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Cindy:

My advice is to learn the basics first and you will build a strong foundation for future progress. Here are 3 things every lifter should master before moving on to a more complicated program.

Take the time to learn how to perform each exercise correctly.
Weight lifting is much more effective when you know how to isolate individual muscle. Take the time to get help from someone with experience. Allow them to show you how to do certain exercises right the first time so you won’t fumble around the gym for the next 10 years wondering why you’re not getting results. As a wise man once said,” Old habits are hard to break”, so learn how to lift properly.

Lift weights that are heavy enough to fatigue your muscles.
 My rule is to lift heavy enough to challenge your muscles and light enough to practice good form. If you feel like you can do 2-3 extra reps at the end of a set its time to increase the weight. Increasing weight is one way to keep the body off balance and will help you continue to make progress.

Learn how to use constant tension.
 This basically means you need to learn to control the weight during the entire range of motion so the muscle stays under constant pressure.

The best way to do this is to lift the weight slow and deliberate bringing it to a slight pause at the top and bottom of the movement. This will eliminate any momentum and will put all the pressure on the targeted muscle instead of the joint.

A great way to explain this is by using the crunch. A crunch is like a mini sit up where you lift your torso of the ground by using your abs. Most people will hurl their body back and forth with speed and momentum in order to get a lot of repetitions instead of taking their time, performing the exercise slow and feeling the burn.

Know when to change your program
Making some type of change every 3-4 weeks will keep your routine fresh and challenging so that you’ll continue to make progress. Examples of changes are adding weight, doing more repetitions, reducing rest periods between sets, or switching to different exercises.

In conclusion I believe taking the time to learn the basics first will set the stage for future progress. Instead of being dazzled by fancy programs or flashy exercises learn how to perform the above techniques and results will come much faster.

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