Even the prospect of weight training can be intimidating. How much weight should you lift? How often? What muscle groups need to be worked?
To help sort it all out, we called on trainer Mike Alexander, owner of MADfit, a private Beverly Hills training studio. Alexander, who did post-graduate work at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, has trained celebrities such as Jessica Simpson and Kristin Chenoweth.
Here, he outlines a four-week program that works the body's major muscle groups, building muscle strength and endurance and improving the cardiovascular system. Stick with it and pay attention to his basic nutrition tips, and Alexander says your goals are within reach.
Before wrapping your hands around a barbell, he recommends a few tips:
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Getting started
* Examine your diet and tweak it if necessary. Even those who don't want to lose weight will benefit from more healthful foods. "There's little point in strength training and eating whatever you want," he says. "If you're putting on muscle but you still have all this fat on top of the muscle, you'll be a big, bulky person."
Incorporate lean meats such as chicken, turkey and fish -- women especially need to take in adequate protein. Also eat more whole-grain breads and pasta, brown rice and fruits and vegetables. Cut down on refined sugar and avoid empty calories in fried foods and white bread. Instead of going cold turkey, Alexander recommends making small changes, getting used to those, then making more changes.
"People hate being told they can't have something," he says, "and that's really where most people fall off a diet, because they make it too strict. It shouldn't be something that's constantly on your mind." Alexander admits to once having a pretty fierce Frappuccino habit (A venti Frapp is 340 calories) until he got wise and switched to iced coffees.
* If losing or gaining weight is a goal, hop on the scale about once a month, not several times a day. Progress can be slow and, maybe, discouraging. Also, consider measuring body fat with calipers, because the scale doesn't tell the entire story. Because results can easily be skewed if the caliper test isn't done correctly, make sure you're tested by a certified trainer or health professional. Of course, keeping track of how your clothes fit is a good way to keep tabs on your physique too.
* Set appropriate goals, and when you achieve those, set some more. This prevents an on-again, off-again workout schedule that promotes inconsistency. "I see that a lot with celebrities who have a movie approaching," Alexander says. "They bust their butt for a month or six weeks and then take six months off. Then when they have to get back in shape again it's so much harder."
* Warm up by doing a light set of weights. For example, if starting with a set of cable rows, do the first set with very light weight to get the muscles used to the activity. Warming up by doing cardio will increase the heart rate, but won't necessarily get the muscles ready to work. Always train at a comfortable pace. If your heart rate is high or you feel dizzy or nauseated, stop the workout.
* Avoid ruts by changing your routine every couple of months.
* Keep a workout log. It will not only track your progress, Alexander says, but also prompt you to alter your regimen.
Now for the weights:
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Week 1
Work out two to three times a week on non-consecutive days, to give muscles time to rest and rebuild. Each workout should take about 35 to 40 minutes. Use low weights but do high repetitions -- about 18 to 25 per set for two to three sets. Control the weights, pay attention to proper form and think about the working muscles during the exercise. To gauge how much weight to lift, muscles should feel fatigued toward the end of a set. If after 25 reps you feel like you could do a few more, increase the weight. Also, whenever appropriate, do the exercises from a stable position, such as sitting on a chair or bench with a back.
* Squats: Keeping the feet hip-width apart or slightly wider, squat (using no extra weight), leaning slightly forward with the torso but keeping the weight on the heels without lifting the toes. Return to a standing position, standing straight and squeezing the glutes. Works the glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps.
* Seated chest press: This can be done on a cable or fixed-weight machine. Grasping handles, push the weight forward, keeping arms shoulder height. If machines aren't available, do push-ups. Works the pectoralis muscles, deltoids and triceps.
* Stationary lunge: Begin with feet hip-width apart, and extend one leg forward, the knee coming slightly ahead of the toes and the torso leaning slightly forward. Extend the back leg, keeping it slightly bent, stretching the hip flexor. Do all reps on one leg, then switch. Works the quads, hamstrings and glutes.
