One of my pet hates at the gym is inefficient training. Weight resistance training is the most effective way to strengthen and grow muscle mass when done right, but the fact of the matter is that many people waste years of training by not doing the exercises properly. Training to get the prefect physique isnt only about working hard. The key to getting that well defined body is to train smart.

Before training you should always warm up. Warming up helps to prepare the body for the extra load and strain put on it, as well as reduces the risk of injury such as strains and sprains. Warming up can be done one of two ways. The first is to increase the heart to 60% of your maximum heart rate through aerobic training. The second is to lifting moderately light weight through full range motions to increase blood flow to a specific muscle group.

You are then ready to pump that iron to achieve that perfect Arnie look. But this is where you see a lot of the mistakes. There are big guys (filled with steroids) lifting big weights but only doing half an exercise. By this I mean throwing the weight up and down, arching their back to get extra power, jerking their movements and not extending through the full range of motion. By doing this you are not only setting yourself up for injury but inhibiting muscle growth.

Every one at the gym wants to give their two cents worth about what is the best way to train. But this is by far some of the best information that you should listen to. When doing an exercise make sure you do a slow controlled full range motion and concentrate on the muscle that you are training. For instance when you are doing bicep curls, each rep should take at least 4 seconds, 2 second in the upwards movement and 2 in the downward motion. On the downward movement extend to the point just before your elbows lock so the muscle is still under full tension at all times, yet the bicep is stretched in its full range of motion. On the upward motion pull the weight up to the position at which the bicep is at completely contracted while concentrating on isolating the bicep muscle. Doing this movement is the only way to stimulate each muscle fiber in the bicep which will help muscle growth.

It is easy to start training inefficiently with all the pressures of the gym. Competing with other people training, trying to lift more weight to get a lot bigger. But do yourself a favor, lift lighter weight but train efficiently. Soon you will bigger and stronger than the people that train inefficiently. Start training with proper technique from the start because it is easier to learn something new than correct bad habits.