Jason Scotts - Strength Training For Beginners:A Start Up Guide To Getting In Shape Easily Now!

Usingstrength training as a fitness regime youre able to use resistance in order tonot only make the skeletal muscles within your body stronger, but it also helpsto increase their size and anaerobic endurance.

Whenit comes to strength training there are many different types you can undertake.In this book Strength Training For Beginners I will explain in more detailabout not only the benefits of strength training, but also how to get yourtraining started.

Howeverbefore we look at these areas of Im going to explain a little bit about whereit originates.

Upuntil the 20th Century, youll find the history of strength training is verysimilar to that of weight training. However with the arrival of certaintechnologies, materials and knowledge thats come to light since the 20thCentury the methods we now use as part of our strength-training regime havegrown somewhat.

Infact, if you were to look back at what has been written over the centurysregarding strength training, it was something the Ancient Greeks were alreadydoing. Certainly when you look at some of the pictures that appear on ancientGreek cups and plates youll see images of men carrying things such as largeanimals on their back or lifting what seems to be a set of weights.

Ofcourse this isnt the only evidence to suggest such training was around at thistime. One very important Greek at the time, Hippocrates wrote something thathelps to explain the principles behind strength training.

Hewrote:

Thatwhich is used develops, and that which is not used wastes away

Inthis one very simple quote what hes referring to is muscular hypertrophy andatrophy.

Howeverit isnt only Hippocrates that provides us with evidence that the Greeks knewthe importance of strength training. The Greek Physician, Galen gives a moredetailed account of certain exercises that requires the use of an early form ofdumbbell we use today which was then known as a Halteres.

Itwasnt only the Ancient Greeks who understood the importance of strength trainingto keep fit; the same also goes for the Ancient Persians. Again, like theGreeks, these people used equipment to help them increase muscular strength. Howeverthe tool they used was known as Meels and is what the Indian club, which camepopular in the 19th Century, is based upon. You will still find equipment likethis today but is now known as the club bell.

Inthe latter part of the 19th Century, the dumbbell was joined by the barbell asan important piece of equipment used in strength training.

Theoriginal barbells were just hollow globes that you either filled with sand orlead shot. However these werent readily available, so by the end of the 19thCentury the hollow globes were replaces with the plate loading barbells we usetoday.

Eventhough strength training has been around for hundreds of years, it wasnt untilthe 1930s that it became popular. This was partly due to Charles Atlas whobrought strength training to the attention of the public masses. Of course whenthe introduction of exercise machines began to appear in the 1960s strengthtraining really took off.

Althoughit was proving popular through the 60s and 70s it really became a force to bereckoned with in the 80s. One particular reason for this was due to the movieindustry producing movies such as Pumping Iron and the emergence ofcelebrities the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan The Barbarian.

Howeverthis book isnt about getting a body like Arnies. This book is designed tohelp you get started on your strength-training regime so your body becomestoned and strong. Not only will you gain more muscle mass but itll help you toshed those unwanted pounds so youll end up with a much leaner body in thefuture.