Strength training programs of the last decade have typically involved weight machines. But studies now show that people should also include free weights and exercises such as lunges, which use the body's own resistance, in their strength training programs, so they practice moving their muscles and joints together as they do in real life.
If you want to stick with a strength-training program, it's important not to start out with bad habits or the wrong personal trainer. Below, William J. Kraemer, PhD, a professor in kinesiology and physiology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, offers his strength training dos and don'ts.
DOS
1. Do vary your workouts.
We recommend you alternate among light workouts, moderate workouts and heavy workouts. Sometimes women use very light weights because of the fear of getting too muscular. In reality, most women don't have the hormones to get the type of muscles that men can develop, but they will lose fat just under the skin and have more definition of their muscles.
You just can't go in and lift heavy weights everyday, either, because they body gets used to it and you won't progress. Lifting heavy weights can also increase the potential for muscle pulls and strains. Through the use of what we call periodized schedules, where you have variations, either from workout to workout, or over two- to four-week cycles, you can expose the body to different types of workouts that will stimulate optimal development of bone, muscle and other tissues.
