The most recent ACSM guidelines for health and fitness recommend that people do two sessions of resistance training a week. For most people, their introduction to resistance training will take the form of weight training at a gymnasium. This recommendation will no doubt bring a flood of enquiries from people who have little or no experience of resistance training. Many of these questions will be centred on the benefits of weight training, what to expect when they go to a gymnasium or weight training centre and the terminology used when discussing about weight training programs. This article will answer some of these basic questions for the beginner to weight training.

Weight training has been recognised as having a variety

of health benefits, apart from increased strength and muscle mass. Research has backed up the contention that weight training has a preventative health function with improvements in bone strength, insulin resistance and reductions in body-fat. It has been shown to have benefits for suffers of diabetes, hypertension and a number of other heart related disorders. Given these benefits, you can understand that you should be doing some training.

When you go to a gym for the first time, you might feel a little intimidated. Don’t worry, relax and go to the front counter. Ask any questions you might have and ask if you can have a look around. Most centres will be delighted to help you out and will generally

have a staff member show you around the facility. As you look around make some mental notes on the centre and ask yourself some questions including are the staff friendly, is the centre clean and tidy, does the centre appear to cater to people of your age and experience level and can you see yourself training there? If you are happy with these answers, the staff, the facilities and the cost, you will need to fill out some forms and make an appointment for a staff member to take you through your first program. You may be required to supply a medical clearance or to do a fitness test at the centre before this initial session.

In your initial program

session, your instructor will demonstrate the correct technique for each exercise in your program, explain the muscles being used, correct body positioning and correct technique. They will then coach you through the performance of the exercise and determine the appropriate weight for you to use.

Terminology

There are a number of terms that are regularly used in weight training programs that may not have any meaning to you at the moment. If you understand these terms, you will feel more confident with what you are doing, making your first few sessions more relaxed and enjoyable.

Warm-up: The short session of aerobic exercise prior to starting the workout phase of the program. A warm-up helps to prevent injuries and allows you

to get more out of your training.

Repetitions (Reps): One complete movement of an exercise.

Sets: A group of consecutive repetitions that are done without resting. After the set, you will generally have a rest before you begin another set.

Progressive Overload: The concept that you must steadily increase the resistance (weight) you use over time.

For example you may see the following in your first program:

1. Lat Pull-down 20kg/44lb 3 sets x 12 reps

This means that your first exercise after your warm-up would be the Lat Pull-down with the weight set at 20kg/44lb. You will then perform 3 sets, with each set consisting of 12 repetitions. See - It’s easy.

Through this brief introduction, you can see

that it isn’t that difficult to take your first steps into the world of weight training. Given the benefits, there shouldn’t be a reason not to get in the gym and give it a go.

Wayne Augustin is a health and fitness consultant and personal trainer whose focus is on life-long health and fitness. Sign up to his free weekly [http://fitnhealthylife.com]Health and Fitness Newsletter and receive an introduction to exercise guide at http://www.fitnhealthylife.com