Part II: Yoga and Weight Lifting Go Perfectly Together

In Part I, I discussed how working out with free weights, or bodybuilding in general, your muscles would shorten and cause inflexibility. I pointed out how yoga will provide an alternative for the off days to give relief to sore muscle tissue, eliminate toxins and lengthen the muscles once again.

In this segment, I'd like to offer that our body and mind aren't always balanced evenly. Did you ever notice that one side of your body is stronger than the other? Well, this comes from being right or left-handed. If we were all ambidextrous we might be better balanced, but we're not, so we favor one side over another. By the same token, the mind will only push through so much pain before giving up, so the weaker parts fatigue earlier in repetitions.

If you are right handed, you favor the left leg and vice versa. This applies to your workouts too. You will see that you struggle with one arm over the other when doing bicep curls, or one leg over the other when doing quad extensions. Yoga will greatly assist you in achieving equality in strength and flexibility.

Yoga done in a class situation, works each side of the body, so they experience the same stretch, balance and strength poses. In this way, the ancient yogis designed the poses to achieve balance in body and in mind.

By performing yoga just twice a week, you will notice a significant increase in strength in your previously weaker muscles. This will give you a sense of growth and achievement that you won't experience any other way. Yes, working the weaker muscles harder in the gym will eventually produce the same result, but without the "balance of the mind" to go with it. Plus, you lose the flexibility overall, if yoga isn't adapted as part of your routine.

In many gyms I notice a lot of testosterone flowing, and hence, a lot of ego. In that atmosphere the mind is prone to an excited state, which often produces poor form and ultimately accidents. When poor form is present while working out with weights, you are more likely to hurt yourself, tear a muscle, tendon or even dislocate a joint.

By incorporating yoga into your regular regime, you learn about quieting the mind, achieving your goals with proper form through focus and concentration. These qualities will enhance your workout experience in ways you aren't prepared for. We've all been taught that building muscles in a gym is the pinnacle of body preparedness and fitness, well, once you've experienced yoga taught properly you will gain in your overall fitness in greatly.

When the mind is allowed to function without chaos it focuses on the task at hand with clarity of purpose. Concentration is heightened and quantum leaps are made both physically and mentally. Yoga provides a doorway to that area of the brain, which brings astounding results no matter what you are pursuing, add it to your exercise routine and you will see improvements in all areas of your body.

I realize that a lot of huffing and puffing and grunting go along with weightlifting, but you might be amazed to find what you can do with a quiet mind and a focused body. Yoga will provide that edge to do more than ever before.

As the old saying goes, "There are more than one way to skin a cat." Well, there are many ways to obtain a taut and lean body, combining yoga with any of them will get you to your goals more quickly.

Keith Edwin Renninson is co-owner, along with Jeffrey Forman, of Golden Years Videos, LLC a production company dedicated to offering exercise videos for those over 50 or of any age who are rehabilitating from an accident or illness.

Renninson is an avid exercise and yoga enthusiast. Now in his late 50’s, he still races bicycles and regularly skis the black diamond runs in Colorado where he lives. For many years, a bona fide gym rat, Renninson still loves to lift free weights and use exercise machines.

You can contact Renninson or read more about his company and the videos they have available at: [http://www.goldenyearsvideos.com]

Weight Lifting Workout Plans: 4 Tips to Put Together the Perfect Session for Yourself?

Do you need to know more about weight lifting workout plans? You have come to the right place then.

Here you will learn exactly how to go about putting together a routine that can work for you starting today. Read on further to get the real deal on this hot topic.

Tip#1: Warm-Up Properly

You should warm-up your body before you start. This will help you to perform a better exercise session. This will also help you avoid injury during your routine.

This does not need to be a complicated matter. You can start off by doing some simple stretching at first.

This could involve reaching your arms as high as you can to the ceiling. There is also the option of reaching down as far as you can to touch your toes.

Both of these movements will help get you ready for your workout.

Tip #2: Choose a Good Time to Do It

You need to figure out what time would work best for you. It is recommended that you pick a time when you know you will have the energy to do it efficiently.

This could mean something different for each person. Some might find it best to do so at night and others might think the morning is a better time.

You should stick with it because consistency will be your best weapon for your weight lifting workout plans.

Tip #3: Get Your Proper Rest

Your body will need adequate rest in order to lift weights several times a week. It is important that you try to get seven to eight hours of rest each night.

This may require that you actually sit down and come up with a sleeping schedule. You should take this step to ensure that you will get the required amount of sleep daily.

You should remember that muscle is built while you are resting.

Tip #4: Start Off Simple

You may have noticed that there are various exercises that you can do to get in shape. You will not want to complicate this matter for yourself.

You should pick a few exercises that emphasize the main areas of your body.

It is suggested that you begin with compound exercises. These are movements that allow you work out several muscles groups at one time.

This would include deadlifts, squats, military press, bench press, and bent over rows. Once you have mastered these you can then try more advanced techniques.

While this is a good start. There is much more you should look at before taking on such a task.

You may still have various questions. What about doing more cardio? How about special pills? How should I eat and how much at each meal?

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Putting Together a Winner's Weight Lifting Program

To create a power packed physique worthy of a superhero status, you will need a solid weight lifting program that will maximize your body's weight and convert it to muscle and pure strength. What do need to know about effective bodybuilding workouts? They must be intense, varied and catered to your specific body type.

High-intensity workouts usually work well with those who plan to gain a significant amount of body mass in a relatively short period of time. Some people prefer to build up on momentum and bulk over a period of around three months which is fine if that is best suited for your body. You will probably need a combination of both but the important thing is that you give every session your best effort.

If you want to get big muscles in a hurry, your first instinct is to hit the gym everyday for a few weeks. This is actually more detrimental to your body than it is beneficial. Rest in between workout days to allow your body to repair the torn tissues during exercise, making it grow and develop to what you recognize as muscles. You can split your weight lifting program into specific muscle groups per day to better plan your schedule. This has been proven effective to many bodybuilders and trainers alike.

A three day split would give you something like this: day one- chest, arms and abs; day two- back, shoulders and abs; and day three- legs. You can concentrate on getting a lot of sleep and good food in during the four days you're not in the gym. If you have more time in your hands and prefer to split up your routines over five days you can follow the following program: day one- legs; day two- shoulders; day three-back and abs; day four- shoulders and arms; and day five- chest and abs.

There are many exercises you can use for the different muscle groups. You can never go wrong with squats and crunches but even then, you need to vary them every few weeks to keep your body driven to its maximum potential. You don't need a lot of fancy machines; many people can do with several heavy dumbbells, cables, a bench and bars to do pull ups if you have them. Some of the exercises you can try are bicep curls, dumbbell shrugs, bench press, lat pull downs and triceps kickbacks for the upper body; and lunges, calf raises, leg raises, crunches and squats with your lower body.

When you begin working out, you will start with lower weights and higher reps. Gradually you will increase the weights so your muscles are strained and will develop faster. For bodybuilding purposes the weight load you should be lifting should have you doing 7-12 reps until failure. This means that by the 8th or 9th rep your muscle is so exhausted you need to rest a few seconds.

Lastly, make sure you make time to stretch properly before starting your session and in between sets. Stretching increases your body temperature and helps your flexibility which makes your body perform its best during the training. It also stretches the connective tissues, creating space for more muscle to grow into.

Bodybuilding workouts are only as good as the dedicated individual who will see his program through. Exercise caution in your training even while you give it your all every single time. For a winner like you, there is no room for average anyway.

Emmanuel Palmer is an expert in the best bodybuilding workouts there are. Get excellent articles on a great Weight Lifting Program for free when you click on the website.