One of the most common questions which people often ask me
is: "I am in my late 50, I would like to start weight training,
is it okay?". Well, the answer is Yes. It is a wrong notion
amongst people that weight training can only be done by people
who are young and strong. This is in fact a myth as weight
training can be done by young people as well as seniors over the
age of 65 years or more, both male and female inclusive.

So what does weight training consist of? Weight training usually
involves the lifting of weights and then gradually increasing
the amounts of weights in the later stages. There are a variety
of weight training exercises and it is best to ask a gym
instructor who will assess your individual's needs and objectives.
He or she will then give you a specific set of weight training
exercises. If you feel uncomfortable doing any of the exercises,
then you should immediately tell the gym instructor and request
modification to your exercises.

There are many benefits of Weight training for example, building
strength and muscle, weight loss, fat loss and so on. You should
start with light weight training and then gradually increase the
intensity of your weight training after a few weeks. If weight
training is performed often, it will provide a lot of functional
benefits to your body and improve your overall health.

Weight training differs from bodybuilding and power lifting as
these are regarded as sports instead of exercises. It is also
regarded as a part of resistance training. It requires the
over training of muscles so that they become more resistant and
also become stronger. Weight training requires doing a set of
weights and repeating the same for a certain period of time.

In the beginning, you may start with a set of five repetitions.
This will build up your strength and endurance. You can gradually
move to six to twelve repetitions which will then add up to your
overall body strength and endurance and also increase your muscle
size. Then comes a set of thirteen to twenty repetitions which will
again increase your body strength and endurance further. Aerobic exercise
includes a repetition set of more than twenty.

It is necessary to take a break between the repetitions in weight
training so as not to burn out the body in the beginning. The weights
for each exercise in weight training should be chosen before doing
the exercise and the number of sets should also be properly decided.
Gradually you can increase the weights and the number of set repetitions.

It is desired to do weight training within the body's permissible
limits as excessive weight training can prove to be risky especially
for first timers. Hence, we see that weight training can be an
effective form of strength training as one can choose their own
weights and also choose the number of set repetitions to be done everyday.

Like any other form of exercises, you need to be focus, committed and
take consistent action in order to achieve your desired objectives.