What you need to know about weight training

If you want to build real functional strength, bones that are virtually immune from osteoporosis, and a lean well-toned body, you might consider weight training. Huh? you say. Won't training with weights make me bulky?
The only way you can bulk up with weight training is when you use high volume bodybuilding techniques combined with an extra high protein diet.
Weight training exercises are performed in multiple "sets", each set consists of a number of repetitions (reps), with a rest period between each set. Volume is the total number of reps in any given workout. Bodybuilders use high volume and short rests (less than 2 minutes) between sets to maximize muscle tear down (catabolism). They eat extra protein to fuel the muscle reconstruction (anabolism) that follows.
Most people picture weight training as the exclusive domain of bodybuilders. Not true. Bodybuilding is simply one approach. Strength training with weights has a long history that predates bodybuilding. The goals and methods of strength training are quite different.
The goal of strength training is to get stronger and harder without getting bigger. You train using heavy weights, low volume and plenty of rest (3 to 5 minutes or more) between sets. Typically no more than 5 reps and no more than 2 sets for a given exercise. This approach minimizes catabolism and anabolism.
But isn't training with heavy weights dangerous? No, in fact, heavy weights and low volume make weight training safer. Most weight training injuries are caused when you lose form due to fatigue. Strength training emphasizes whole body exercises like deadlifts, overhead standing presses, squats, etc. These exercises require a great deal of concentration and muscle tension. They are called whole body exercises because nearly every muscle is involved.
Your muscles fatigue at different rates. If your stabilizing muscles give out from fatigue at a critical point in an exercise, you're toast. With low volume, you complete the exercise before this can happen.
You don't walk into a gym and deadlift 400 lbs. on day one either. It takes time (4 to 6 weeks) to learn proper form and a gradual build up of weights before you can safely train hard with any new exercise, especially if you're new to weight training.
What's the deal with stronger bones? Weight training exercises put demands on your bones that stimulate bone formation, that can counteract and ever reverse the effects of osteoporosis. Weight training gives your bones a further boost because all of the muscles acting on your bones will be stronger.
Another big benefit of weight training is that it boosts your metabolism for more than 24 hours after you finish exercising. When you exercise aerobically the fat burning stops when you stop exercising.
Weight training can be a lifelong passion, that puts you into the best shape of your life and keeps you there - at any age and level of fitness. Just remember to respect the weights and put safety first.