Exercise is the most important activity you can do for yourself and your loved ones. Everyone young and old can benefit from being physically active. Try to be physically active doing things like taking a brisk walk or jogging even doing yard work, all of these activities can be beneficial to your overall health.

However, performing more intense exercises such as weight lifting for 30-45 minutes on a 3-4 day workout schedule will gain you more health benefits. Whichever you choose, the goal is to be physically active for 30 minutes a day.

If you are a beginner it is a good idea to start out slowly and gradually increase the intensity of your activity. It is also a good idea to get a physical exam and advise from a Doctor when starting any exercise program.

Starting out a program of exercising with free weights can be a little intimidating in the beginning. Trying to figure out how much weight you should be lifting and the types of exercises for each muscle group can be a pretty daunting task however, it doesn't have to be.

To figure out how much weight you should be lifting depends on your goals. If you want to stimulate muscle growth and lose fat then you should be lifting in the range of 60-80% of your 1 rep max. A 1 rep max or 1RM is a measure of how much weight you can lift for 1 repetition of an exercise. To figure what your 1RM is involves doing some math so to make it easier on yourself their are a number of sites that have a 1RM calculator. Type into Goggle 1 rep max and click on one of the results. If you simply must do the math then here is how to figure a 1RM.

1 Rep Max Percentages

Reps	%1RM
1	100
2	95
3	90
4	88
5	86
6	83
7	80
8	78
9	76
10	75
11	72
12	70

USING THE TABLE: Find the number of reps you can do to failure that you can perform with a certain weight If you can only do10 reps with a certain weight and could not possibly do another full rep, that is your point of failure. Find the percentage associated with that number of repetitions from the table above divide the weight that you can do by that percentage using decimals (83 percent equals .83) and that will give you an approximation of your one repetition maximum. For example, if you can perform 10 reps with 160 lbs. in the bench press, that means that 160 lbs. is 75% (0.75) of your one repetition maximum. So you would take 160 divided by .75 and that would equal 213 lbs. Use a calculator it's a lot easier and good luck.

Now what exercises are best for each muscle group. There are so many that it's too much to list here. Instead I am going to list the best exercises for each muscle group and you can take it from there.

Chest
Incline Bench Press
Flat Bench Press
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes

Back
Dead lift
Bent Over Barbell Row
Bent Over 1 Arm Dumbbell Rows

Biceps
Seated/Standing Dumbbell Curls
Preacher Curls (with dumbbells or barbell)
Standing Barbell Curls

Triceps
Triceps Press Down
Dips
French Press

Legs
Squats
Calve Raises

Shoulders
Seated/Standing Military Press (with barbell or dumbbells)
Shrugs

Now that you know what your 1RM is and the type of exercise you want to do for each muscle group it's time to begin. If you haven't already purchased the free-weight-exercises manual then simply go to the home page and scroll down then hit the order button and get on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

Check back on this page as I will be updating it with more information and tips on exercise. For cooking and nutritional information go to the cooking and nutrition tips link. A good exercise program cannot work without proper nutrition.