If resistance training, also known as weight training, isn't part of your fitness program, think again. No matter what your age or sex, weight training can improve the way you feel about your body, your confidence about participating in a variety of activities, and your overall attitude toward life. In addition, it has other important benefits, such as:

• building and toning your muscles
• decreasing your risk of osteoporosis
• developing coordination and balance
• helping you maintain a lean body
• improving your muscle endurance
• increasing your strength
• preventing injuries resulting from weak muscles

Here's basic information from the American College of Sports Medicine, as presented on ExRx.net, to help you get off to an informed start.

If you're like most people, a well-rounded program that exercises all the major muscle groups two or three times a week will improve your fitness significantly. Each training session should last an hour or less and be separated by at least a day to give your muscles time to rest. Progress in weight training is not accomplished during the exercise but between the training sessions when fatigued muscles rebuild.

Warming Up

Start each of your training sessions with a warm-up. This can be five minutes of light aerobic activity such as walking, bicycling, or stair walking. Follow the aerobics with stretching of all your major muscle groups. During a weight training session, do exercises that work several muscle groups before exercises that work a single muscle group.

In addition, it's good to perform a warm-up set of each exercise with light weights first.

Find, Lift, and Repeat

The basic units of weight training are "repetitions" and "sets." A repetition is one full range of motion, and a set is a collection of repetitions. Once you've learned the proper technique and body movement for a particular exercise, find a weight you can lift and repeat at least eight times. If you can't do it eight times, it's too heavy. If you can do it 12 times comfortably, you should increase the weight. A typical program is one or two sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Rest one minute between sets.

Staying Stronger Longer

Weight training can improve your strength and/or endurance, depending on how you do it. When repetitions are low (three to five), primarily your strength will be enhanced. When repetitions are high (12 to 20), primarily your endurance will be enhanced. Generally, repetitions in the range of eight to 12 per set will enhance your strength and endurance.

End each of your training sessions with a cool-down period of stretching. Stretching will help you maintain flexibility and prevent injuries.

If resistance training sounds irresistible to you, see your physician soon so you can start planning your program.

Sources: gsu.edu, exrx.net