Weight Lifting 101 Course

Outside of the gym, think about your typical day. There are times you twist, bend, change directions suddenly, and so on. These are functional movements and when you are working out these movements need to be taken into consideration.

You probably already know that your muscles do not all lay in the same direction. They all work together to allow your body to move in different directions. You are able to twist, move forward, backward, and sideways so why would you just train in one direction?

For ultimate results it is important to work all the planes that your body is broken up to. That's right, your body is divided up into different planes. To understand the breakdown, think about those magic shows where an onlooker is brought up, placed in a box and the magician does his "Abracadabra" to split the victim in half. As you are about to see, this is equivalent to the transverse plane.

There are three planes of division, known as the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes.

Sagittal plane: this plane cuts down the center of the body. Imagine a wire that comes out at your chest bone (sternum) and directly between the shoulder blades. Movements in this plane include back extension and flexion, forward lunges, and running.

Frontal plane: this plane divides for a front and a back. Image the same wire above but this time running through one shoulder and out the other. Movements include side lunges, and lateral movements (lateral raises, abduction and adduction).

Transverse plane: this is the third and final plane. It divides to form a top and bottom and is recruited for spinal rotation. Just think of the magician.

Every activity you do works at least one of these planes. Most activities in your daily life work more than one plane at a time. Because of our abilities to move in multiple directions it is important to work in all planes. Think of a simple squat as you go to sit in a chairl. It works not just the sagittal plane but also the frontal plane.

When doing a core workout it is imperative not just to perform standard crunches (which works sagittal plane) but to work all three planes of movement. Especially the transverse since most of the core muscles are designed and laid out to work transversely to move the spine.

This is just one example. This goes for every muscle group in the body. Many movements can act in more than one plane but when designing programs make a conscious effort to ensure all three planes of movements are incorporated into your program.

You will not only see faster results, the overall outcome will surpass what would have occurred if you stuck to just sagittal movements (which are the most popular in the weight room). Plus, you are becoming trained in functional movements. By strengthening your functional movements you are decreasing the odds of an injuries or aches and pains.

Isn't one of the reasons you workout for preventative health issues? Then that is reason enough to practice more than just a few curls and legs extensions. It is vital to get off the machines as these machines are made to limit range of motion and make you work only one plane at a time.

As I always preach, free weights are the way to go (free weight exercises are the best exercises to lose weight). There is no end to the list of benefits that come from lifting a nice dumbbell (as long as good form and technique is practiced).

The next lesson is going to help you with a great weight training technique... stability ball training. From there... you'll finish up learning weight training methods that could have you analyzing your workouts (but it shouldn't since your doing ours!).

Check out our fitness podcast... it's our fun version of fitness courses to help you learn and lose weight, build lean feminine muscle mass, and get the information to help you succeed now!

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