| When the first edition of Weight Training For Dummies was published, lifting weights was on the verge of becoming a mainstream phenomenon. Women, Baby Boomers, seniors — all these groups were starting to get the message: Hoisting hunks of iron benefits everyone, not just bodybuilders with shoulders wider than the wingspan of a DC-10.
Now, four years later, weight training has become even more popular. Some 87 percent of all health clubs now offer personal training, compared to 66 percent in 1996. In the same period, four million women have started using weight machines. Health club memberships have more than doubled for people over age 55. One gym in Palm Springs, California, has even stopped playing rap music because of complaints from the gym’s increasingly grayhaired membership.
However, just because weight training has become more popular doesn’t mean it has become any less intimidating for novices. It’s only natural for a beginner to be baffled by the equipment and the lingo. You may look at a barbell and wonder how you’re going to lift the thing while remaining on good terms with your lower back muscles. You may stare at a weight machine and wonder which end the homemade pasta comes out of. You may wonder what it means when a trainer says, “Do three sets of eight reps on the lat pulldown and then super set with the seated row.”
In this book, we give you the knowledge and confidence to start a weighttraining program, either at home or at the gym. We describe exercises suitable for rookies and veterans alike. We’ve added new information regarding how to train over a lifetime and feel comfortable around weight training equipment. Training tips for youth, teens, prenatal and postpartum moms, and older adults are included. Additional information for people who are larger sized is presented. And, the latest trends in fitness, core training, yoga, and Pilates are all demystified. You’ll find this edition packed with workouts for every circumstance; whether you are on vacation or only have ten minutes to spare, you can fit a weight training workout into your day. New equipment that enhances balance and stability training is introduced and an entire chapter is devoted to stability ball exercises.
In Weight Training For Dummies, we tell you about safe weight lifting techniques, steer you toward equipment bargains, entertain you with stories about fellow lifters, and inspire you to keep pumping iron when you’d rather pump a keg and fire up the backyard grill. In fact, we take care of just about everything except lifting the weights. We saved that job for you. |
