With resistance training you gradually increase the amount of weight you use over time for your workouts. So, for example, if you begin doing bicep curls with 10 pound dumbbells, then after a few workouts with this amount of weight you should increase your weight to 12 pound dumbbells. To do this you can either buy two different sets of dumbbells (2 ten pound and 2 twelve pound) or you can buy the kind of dumbbells that let you adjust the amount of weight by adding or removing weight plates. Then when you feel you are ready, just increase your dumbbell weight to 15 pounds, and so on.
If you are trying to build muscle then you should start with the heaviest weight that you can use to SAFELY do each exercise while still maintaining the proper technique. Then gradually add to the amount of weight you are using over time. You will begin to build muscle and become stronger in this way. If you don’t increase the amount of weight that you are using, initially you will build a little muscle, but that will be as much muscle as you’ll gain because you will soon reach a plateau.
Proper Breathing Technique
How you breathe while lifting weights is very important. You certainly don’t want to hold your breath because your muscles are going to need oxygen to lift the weight (and so will the rest of your body and brain). If you hold your breath while lifting weights you may pass out. You should exhale when you are lifting the weight and inhale as you lower it.
Rest Between Sets
If you are lifting weights to gain muscle you should rest between sets. A set should include between 8-12 repetitions of each exercise, but not more than 12. Some bodybuilders who are using very heavy weights even do less than 8 repetitions per set. After you have perfomed a set then you should rest for approximately 2 minutes and then begin the next set. In general, do 3 sets per exercise.
Rest Between Workouts
When you are just starting out and presumably not using really heavy weights yet, you should rest each body part that you have worked out with weights for 24 hours. This is because while you are lifting weights you are actually tearing the muscle down and it takes 24 hours for the muscle to repair itself and grow. As you increase the amount of weight you are using and if you are using a lot of weight then you may want to give yourself even more time between workouts (e.g., 48-72 hours).
A lot of people choose to work out their upper body one day and their lower body the next day so that they can exercise every day. Also, this prevents each workout from becoming overly long and tiring so that you can put your maximum effort into each exercise you perform.
