Improving and enhancing wellness
Exercise tips
The elite 8- a weight lifting program that makes sense.
By Tom Dann, CSCS, HFI
It can be rather confusing, even overwhelming to figure out what exercises to do in the "weight room". Part of the problem is due to the stereotypes and misconceptions that exist with regard to the "results" we assume will occur from lifting weights. The majority of the confusion is because, historically, lifting weights has been for body builders and strength & power athletes. These athletes get bigger and stronger, not because they just lift weights, but because they lift a lot of weights and because most of them have the genetic capacity to get bigger and stronger.
Have no fear. Most of us don't have to worry about that. We can lift weights and gain benefits without gaining mass!! And even if a few of us have the genetic potential to gain a lot of muscle mass, it is dependent of the "type" of lifting we do. The best rule of thumb is to keep it simple and keep it sensible. You can gain tremendous benefits from weight lifting (increased strength and muscle endurance, improved posture, reduced risk of low back pain, increased metabolism, and much more) in as little as two or three days a week for 30 to 45 minutes each session.
The plan includes pairing up muscle groups to keep everything balanced (i.e., front of the thigh and back of the thigh), choosing some exercises that targets at least two muscle groups at a time ("multi-joint"), and keeping the workout to 2 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions for 8 to 10 exercises. Muscle groups to target should include the chest, upper back, shoulders, abdomen, lower back, front of thigh, back of thigh, and the calves. This can be accomplished with exercises such as a bench press movement, a rowing movement, an over-the-head motion, a crunch, a "reverse" crunch motion, a leg press movement, a leg curl and, finally, a movement involving raising up onto the toes. All this can be done in as little as eight exercises, which we might call the "elite eight."
Of course, there are many other exercises and other muscle groups to target, but these are probably the most common muscles we use in everyday life. Remember, the benefits we seek from lifting weights should at least be grounded in a desire to improve our daily functioning and to have an injury-free quality of life. If you are lifting weights that include certain exercises to lose fat in specific parts of the body, then you are caught up in one of those "misconceptions". Lift weights for the right reasons, know what you are getting out of any given type of workout session and, above all, KEEP IT SIMPLE.
For more advice and to answer question, contact Tom Dann, instructor in the Department of Sport & Exercise Science and the Cross Country Coach.