Lifting for Dummies

[Cory]

I've got a few questions since I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to weight lifting.

First, I am a very thin guy, always have been... genetics
Second, I'm trying to get into law enforcement and currently my excerise consists of karate and self-defense classes.. but we do more karate than working out, since this is expected of us to do at home.
So since I am a small guy wanting to do law enforcement and may have to tangle with larger individuals, but from my understanding larger muscles don't always mean stronger muscles, therefore I should be looking up information about strength training as opposed to body building, right? Also, I just read somewhere about over-training, claiming that too much lifting/exercise can result in not achieving anything, however, within a month I will have physical testing for a police department opening and am working my butt off to get ready for it. I can currently meet the requirements but just barely and I know that isn't going to cut it.. any advice on how often to work out and for how long to prepare with this short of time?

[Jared Enderton]

You are correct. Larger muscles to not always equate to stronger muscles. Yes- look up information about strength training. Bodybuilding may get you to "look" strong, but you want its practical use- not just the looks. You can definitely overtrain- but- 99.9% of beginners do not overtrain because they are not used to the strain strength training can take on the body. I would not worry about that at this point.

What does the physical testing consist of? (Exercises/times, etc)? I can try to help you out on a program to set up for- but it'd be helpful to know what you will be tested on.

[Jared Enderton]

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