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Weight Training Basics: Making Sense of Weight, Repetitions and Sets

April 1, 2008 on 7:31 pm | By Matt | In Exercise, Weight & Resistance Training | 1 Comment

Learn the fundamentals of weight, reps, sets and form before you pick up the dumbbells.

Adding weight training into your workout isn’t as difficult as it seems. Understanding the four basic principles of weight training is a good start, but what about all of this talk about weight, reps, sets and form?

Understanding Weight, Repetitions and Sets

There are four basic terms you need to understand, because you will hear them frequently in the context of weight training.

Once you understand them, you’ll finally be ready to hit the weights with confidence and purpose:

1. Weight or Resistance
   This is the amount of weight that you lift or move during weight training. Choosing the right amount of weight is critical and it will vary based on your goals (that “specificity” thing again.) It will also have a direct impact on the amount of repetitions your perform. Repetitions and weight are tied so closely together, that it’s best to discuss them in relation to one another.
2. Repetitions
   Repetitions indicate the number of times you move a given weight during a specific exercise. So if you are doing bicep curls with a dumbbell, and you curl the weight twelve times in a row, you’ve performed twelve repetitions (also called “reps.”)  Determining how many repetitions you should perform is really a function of your goals as well as the amount of weight you choose to use. In general, you will want to perform as many reps with good form as the particular muscle you are training will allow before you cannot perform another rep. Obviously, the amount of weight you choose has a direct impact on the amount of repetitions you perform. The higher the weight, the less reps you’ll be able to perform.
3. Sets
   Sets are simply a grouping of repetitions for the same exercise seperated by a brief rest period. So let’s say you performed 12 repetitions of dumbell bicep curls, rested for two minutes, and performed 12 more repetitions of the same exercise. You will have performed two sets. Simple, huh?
4. Form
   Form means you perform a given exercise properly, with attention to the positioning of your body, your posture, the correct movement during the exercise and proper breathing techniques.  Practicing good form ensures that you thoroughly work the muscles through their intended range-of-motion and do so with minimal risk of injury.

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