Stress Management Technique

While it's becoming common knowledge that being physical and getting exercise helps ease tension and lifts our mood, many people don't think of weight training as being a possibility to manage stress. Lifting weights is great for relieving stress, as it channels your energy towards both long and short-term goals. You may start out wanting to be able to lift a certain weight a specific number of times, but you also, over time, want to get your body into better shape. That means the rewards of weight lifting increase the more you practice the activity.

Keep in mind that when you start weight lifting, you may find that you're not as strong as you thought or that the activity can leave you with sore muscles. Stick with it, because in a month or two those issues will be long gone. There are plenty of areas you can use weight lifting for, such as toning muscles, increasing mass, or just getting stronger, and each type of focus requires different weight-lifting routines that are fun to experiment with. Concentrating on one part of your body that you want to change can also be a part of your routine.

If you have not lifted weights in a while, or ever, you will want to start with moderate workouts that work all the muscle groups you want to focus on. For a moderate beginning workout, you will probably want to do each lift ten times (called reps), and repeat three times (which are called sets). You should use enough weight so that you struggle a little with the last couple reps in the third set. Most people recommend lifting twice a week, and four times a week at the most. After you can lift without getting sore, you can begin to tailor your workouts to focus on your long-term goals.

If you want to tone a specific muscle group, you will want to work that muscle group with lots of reps, probably 15-20 reps, with less weight then what you would normally use. You can do three sets, although more is better since the key to toning your muscles is to make them flex many times. However, if you are only concerned with building strength and are not worried muscle tone, you will want to do less reps, like 5 per set (10 at the very most), and use more weight than normal. Regardless of what your weight lifting goals are, increasing your protein intake will typically help you achieve those goals sooner.

How old you are, what gender you are and what your genetic makeup is will affect the results you'll get from weight lifting, but anyone can vent some tension and be healthier overall by practicing the activity. Also, weight lifting is an excellent distraction from the stressors in your life, such as bills or your job. You'll soon find that once you've started to weight lift on a regular basis, you won't be able to skip a day of your routine without feeling like something is missing!