Beating the Weight

Every workout should be taken serious because every workout is another day where you should be trying to better yourself. I use to be able to tell if I am going to have a good day or a bad day but now when I go to the gym I look at it like I am only here to get better and stronger; there should be no bad days, eveyday should be a better day then the day before. Lifting with other people can be very beneficial because you have the motivation to compete with your partner or partners. If both partners are willing to push each other to do as best as they possibly can every workout session will lead to amazing results. I have experienced lifting by myself and lifting with as many as six people and I have learned that the more people that are present leads to better numbers on the weights. Always cheer your partner on because it helps, it is motivation. Recent surveys have shown that 80% of people do better in events when others are cheering them on. Do not ever believe that any amount of weight is too heavy because it is not anything is possible and there are people today that bench press over a thousand pounds. Heavy weight does not exist, only excuses for not being able to lift the weight exist.

Max Out Chart

Maxing Out

Maxing out is a very fun day and is the reason why many people lift weights for a hobby. Some people max out every other week or every other month, but I do not max out until I feel like I have really improved which is usually about two or three months. It is a very upsetting and frustrating feeling when the max out day has arrived and you do not improve at all no matter what lift it is like bench press, curl, squat, dead lift, military press, or any other lift. Maxing out takes a lot of preparation and should be focused on the week before your max out day. I usually like to lift very light the week before the max out day because I like to be fully charged and ready to break a personal record. It is important to eat a nice meal prior to maxing out; I like to eat a lot of chicken cutlets a few hours before, a protein bar later in the day, and I am will drink a lot of water throughout the day. When I get to the gym I like to warm up with a three or four light sets than put on a heavy weight. After I warm up every set is for one repetition so I do not tire myself out. After completing one set I add 10 to 20 pounds for the next set and hopefully will break my personal record. Adding too much weight every set will result in failure because you have to work your way up to the weight. Sometimes I do really well when maxing out and some days I do not do really well. A lot of people do not even bother maxing out they just use a max out chart instead as an estimation of their one rep max. The chart is an estimation chart which uses a certain amount of weight for a certain amount of repetitions and gives you an idea of what the max what be. For example it may say 225 pounds for 8 repetitions would equal a 275 pound max. People use this chart because they are not one hundred percent serious about knowing what their max would be and they would rather not risk injury by actually lifting that amount of weight when they can just use a chart that gives them an idea of where they are.

You Spend A Lot Of Time In The Gym If;

1. You can put the exact amount of weight on the bar without having to actually count.
2. You know what time your gym is opened and closes everyday.
3. You love slamming the weights on the ground as loud as possible.
4. You love rolling the dumbbells on the ground using your foot to make it less work when you actually have to lift it.
5. You hate when people talk more than lift.
6. You hate when people are using equipment for an hour.
7. You hate when someone comes over to your bench and gives you a spot when you do not need it.
8. When people talk on the cell phone it annoys you.
9. You are easily distracted by others.
10. You laugh when people make weird loud noises.
11. You are mean to people when they try to give stupid advice or interrupt your workouts.
12. You love looking in the mirror when your muscles are pumped.
13. You can easily tell which trainers are talented or useless.
14. You take a lot of trips to the water fountain.
15. You laugh out how some other people are dressed.
16. You are a little intimidated by the massive people.
17. You can’t stand the terrible music the radio plays.
18. Sometimes you bring an i-pod just to avoid conversation from others.
19. You step on the scale almost every visit to the gym.

Supplements

I do not like many supplements because I feel like they are useless and only help certain people on other drugs that use various supplements to enhance their drug effects. The only supplements I currently take are whey protein and muscle milk. I usually switch every two months; January, February, May, June, September, and October I would use whey protein and March, April, July, August, October, and December I would use muscle milk. I have tried other supplements in the past like Cee-Pro, No-Explode, and Sizeon. I never really wanted to take these supplements because they were so expensive and I did not fully understand how they worked. My friend always wanted to take them so we would usually pay half and half for each supplement try them out and see if they worked. Cee-Pro was the biggest waste ever. My friend and I took Cee-Pro for about a month and it did absolutely nothing except make us thirstier throughout the day. I was unhappy about this supplement because it cost both of us like $23 each. I never really bought No-Explode but sometimes my friend would make drink a glass about 20 minutes before we started our workouts. My friend said No-Explode gave him a lot of energy and increased his pumps but I never really felt more energetic or better pumps probably because I only tried it two or three times. I was frustrated about buying Sizeon because my friend convinced me to buy it and we didn’t split this one so it cost me like $45. The first time I tried I almost threw up because I could not take the test. I tried it a few times after that and I literally struggled to get it all down. After trying Sizeon like four or five times I just threw it away and realized supplements are not for me. I wish I did not waste all that money on the supplements but at least now I know I will never try them again. I have tried a sample of creatine once but it really dried my mouth out and made me extremely thirsty so I did not try that again. One of my friends takes creatine all the time and he says that it made him gain a massive amount of weight, but I think the creatine just retains water in his body and makes him look more fat and not muscular.

5x5 workouts

5x5 workouts are a great way to improve strength and endurance. I like do to 5x5 workouts during the summer months like June, July, and August. Doing 5x5 workouts during the summer months gives me just enough time in the gym to get better and stronger but I don’t have to spend time in the gym like it’s my full time job. 5x5 workouts is a method that involves working out a muscle for five sets for five repetitions for every exercise. So if I am doing chest and the exercises I choose for that day are bench press, incline bench press, and dumbbell flies I will do five sets of five repetitions for those exercises. The same method is employed for all the other muscles as well. These workouts are easy to record and keep track of because everything is five sets and five reps, the only things that change are the muscles worked out and the types of exercises chosen. When I do these workouts I usually increase the weight on every set by five pounds to get stronger. These workouts can get tiring because you are doing five sets for every exercise and by the end of the workout you could have done 15 to 25 sets which adds up to 75 to 105 repetitions. When doing 5x5 workouts I think it is better to only workout one muscle a day because doing more than one muscle will cause extreme fatigue and soreness. Also doing one muscle will weaken you for the next muscle to workout so it is best to just do one muscle a day.

Abs and Forearms

Forearms and abs are the most frustrating muscles to workout. A lot of people see very little results even after continuous hard work. I believe that forearms and abs are more genetic than anything else. Some people do not even bother wasting their time working out their abs and forearms. There are plenty of exercises that can be done to help people develop their abdominal muscles. When I am in the gym sometimes I see people doing hundreds of sit ups as fast as they can without taking any break at all. I don’t think doing hundreds of sit ups and couple of days is going to get great results. Developing abs does not just involve working out but a healthy diet is essential. Studies have shown that more consumption of fruits and vegetables cuts fat from the stomach region. When I was younger I use to do 100 sit ups every night before I went to bed. Hundreds of fast sit ups is not the best way to cut up your abs. The best method is to do 15-30 repetitions but squeeze your abs for two or three seconds every repetition. Holding your abs flexed after each repetition will give much better results. Some exercises for abdominal workouts are crunches, reverse crunches, cherry pickers, medicine ball abs, abs roller, cable crunches, leg raises, heel touches, side bends, and other variations using weight or other equipment. For some reason my forearms are very small compared to my other muscles. I have worked out my forearms no days a week, one day a week, two days a week, three days a week, and five days a week and still can not get any results. I have tried everything which leads me to believe that forearms are a muscle that develops at a later time in life maybe like twenties or thirties. I have done wrist curls using a bar, dumbbells, and individual weight plates. I think the best exercise for forearms is the wrist curling with the rope where you have to keep curling the weight up from the ground to your shoulders and come back down and up again only using your forearms. When I do this exercise it is hard to lift my arms after so I know it works. I also use a hand flexor where you can do hundreds of repetitions a day because you can bring it anywhere. A lot of people do not even bother working out their forearms because they believe that you use your forearms in every exercise you do.

Legs

Legs are the worst muscle to work out because they are always sore and lifting with legs makes it difficult to run. I usually work out legs on Saturdays which is bad because then they are sore until Monday. I recently just started running a lot so I have to skip legs every couple of weeks because I am to sore from running. During powerlifting season legs are done on Tuesdays and Fridays and your legs are sore every day of the season. Just like bench press there is a heavy day and a light speed day. The most important exercises are squats and deadlifts because they are done at competition. On Tuesdays which is the heavy day I usually would do three sets of three repetitions on squat, heavy quarter squats, three sets of five repetitions of good mornings, and other leg accessory exercises. Quarter squats are another form of squats except you don’t go down all the way. Quarter squats are done to get people used to having heavy weight on their back. Good mornings are when you’re in a squat position but instead of squatting down you practically bend over keeping your back straight and your butt out. Friday is a light speed day for squats and deadlifts. Box squats are done for ten sets of two repetitions with 50-60% of your one rep max but you must come up as fast as possible. When doing box squats when you squat down you sit on a box for a second and then explode up. The box is an indicator of how low you have to come down. Just like speed bench press after enough experience is acquired you can use bands and chains on the box squats. Speed deadlifts are done for eight to ten sets of one repetition. The idea is that you only get eight to ten repetitions a week so explode up as fast as possible and make everyone count. Speed deadlifts are done with 50-60% of your one rep max and you can also use bands or chains after enough practice. Some other accessory leg exercises are lunges, leg presses, leg extensions, reverse leg extensions, and leg curls.

Triceps

Triceps are fun to work out because they are quick and easy. Triceps are located on the arm at the opposite side of the bicep. Strengthening the triceps can increase you bench press because they assist the chest muscles in the lift. The first exercise I usually do is four sets five or ten repetitions of extensions with the curl bar. After every repetition I squeeze my triceps as hard as I can. The second exercise I do is punch press for three sets of twelve repetitions. Punch presses are done with dumbbells and they are similar top bench press except your wrists are turned in and your elbows are kept tight at your side. The next exercise I do is rope ins when you connect the cable machine with the rope and pull the rope down and end away from each other. I usually do rope ins for three sets of five or six repetitions. The next exercise I do is pushdowns or reverse pushdowns on the cable machine for three sets of ten repetitions. The last exercise I always do is close grip bench press. I like doing close grip bench press last because you are already fatigued and you really have to push yourself to do well. I work up to a five rep max on close grip bench press. When you’re using a close grip it does not work your chest because you keep your elbows in and only your triceps are getting the work. When working out triceps form is the most important thing always keep your elbows in and always flex your muscle after every repetition.

Biceps

Biceps are my second favorite muscle to work out under chest. The bicep is probably the hardest muscle to get results because it is a very small muscle. Curling is really the only exercise that is practiced for biceps but over the years more and more variations of curling are discovered. Some curling exercises are preacher curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, reverse curls, buddy curls, deadly 7’s, and cable flexes. It is always best to change up the exercises every couple of weeks but my favorite exercises are preacher curls, concentration curls, deadly 7’s, and buddy curls. Buddy and deadly 7’s are always done last because they require the most energy and it is hard to even lift up your arms at all after these exercises. For buddy curls you obviously need a partner and you curl the bar for ten repetitions, then immediately pass the bar to your partner, he does ten repetitions, he passes the bar back to you, you do nine repetitions, and you keep passing the bar back and forth until you get down to the last repetition. This exercise is tough but if you and your partner motivate each other you will get through it. Deadly 7’s is a complicated exercise where you partially curl the bar from the down position to the halfway up seven times, then your partially curl the bar from halfway position to all the way up seven times, and then you finish by curling seven full repetitions. Deadly 7’s may not sound that bad but they are really tough because there is no rest allowed. I usually work out biceps on Thursdays but during powerlifting season I really don’t work them out at all.

Shoulders

I dislike working out shoulders because they require the most work of all of the upper body muscles. There are a lot of different exercises for shoulders so it takes a lot of time to work out. I usually work out shoulders on Wednesdays. I believe the best exercises for shoulders are military press, shrugs, upright rows, and side raises. I usually do eight sets of military presses; four sets using the bar doing five or six repetitions and four sets using dumbbells doing ten, twelve, or fifteen repetitions. For shrugs I do six sets; two sets using the machine with light weight for thirty repetitions, two sets using the bar with heavy weight for eight to ten repetitions, and two sets using dumbbells with light weight for fifteen repetitions. For upright rows I use the curl bar and do three sets; the first set of twelve repetitions, the second set of eight repetitions, and the last set of five or six repetitions increasing the weight every set. I usually do five sets of side raises switching the grip, weight, and repetitions up every set. Shoulders are the only upper body muscle that I do not enjoy working out.

Back

A lot of my friends dislike working out back because it requires a lot of work. I love working out back because having a strong back can help with other muscles and when your back gets really defined it looks great. Some lifters refer to a cut defined back as a cobra back because you have the cuts like the snake cobra’s head. I usually work out back on Tuesdays. The first exercise I usually do for back is lat pull downs. The lat pull down machine is made of resistance cables and you pull down with a bar. When I see most people do this exercise I always just see people bringing the bar in front of their face but it is much more beneficial to bring the bar in the front of your face and then in the back of your head and count that as one full repetition. I do my first set of ten repetitions with light weight; move the weight up to the next cable for eight repetitions, and the last set move the cable up again for six repetitions. One set of ten, eight, and six repetitions may not sound like a lot of work but I count one repetition coming down in front and in back of my head, so I am really doing one set of twenty, sixteen, and twelve repetitions. The next exercise I do is seated cable rows for three sets of fifteen reps. The seated cable row machine is usually part of the same machine as the lat pull downs but on the other side. Every repetition on seated cable rows that you pull back you squeeze the back of your shoulders together for maximum results. The third exercise I usually do is reverse cable fly’s for three sets of twelve to fifteen repetitions. The cable fly machine can also be used for chest fly’s but when you do them in reverse they work out back muscles. The last exercise I do for back is always four sets of pull ups until failure. I try to do as many pull ups as I possibly can and every week I try to complete more. I do pull ups until failure because I believe they are the most important exercise for back. Sometimes I do pull ups at the beginning of my workout but I try to do them with weight attached to my body but it is very difficult. Other exercises for back that I every couple of weeks are dumbbell or barbell rows, reverse pushups, and hammer strength machine rows.

Chest

Chest is my favorite muscle to workout because it is my strongest muscle. I usually work out chest at the beginning of the week particularly on Mondays. The first thing I do for chest is always bench press. For bench press I do five sets of five repetitions increasing the weight by five pounds every set. If I complete the last set for five repetitions then I will move up five pounds every set the following week. So if I do 200, 205, 210, 215, and 220 all for five repetitions then the next week I will move up to 205, 210, 215, 220, and 225. The second thing I do for chest is inclined bench press which is instead of laying down flat your sitting in an inclined vertical position. I do three sets of five repetitions increasing the weight by five pounds each set. The next exercise I do is fly’s using dumbbells or a cable machine for three sets of ten repetitions. The last exercise I do is either three sets of push ups until failure or three sets of dumbbell bench press until failure. During powerlifting season I did completely different exercises which were much more complex such as board press, lockouts, floor press, and speed presses. During powerlifting I benched on two days, Mondays and Thursdays. Mondays were the heavy days and Thursdays were the light speed days. Mondays would usually consist of board presses, floor presses, and lockouts usually working up to a three rep max. The three rep max is the heaviest weight you can lift for three repetitions. The light speed day would consist of eight to ten sets of three repetitions. On light speed days you use very light weight like 50-60% of your one rep max. The idea of a speed day is to train with speed and lift weight as fast as possible. Eventually when lifters get more experience they start using bands or chains on the weight. Bands or chains add resistance, when you come down with the weight it gets lighter but when you come back up the weight gets more resistance. The purpose of bands and chains is to train your weak points and get make you lift much faster.

One Sentence On Why Powerlifting

People powerlift in competition not only with other lifters but also with themselves in terms of mental strength because the sport is more of a mental challenge then anything else.

The Deadlift

The deadlift is the simplest event in all of powerlifting. When you set up you put your feet in place, squat down to grab the bar, position your hands correctly, and lift the weight when you are ready. When the weight is completely lifted up, around the waist, if must be held up for a second and a judge will give you a signal to lower weight back down to the ground. If the weight is dropped on the ground the lift will not count. A big issue with the deadlift is that sometimes people will try to hitch or shake the weight up. During the lift if the hitch occurs the judge will hit the red lights and the lift will not count. This is the last and final event so on the third attempt everyone has to go all out because it can make the difference of placing first or fifth. Most of the top placers finish all within 5lbs or 10lbs away from the next place so the last attempt on the deadlift is crucial.

The Bench Press

The Bench Press is my favorite lift. You must keep your feet on the ground in the same place at all times. If your foot moves just one inch you will get red lighted. There are spotters behind the bench and on the sides of where the weight is located. The spotter will assist you in lifting the weight off the bench. When you hold the weight up without shaking a judge will tell you to start allowing you to come down with the weight, after you come down you must pause it on your chest without any shaking or movement, a judge will tell you to press allowing you to come back up with the weight, and when you complete the lift a jusge will tell you to rack putting the weight up on the bench. If you shake at the top, shake with the weight on your chest, hit the posts with weight or move your feet at all it will be no good. Just like the squat you only get three attempts for bench press.

The Squat

The squat is the first event at a powerlifting competition because it takes the most energy. For the squat event everyone gets three attempts. For every attempt two of the three judges must give you a green light which means it is a good lift and if you don't get at least two green lights the lift does not count. At the beginning of the lift the bar and weights is on a monolift. You go under the monolift and put the bar on your traps. As soon as the weight is unhooked you must stand straight up, nodd your head, a judge will give you a sign to begin, you come down with the wieght so that your butt is below the back of your knees, a judge will you an up call when your low enough, and when you come back up a judge will give you rack call which allows you to put the weight back on the monolift. I think this is the toughest event and it involves the most work. If you do not follow any of the calls of the judges or you don't go down low enough you will get red lighted and your lift will not count. These rules are part of World Natural Powerliftng Federation. There are different rules for every federation.

Powerlifting

When I was in high school I joined a powerlifting team and we went to various competitions to compete. Powerlifting is a unique sport that puts people in competition with themselves. Many people start powerlifting to increase their strength and better themselves in other sports or for some people powerlifting is their only sport. There were about 15 members on my team and almost everyone held some kind of record, either state or national, in their age and weight class. There are several federations in the sport of powerlifting like WNPF, IPA, USAPL, and many more around the country. Powerlifting is a growing sport that is popular is some places but unknown in others. The weight classes were 114, 123, 132, 148, 165, 181, 198, 220, 242, 275, 308, and unlimited. There are also more weight classes in different federations of the sport. Powerlifting has three exercises that portray overall body strength; the squat, bench press, and dead lift. Most powerlifters compete in all events but there are specials where some lifters only compete in one or two of the three events. There are state, national, and world records for all of the events. After the events are completed by everyone at a competition the total of all of the three events are added up and you are given a trophy if you place in the top three. In team competitions the individuals that come in the higher places receive the most points and the team with the most points wins. Teams can participate in the raw division or the equipped division. The equipped division is when you where safety equipment for your lifts like a squat suit for the squat event, a bench shirt for the bench press event, and the dead lift suit for the dead lift event. These suits and shirts are very tight and keep your muscles tight and in place to prevent injury, but there are techniques to use with this equipment to move higher amounts of weight. The raw division is where people just wear regular clothes for their events.

Steroid Abuse

Many of my friends have used steroids to better themselves in sports. I know kids as young as 15 years old that have used anabolic steroids. These drugs can be injected with needle, taken orally with pills, or rubbed on skin. There are many different types of steroids that do a variety of things and people mix them together to get massive results. Sometimes steroids are taken in 8 or 12 week cycles where you change certain types and certain amounts to get the best results. Most people get steroids from online websites. Aggression is altered by steroids because the drugs increase your testerone levels. The aggression of steroids are usually refered to as roid rages. I believe roid rages are a much more psychological issue than physical, I believe that when someone is on anabolic steriods their anger is increased. Some of the health hazards steroids can cause are liver cancer, heart attacks, kidney damage, and disturbances of growth. Steroids are also known to be addictive because when people see the dramatic results that they obtain when they are on the drugs they can not stop and if they do they return back to their normal size again. There are plenty of withdrawal symtoms that are hard to deal with like mood swings, sleepiness, listlessness, depressed, change in sleep patterns, no sex drive, and loss of taste.

Health Benefits

There are several health benefits that people can obtain by lifting weights just as little as two or three days a week. One of the most important health benefits is the more muscle someone gains equals a much faster and efficient metabolism. Having a faster metabolism will burn more calories throughout the day; when more calories are burnt throughout the day it makes your body fat percentage decrease, which makes people look better.
Weight training and resistance exercise reduces bone deterioration, preventing osteoporosis, not allowing injury. Osteoporosis is a serious problem which makes peoples bones weak causing them to break in some cases. Some risk factors include smoking, genetics, taking certain medications, low bone mass, and being small or thin.
Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, or kidney failure. There are no symptoms of high blood pressure; the only way to know if your blood pressure is high is getting checked which is why high blood pressure is dangerous. Any type of physical exercise can help lower someone’s blood pressure. Other ways to reduce high blood pressure are to quit smoking, lose weight, lower alcohol intake, and eat healthy. Weightlifting can also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and diabetes.
Some important benefits lifting does for me is it reduces colds, illnesses, stress, pulling muscles, but it increases flexibility. Weight lifting builds a stronger better immune system making it harder to get sick. Going to gym leaving your life problems behind will decrease stress levels. Stress affects everyone and is caused by hundreds of factors; personal relationships, not enough sleep, making low money, paying bills, too much money, death in the family, too much homework, poor weather, divorce and there are many more factors.

162/6 Rule

How much do you think you should be spending in the gym? I live by a rule where I don't spend any more than 6 hours in the gym in one week. The six muscle groups that I work out are chest, tricep, back, bicep, shoulders, and legs. I work out six muscle groups so I spend one hour or less a week on each muscle group. Sometimes when I am just doing cardio for the week I spend even less time in the gym, maybe only 2 or 3 hours a week for cardio. I try to get to the gym six days a week, for one hour a day, and work out one muscle group a day. Sometimes if I get too busy with school and work I go three days a week and do two muscle groups a day. A lot of people are always busy but it is always possible to find some time to make it to the gym. Even as little as a half hour for two or three days a week is much better than no time at all. If I go the gym for six hours a week then the other 162 hours are used for resting, eating, and planning for future workouts.

Protein

The only supplements I use are muscle milk and whey protein. There are thousands of supplements available for use but a lot of them contain substances that boost testosterone levels which make those supplements unnatural. I believe protein is the only real supplement that is a necessity for everyone participating in weightifting. Protein gives your body all of the essential amino acids the body needs. All proteins contain four calories per gram. If trying to gain muscle mass it is a good idea to take 1.5 or more grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Some sources of protein are meats, eggs, legumes, and dairy products. Rotating the sources of where you get your protein from is important; change your meals every couple of days. When protein is being absorbed it is broken down into 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential amino acids. Essential amino acids can only be obtained by foods and supplements, while the non-essential amino acids can be created from your own body. Obtaining all of the amino acids is important because they all do different things.

Inconveniences At The Gym

There are so many things that people do at the gym that are annoying, distracting, and just an inconvenience. People constantly talk on their cell phones and have to speak loud enough so the whole world can hear their conversation. Cell phones should always be put on silent or vibrate when at the gym. People wearing $300 jeans, sandals, or any other clothes that do not belong in the gym is wrong. Not putting your weights away like dumbbells or barbells is disrespectful. Every gym has people that really believe they know what their talking about and must pass their advice on to others. These people are just bad advice givers which are very annoying. Some kids try to lift massive amounts of weight with the worst form that the exercise does nothing for them, except cause injury or pain. Taking up benches, racks, or machines for more than an hour is definitely unnecessary. It is disgusting when people sweat profusely on a machine or bench and do not even bother to wipe it down with paper towels. When lifting heavy weights and grunting so loud everyone in the gym can hear you is uncalled for. These people can be a huge inconvenience for the normal people that just want to go to the gym and have a nice workout.

How I Got Into Weight Training

I grew up in a big football town in Lacey New Jersey. We had won several championships in pop warner and high school. Everyday after school my friends and I would play football, go to football practice, and then have play madden on playstation. When football season was over we still played everyday after school. One day when I was in 7th grade during the offseason I got grounded for a month for something and was not allowed to go outside. I started lifting weights on a very old bench. The only two excercises I really knew how to do were bench press and curls. I didn't really like curling so I mainly stuck with bench press and I loved it. I liked lifting so much I practically did it everyday. The older I got the more I liked it because I was always training with different people. Training with different people is great because you learn every variation of every excercise. When I got into high school I joined a powerlifting team which competed in many competitions. Powerlifting was a great sport because it really improved my strength skills in other sports like football and wrestling.

Intro

There is no better feeling then going to the gym and lifting an amount of weight that you have never accomplished before. To most people weightling is more than just working out, more than just trying to stay in shape, and certainly more than trying to look good. Lifting weights is not just physically moving weights, it is something that people must mentally attack as well as physically to progress with maximum results. Many people participate in weighlifting to enhance their skills in several sports; football, wrestling, soccer, boxing, track, etc. Besides health benefits lifting weights can overall make one bigger, stronger, faster, and better.