19
June
2019
|
17:16 PM
America/New_York

The Beginner's Guide to Weight Lifting

Outside Magazine shares a beginners guide to weight lifting for outdoor athletes, for safer, enhanced performance, according to experts.

Outside Magazine spoke to Aaron Karp MS, ATC, CSCS, sports performance specialist at HSS, who explained the importance of targeting the body’s basic movement patterns (i.e., the way it bends, bears weight, and generates power). While any outdoor sport will work most of these areas to a certain degree, it’s often now the right combination to support total body balance. “By making sure that your strength-training program both reinforces your sport’s required movements and compensates for movement patterns that are underused in your sport, you can improve your total-body strength and function while minimizing your risk for injury both in the gym and on the trail,” Karp cited.

While the number and types of equipment in the weight room can be overwhelming, the equipment worth noting include fixed machines, which limit the movements to a predetermined path, generally in one or two planes of motion. Karp noted, “This reduces the need for the body to stabilize throughout the exercise while also increasing how well you can isolate a given muscle.”

Karp concluded, “Once you’ve nailed your form, you can tweak your reps, sets, and weight based on your goals to keep your body progressing.”

Read the full article at Outsideonline.com.