You walk into the local fitness center and you see a sign for a weight lifting class and you just laugh. You know how to lift weights, you did it back in high school. You walk over to the area set aside for the free weights and see all the fancy benches, racks, and weights. Then you see the guys doing all kinds of lifts you never tried before. You feel a little intimidated. A weight lifting class is not a sign of weakness, but …

Have you watched those huge guys strutting across the platform on an Olympic weight lifting contest? They step up to the chalk pedestal and the smoke starts flying. They chalk up their hands, slap some on their chest, and it all looks like a big show. When you start lifting heavy you quickly begin to realize weight lifting chalk is not a smoke and mirror show after all.
There you are laying on your back, 350 pounds on the rack above your chest. You have already been pounding …

Weight lifting benches are one of the most interesting items you will find in any sporting goods store. They look like torture racks ready to lock you down and make you tell the truth. When you pick the wrong bench it becomes a torture rack instead of your favorite weight lifting accessory.
When you are looking at weight lifting benches you are going to find two extremes. The first extreme is the ultimate in simplicity. It serves primarily one purpose. It is intended for your bench …

Walking through your average gym makes you feel like weight belts are an essential part of lifting. You see guys strutting around wearing their belts. You see them cinch the belt down snugly, lay down on the bench, and start their bench press, uninformed amateurs. Weight belts have their place, but not on every lift.
First things first, weight lifting belts are not an essential to lifting weights. They are a nice aid and safety device for certain lifts. They should only be used on lifts …

When you think about impressive male bodies which muscles do you think about? The focus usually centers around the chest, arms and abs. Upper body weight training is the core of creating a body which makes women stare, and other men feel jealous. Do you know the right exercises to get started with to build those impressive muscles?
Your upper body consists of many groups of muscles you need to target individually in order to create a great looking balanced body. These groups include your chest, shoulders, …

Rubber bands, Thighmasters, elliptical machines, and lunges all work on your thighs, but are they really thigh slimming exercises? You do not want to work and work and only find out your legs are getting larger, not smaller.
Before we jump into any exercises it is important you understand your own body very well. If you are looking for thigh slimming exercises hoping to lose fat in only your thighs it is very unlikely to happen. Fat goes on in sequence. Think back to when you gained …

Name another sport which has the same physical requirements as tennis. The only one even close is racket ball. Tennis workouts must be designed to work on your specific needs, not the general needs of other sports.
Tennis requires quick lateral movement, rapid speed forward and back, rapid rotational power, and great flexibility. Here are a few ideas to help you improve your tennis workouts and gain maximum power and ability.
For serving and overhead slams you must have great downward power. One of the easiest exercises to …

We are all conditioned to believe strength and massive muscles go together. While there is a definite correlation it is not the primary indicator. Strength training workouts do not require you become ultra-massive in order to become tremendously strong.
If you question the validity of this idea, then you need to drop in and visit some high school football coaches. Ask them how many of their top lifters are actually relatively small in size. It is not uncommon to see very thin wide receivers, running backs, defensive …

Looking in the mirror and seeing a paunch where a flat stomach belongs can make you feel a little sad. You know how much better you can look with a flat stomach but it seems so hard to achieve. The proper stomach flattening exercises is the first step to getting the abs you want quickly.
Time for a quick reality check. There are two types of problem stomachs. There are stomachs which are lean but not flat. Women who have been pregnant know exactly what we …

Clang, Clank, Grunt, Ooph, the sounds of a gym are filled with the rapid effort as lifters power the bars up and down building strength and muscle. Then over in the corner you see this massive, powerful man moving slowly. He looks out of place. The bar rises slowly, and comes down even slower. He is not out of place, he simply knows slow weight lifting can be highly beneficial.
Plateaus in strength gains and muscle growth are common in training. You get stuck. Sometimes …

Rugby is a grueling sport requiring power, speed, agility, and sometimes grimacing explosive burst of energy. The proper rugby workout in the weight lifting gym can take your play to the extreme.
Designing your rugby workout is going to require you think carefully about your position. If you are a winger who need explosive acceleration, speed, and strong hand and shoulders to fight off opposing players, your needs are very different from a hooker who needs size and massive power. By choosing your exercises to match your position …

What back muscles do you hear talked about in the gym all the time? Usually the ones which are brought up in every discussion are the trapezius (traps), the latissimus dorsi (lats), and the lower back muscles. For some reason no one spends much time talking about their rhomboids which provide the powerful pull which bring your scapula (shoulder blades) inward towards your spine. Rhomboid exercises are very important to building the deep cuts in your back and in increasing your overall pulling strength.
The traps …

Do you want to walk into any room and feel confident you are the strongest person in the room? A powerlifter has this feeling on a regular basis. They train to be strong, not on an average scale, but on an amazing level never experienced by most people. Powerlifting is the method to the strongest body possible.
Competitive powerlifting consists of three basic lifts, the bench press, the squat, and the dead lift. These lifts are the focus of workouts and competition. The sport is a …

You must hate all those super centers sports departments, sporting goods stores in the mall, and fitness outfit shops. You have finally committed to getting in shape and working out and you need some plus size workout clothes before heading to the gym. You walk head into all those stores and they have nothing except boring ugly sweat pants and sweat shirts in plus sizes.
Before you get frustrated and decide to give up on the idea of working out with friends it is time to get busy shopping …

Are you serious about weight lifting, becoming powerful, and building an impressive body? Serious lifters use an Olympic weight lifting bar to allow for heavy lifting and superior safety. When you are developing explosive power you must use the strongest equipment possible.
An Olympic weight lifting bar is designed to carry heavy weights and not break. The simple bars included in many beginners weight lifting kits are not designed for heavy weight. They are designed to carry about 100 to 200 pounds and then are at their …

Do you have any idea what the multifidus muscle is? It is rare to run into anyone who has ever heard of these muscles unless they are having back problems. The multifidus muscles are the tiny muscles running up and down the spinal column. These tiny muscles are considered among the most powerful muscles in your body and they better be. When the multifidus are not doing their job properly back pain is sure to follow. To keep these muscles in prime shape can be …

Weighted medicine ball workouts can be a highly effective way to train your body. You can target almost every muscle in your body, producing gains in strength and flexibility. The range of motion allowed by the medicine ball makes it superior to many forms of resistance exercise, and with the added benefit of throwing, it is very effective.
Medicine ball workouts can be one of most efficient ways to improve your body when you have limited space and resources. They take up almost no room and the investment …

You see guys hit the gym to hit the heavy poundage and pack on the muscle. They work hard and intense and their bodies show it with bigger muscles. What if your goal is not huge bulging muscles but a lean, fast, trim, fit body? Then light weight lifting may be an ideal program for you.
Light weight lifting is not intended to pack on muscle, it is intended to be used at slightly higher speeds to gain aerobic benefits and to stimulate muscles to grow slightly. …

With the wide variety of exercise programs you can try ,choosing the right one can become very difficult. One form of exercise should always be an easy choice. No matter what other form of exercise you practice, you should lift weights to enhance your body and workouts.
You are probably wondering why you should lift weights if your main goal is cardiovascular fitness and you are already doing an aerobics class. When you venture into weight lifting some pretty amazing changes begin to happen to your body. …

Stand in front of full length mirror and look at your body very critically. Does it look the way you want it to look? Does it have excess pockets of fat? Lifting weights is one of the most effective methods to create a new look and get rid of excess fat.
Lifting weights has an advantage over other forms of exercise. Lifting creates new muscle. Muscle gains increase metabolism and fat burning capacity. A faster metabolism and increased fat burning ability leads to faster, more …

What is the picture which flows through your mind when you think about ladies weight lifting? You might be imagining an Amazonian woman with broad shoulders and large muscles, which is completely the wrong picture. Visualize a sensual woman who moves with ease, grace, strength, and whose body has lines and curves to make everyone turn and look.
Ladies weight lifting is not about the grueling, grinding, grunting lifting you see when men are trying to build massive muscles. Women do not build muscles in the same quantity …

Getting home weight lifting equipment can be a great investment in improving your health, strength, and appearance. The only problem comes when you start listening to marketing instead of your true needs. Not all home equipment is made equal and sometimes the lowest priced option could be your best choice.
The number one mistake made by many purchases of home weight lift equipment is buying undersized equipment. You go into the local sporting goods store, super store, and look at all the pretty machines. The sales person …

Quick results are easy when you know the best fitness workouts for you. Hopefully you read the opening line carefully, if not, go back and read it again. Fitness workouts are a dime a dozen and almost everyone of them works. Before you can get quick results you must first make some quick decisions.
What are your fitness goals? This question sounds so simple but the answers from people vary so greatly. Do you want to lose weight, increase cardiovascular fitness, pack on muscle, get …

Getting fit can be so boring. You sit down on your exercise bike at home, stare at the wall and pedal away for 30 minutes to an hour. You climb on the treadmill in the basement, take off walking to nowhere in your home, listening to some songs on your iPod, and dream of being anywhere else. Fitness programs do not need to be boring and monotonous they can be filled with fun and excitement.
If you really want to get your heart pumping, meet a wildly alive …

The great thing about fitness ball workouts is how they can be used in fitness classes and just as easily be done right at home. A fitness ball is one of the lowest cost pieces of fitness equipment and adds tremendous flexibility to your workouts.
You may have already ran to the store and bought an exercise ball and now it sits there in your home. You are trying to figure out what your next step should be. Here are a few great fitness ball exercises to get …