Weight Training for Dummies (Revised)

Marc Notes:
Previous edition: published as by Liz Neporent, Suzanne Schlosberg, Shirley J. Archer. Hoboken: Wiley, 2006.;Includes index.;Whether you want to bodybuild, sculpt your physique, or simply preserve bone density, this guide will help you meet your fitness goals, from free weights to buying the best equipment.

Table of Contents:

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with Weight Training 5

Chapter 1: Weight Training for Life 7

Chapter 2: The Principles of Training: Concepts and Terminology 13

Chapter 3: Testing Your Strength, Setting Goals, and Tracking Your Progress 27

Chapter 4: Weight-Training Tools and Equipment 39

Chapter 5: Safety First: Protecting Yourself and Preventing Injury 55

Part II: Gaining Weight-Training Wisdom 69

Chapter 6: Set ting Up Your Own Gym at Home 71

Chapter 7: Exercising Away from Home: Clubs, Trainers, and Classes 81

Chapter 8: Your Muscles and How to Use Them Properly 97

Part III: Tackling the Exercises 105

Chapter 9: Working Your Back 107

Chapter 10: Working Your Chest 129

Chapter 11: Working Your Shoulders 145

Chapter 12: Working Your Arms 161

Chapter 13: Working Your Abdominals 175

Chapter 14: Working Your Butt and Legs 187

Chapter 15: Weights for Core Strength 209

Chapter 16: Stretching: The Truth 223

Part IV: Setting Up Your Workout Programs 239

Chapter 17: Basic Workouts to Get Started 241

Chapter 18: 20-Minute Workouts for the Time Challenged 251

Chapter 19: Tackling More-Advanced Programs 261

Chapter 20: Workouts for the Family: New Moms, Moms-to-Be, Kids, and Teens 275

Chapter 21: Workouts for Baby Boomers and Beyond 297

Chapter 22: Adding Yoga and Pilates for Flexibility 309

Part V: The Part of Tens 321

Chapter 23: Ten (Or So) Ways to Use Exercise Bands to Tone and Tighten 323

Chapter 24: Ten (Or So) Ways to Have a Ball with Exercise Balls 335

Index 351

LaReine Chabut is a distinguished lifestyle and fitness expert, bestselling author, model, and mom. As the on-camera host of MSN's hit web series Focus on Feeling Better, LaReine helped everyday people across America fit in exercise daily. She is most recognized as the lead instructor of The Firm, a series of popular workout videos and her blog losethatbabyfat.com.

Learn to:

• Work with free weights or weight machines
• Exercise each muscle group with the proper weight and form
• Prevent injuries
• Lose fat, build strength, and stay healthy

Tone up, burn calories, and stay strong

Weight training is one of the fastest, most effective ways to lose fat, improve muscle tone, and strengthen bones. It also helps guard against osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease. Whether you're looking to get started with weights or spice up existing routines, this updated guide is chock-full of exercises that are suited to varying degrees of strength. You'll find out how to tone triceps and biceps and perform the most effective fat-loss circuits and combinations.

• Weight Training 101 -- discover why everyone needs weight training, gauge your fitness level, and set goals
• Tools of the trade -- get to know the ins and outs of working with free weights, a weight bench, weight machines, bands, and rubber tubing
• The anatomy of weight training -- find workouts for your upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, arms, abdominals, butt, legs, and core
• Safety first -- perfect the art of spotting and being spotted, avoid injury while lifting weights, and seek help if you're injured
• There's no place like home -- find out how to set up a home gym, purchase the right free weights, put your money into weight machines, and buy exercise bands or tubing

Open the book and find:

• Basic workouts to get you started
• Key weight-training terms
• The big picture of training long term
• How to track your progress in a workout diary
• Tips for staying motivated
• How to ensure you're protecting yourself and preventing injury
• Advice for working out in clubs, with trainers, and in classes
• The importance of stretching
• 20-minute workouts for the time-challenged

Weight Training For Dummies makes it easy to get started with weight training by offering trusted and straightforward guidance on the latest circuit and resistance training, and all-new information on the highly popular bodyweight and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Whether you're working with dumbbells, free weight sets, or machines, you'll find out how to combine weight training with other exercise to properly strength train and get in the best shape of your life.

Along with aerobic exercise and flexibility, body weight training is an integral part of a complete physical activity program. But with all the different equipment and techniques available, getting started can feel overwhelming. Want to get pumped about weight training? Consider these facts: strength training, whether via free weights or a machine, builds muscle. And the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the less prone you are to injuries--in and out of the gym. Plus, strength training promotes bone strength, which can significantly reduce your odds of developing osteoporosis. If that's not enough, strength training--unlike cardio workouts like running--reaps benefits almost immediately. So what are you waiting for? Weight Training For Dummies has everything you need to get started.

• Provides examples and directions for powerful 20-minute weight training routines for the time challenged
• Features advice to help you choose a weight training system that you enjoy and that fits into your lifestyle
• Includes new coverage devoted to warm-ups and the hottest and most beneficial stretches
• Introduces using weight training to address specific health or orthopedic conditions

Whether you're already in the gym several times a week or are just starting out with a fitness routine, Weight Training For Dummies shows you how to use free weights or weight machines to get results--fast.