serve the ball over and over. That action requires muscular endurance in your shoulder.
• Power: You want to get your muscles to move quickly. This helps an older person get out of a chair easily or walk up stairs with minimal effort and good speed.

Each of these goals may use different weight-training techniques. Depending upon your health and fitness level, the number of sets, repetitions and rest periods you should use may vary. For general fitness, the American College of Sports Medicine advises these guidelines for a weight-training program:

• Perform weight- or resistance exercises on two to three nonconsecutive days each week.
• Do 8 to12 repetitions of each movement (during the last few repetitions, you should feel muscular fatigue or need to push yourself).
• In each session, include 8 to10 different exercises that incorporate the major muscles of the body.

Please check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

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Joseph Ciccolo, PhD

A: Yes, you should make sure you work complementary muscle groups to ensure uniform development of the body. Bad posture is only one of several issues you can experience by not doing so.

As you work a muscle, such as the chest, the other muscles in your body work to stabilize and support the weight through the range of motion. To get maximum results from the exercise you are performing and to avoid the risk of injury, your stabilizing muscles must be developed equally. In your weekly routine, use the following groups: chest and back; shoulders, biceps and triceps; abdominals and lower back; and a complete upper and lower leg workout.

Women sometimes focus on exercising their abdominal muscles without integrating lower back work. This can produce an unstabilized core, opening the door for lower back injury or chronic back pain. To avoid those woes, integrate four sets on the hyperextension bench, among other lower back exercises, into your abdominal workout. If you exercise at a gym, one of the trainers there can help you choose the right movements.

Finally, it is important to include stretching in your weightlifting routine. Regular weightlifting tightens your muscles, so they need to be stretched to maintain flexibility. I recommend that you stretch between exercises, and also spend at least 15 minutes doing muscle-specific and whole-body stretching once you complete your workout. Yoga can help with this, too.

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