Weightlifting can be a great way to increase your muscle mass, boost your strength and improve your fitness but it’s important to take a long-term approach to any new fitness regime. By learning the basics and taking your time to enhance your performance you can reduce the risk of injury and develop your skills. With this in mind, take a look at these four things no one ever tells you before you start weightlifting and find out what they mean for your training regime:
1. People Will Stare
When you’re lifting weights at the gym, prepare to be watched by anyone in the vicinity. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been training for years, something about lifting weights seems to attract people’s attention. Sure, some of them will be judging your choice of workout attire but, for the most part, people will be watching to see what your technique is like, how much you can lift and how many reps you can manage. Embrace the attention and don’t let it put you off.
2. Everyone’s an Expert
One of the things you find out pretty quickly when you start lifting weights is that everyone is an expert on the subject. Funnily enough, the people who have never done any training seem to be the ones who know most about it. Go figure.
Although the unsolicited advice gets old pretty quickly, just smile and nod along if you want an easy life. While you can pick up helpful tips from people who are genuinely experienced and in the know, the unwelcome advice from non-weightlifters is something that comes with the territory.
3. Rest Days Aren’t Optional
When you start a new training regime, your motivation and determination can make rest days seem unnecessary. After a heavy session at the gym, however, you’ll soon see why rest days are non-negotiable. Although you can speed up the muscle repair process with protein supplements and serums, like Recov Faster, you will need to give your body a chance to catch up. Training a different set of muscles each day can be an effective way to maximise your training routine while still giving your body time to repair itself.
4. There’s No Secret to Success
When you see people bench pressing 250lb weights at the gym, it’s easy to assume they know something you don’t. After all, there must be a secret formula that turns amateur lifters into buff bodybuilders, right? Not so much.
Weight training is about determination and motivation, so don’t be on the lookout for quick fixes. Instead, you’ll need to put the time and effort in to get the results you want.
Starting a New Lifting Regime
If you’re new to weightlifting, be sure to learn the right techniques before you increase the amount you lift. Form really is more important than the number of reps you do, so work with a trainer, join a class or follow an online tutorial to help you establish a safe and effective training regime.