Weight training two to three times a week, working all the major muscle groups, is a great way to begin an exercise program. When people gain muscle, they burn more calories throughout the day. Muscle needs additional calories for maintenance, so fat loss is inevitable. Weight training requires a 10-to-20 minute warm up to ensure the blood is pumping throughout the body. Lifting the weights precisely with a full range of motion is vital. The same goes for picking up hay bales – it is important, no matter what the weights, that the muscles are stressed, which makes the muscles stronger.Continuously stressing your muscles will make them grow stronger and bigger. Mother Nature shows you this through the calluses on your hands. When stress is placed on your hands repeatedly, calluses will form to protect your hands. The same thing happens with your muscles. Your body will respond to repeated bouts of heavier weight by building bigger muscles. This is to ensure your body can lift the weight again and again without getting hurt.Women, do not be afraid of the weight room, it is not going to make you a body builder. You need stress on your muscles and bones as much if not more than men. More women are diagnosed with osteoporosis (fragile bones) than men are every year. Applying stress to your bones will prevent fractures and breaks.Always end your workouts with a 10-20 minute cool down and light stretching to get your heart rate close to your average heart rate. Stretching will reduce the soreness you will be feeling for the next couple of days. Take a warm shower when you get home, and ice down the muscles if they are sore. If you are not injured, keep moving. This will reduce the soreness so that you can get on with your life. After about two weeks of weight training, the soreness should subside and you should be seeing results very soon.Ever sense most Americans work in the cities instead of planting crops and raising cattle. Daily activity is down, and we have to find a way to stress our muscles and bones to keep them strong and healthy. Finding a good strength-training program is essential to warding off osteoporosis, moving with arthritis, getting around in old age and preventing sickness and disease. Find time for the gym or make time for the hospital.In September, I’ll talk about aerobic exercise, like running, walking or swimming, and how those sports relate to fat loss.Editor’s Note: From time to time, we will feature a fitness column geared toward all of you, from the couch potatoes to the weekend exercise warriors to the diehard, buffed-to-perfection athletes. Tony Jarrell is a certified fitness trainer (CFT) through International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) and a recent veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he spent the last nine years as a staff sergeant security forces member (cop). His other duties with the USAFA included patrolman, horse patrolman, SWAT member, bike patrolman, dispatcher and back-office person. Tony’s Fitness is based at the Woodmen Hill’s Recreation Center West.
