General Workout to Lose Fat, Firm Up and "Tone"
How is Weightlifting different from Aerobic activities?
Think of it like a spectrum. At one end is aerobics, the other, weights, and they overlap in the middle. Aerobics is designed to primarily work the heart and lungs, and the muscles secondarily. Weightlifting is the reverse. Each pound of muscle uses, by itself, about 50 calories per day - even when you are not exercising (See Duke University's researchfor evidence of this). Since 1 pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, if you gain about 5 pounds of muscles (which is more dense, small than 5 pounds of fat), that means you'll lose a pound of fat ever 2 weeks in ADDITION to those your burn off WHILE exercising! This is why weightlifting brings about changes in appearance, muscle tone and strength faster and to a greater degree than aerobics. Aerobics (James Fixx, a USAF doctor is generally credited with the term) also called "cardio workouts" is designed to work the heart and lungs primarily, not the muscles.
"If you are only doing aerobics, you are missing the boat," says Wayne Westcott, co-author of Specialized Strength Training. "You will lose muscle mass and your metabolism will slow down as you age if you don't strength train." See the full USA Today article
What are "reps" and "sets"? How many should I do?
A repetition or rep is each time you lift a weight through one range of motion and back to the starting position. A set is a group of reps separated by a rest period of 3 minutes or more.
3 to 5 sets per exercise per workout seem to give the best benefit.
One of the best workouts is to do 4 sets of each exercise; starting with a set of 12 repetitions, then a set of 10 reps, then 8 reps then 6 reps. Start with enough weight so you can do 12 reps, but NOT 14 or more, the last rep in each set should be tough! Then ADD weight so you can only do 10 reps, then add weight to 8 reps, add again so you can only do 6 reps. Remember, once you start to do more than 12 or so repetitions in one set, the weight is too light to effectively work and change the muscles.
How much weight to lift?
Put enough weight on each machine or barbell so that you can NOT do more than 12 repetitions (reps) at one go (set). This is important – do not worry, you won’t get big! 99% of the people you see who are unnaturally big (both men and women) got that way by taking steroids! So don't take steroids!!!! The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that most people complete two or three sets of 8-12 repetitions of each exercise for maximum strength results. (This means you should feel pretty fatigued by rep number five or six and be struggling to lift that last repetition.) However, if you have been sedentary or are over 50 years old, only two sets of 10-15 repetitions at a lighter weight may be more appropriate.
Other Requirements and Tips?