Online Class: Weight Training 101

Much has certainly changed in the last five millennia. Weight training has replaced "weight lifting" as the principal goal of many people who are interested in developing their bodies and increasing their success, both on and off, the playing field. Lifting weights is a sport, but weight training is a lifestyle. As we will learn in this course, the difference is not merely semantics. Weight training is indeed a profession for many people, especially physical therapists who use weights to help people both repair and build muscle.

Strength training is an all-encompassing term used to describe all endeavors aimed at increasing one's strength and pushing our body's potential to further heights. Weight training is a specific type of strength training that specifically uses weights to achieve its goals. It is different than aerobic training, for example, where the main focus is on increasing one's heart rate and deriving the benefits of a cardiovascular workout. Proper weight training does incorporate many cardiovascular benefits, but its chief goal is to build muscle in a healthy, educated, and safe manner.

There is a great deal of research that has been done, especially over the last several decades, on the growth of muscle. Whereas most people interested in building muscle used to turn to their friends in the gym and to popular cultural icons for advice, today people seek the advice of qualified professionals. No one likes to waste their time, especially in today's fast-paced society. Armed with information about how the body works, how muscles grow, what nutrition aids in growth, and myriad scientific facts, a new generation of weight trainers are achieving their goals of muscular development in an efficient and safe manner. This class will naturally discuss the proper way to use weights to increase muscular size and function, but it will encompass so much more. Weight training is indeed a lifestyle. It is about the proper nutrition to eat. It is about the proper rest necessary to lead a healthy life. It is using knowledge to design exactly the right exercise program for you. The more you understand how muscles function and how they grow, the better prepared you will be to design your own exercise program that suits your lifestyle and accomplishes your individual goals.

It can be daunting to start a weight training program. There is so much advice swirling around -- from friends, co-workers, and the mass media -- that you do not often know where to begin. First, it is recommended that you seek the advice of a doctor before you perform any exercise -- even if you are in excellent health. Weight training, by its very nature, places a burden on your muscles. You are forcing them to grow by, in effect, slightly damaging them and having your body naturally repair them. At first, the word damage might be alarming when you are discussing a part of your body, but as you will learn in this class when we discuss muscular function in detail, the muscular damage/repair process is a natural part of the human body.

Starting a program can also be daunting if you have never been very physically active. The prospect of walking into a gym filled with physically-fit people might seem impossible to you. This class will give you the confidence to achieve every goal you set. Most importantly, it will give you the knowledge to achieve these goals in a safe and efficient manner.

While some people exercise simply for vanity purposes, the majority of people engaged in weight training want to build strength and derive the many health benefits of proper exercise.

Naturally, one of the main benefits of weight training is strength. But, weight training is more than just preparing for success in a sport or a competition. Progressively building strength over a lifetime will enable you to function better when you are older. So many people in the later part of their life lose a great deal of their strength due to the underutilization of muscle, which is called atrophy.

Weight management is another benefit of weight training. Indeed, some people start training specifically to lose fat, and there is a great deal of research on how weight training can significantly aid in this process.

Finally, there are so many healthy benefits for our heart and mind from weight training. Training requires us to increase our heart rate and this greatly enhances our ability to control cholesterol, prevent strokes, and maintain a healthy body fat percentage. But, the effect exercise and weight training has on our mind is equally as beneficial. It has been shown in scientific trials that regular weight training is very effective in treating depression, especially in older people. Overall, the anti-aging effects of weight training contribute to a healthy lifestyle when it is done in a safe, controlled manner.

Much can be accomplished through weight training, whether it is success on the playing field, or simply to increase your health and outlook on life. This class will guide you through all the steps necessary to learn this very beneficial skill.