Hi, I'm deciding weather or not to take the "strength and conditioning" course at my school next year. It's like a course where you lift weights and the teacher like teaches you stuff and how to do the workouts I think? Everyone in my grade who took it this year are now like all buff and, hot lol. And you need to be able to lift a certain amount to pass. Should I take the course? I'm really skinny and bony like 100 pounds or whatever kg or something and I'm not fit.
I don't weight much more than you do, but I can lift quite a bit of weight. I can usually bench 50lbs (which, I admit, is really not a whole lot), and my one-rep max is around 150. Weight lifting is really great exercise. However, you do have to be careful. I think it would be good to see how much you need to be able to lift to pass before you decide whether or not you want to take the class. That way you know if it's even doable. If they want you to be able to life, say, 300lbs, I'd say don't take it. It's not healthy to even attempt to lift that much weight at your size, especially since it sounds to me like you haven't done much if any lifting in the past. I doubt you'll have to life 300lbs to pass since you're still pretty young, but it never hurts to know what you're up against. A good thing to do would be to talk to the teacher or an advisor, if you have one. The teacher could probably tell you whether you could benefit from a weight lifting class or not. Good luck!
The point of the class is to teach you weightlifting. If you want to learn how to, I say go for it. I seriously doubt they will have an unobtainable amount of weight you had to lift. I would think it would be more about your form, but I don't know. You could always email the teacher to ask what is expected in the course.
The goal of weightlifting is to build muscle, i weigh 240 but im also 6"2 and have very stong legs. But it started when i started to play football. So weightlifting is a good way to build tone, and to gain strength
I did a weightlifting course in college, basically with the goal of learning how and getting some credit for it at the same time. On the first day or two of the course they had everyone do some specific exercises (bench press and squats IIRC) and logged the max weight you could lift. At the end of the course they did it again. A chunk of your grade was based on how much you had improved/increased your strength, not on whether or not you could lift some preset amount of weight. I would suspect the same thing may apply for the class you are considering. As has been mentioned, you can always ask. The main thing was that to get the greatest increase in strength and get the best grade you had to actively work out at other times besides just in the class (which met twice a week or something) and do proper nutrition and such. As long as you're prepared to also do that, you should be fine. Hope this helps, Todd
If your "skinniness" is something that bugs you, then this is a chance to address that and learn some tips about weight-lifting that you can use for years to come. Go for it.
I say go for it. They'll help you build some muscle. Plus, being skinny and out of shape is almost as bad for your health as being fat and out of shape. Exercise affects your health a lot more than your weight does.
Thanks so much for the replies!! Ok, I spoke to my counselor and added it to my courses for next year! I will send a email to the teacher to ask about the amount to pass! Thanks again!
I'm happy you did.. but also I wanted to say that lifting too heavy or too much can injure your tendons and ligaments... which take a LONG time to heal if they get hurt. I would say (and a good instructor will tell you) to listen to your body and don't try to compete with other guys. Build up slowly and steadily. Also this summer while you're being lazy and enjoying the last month of break, do lots of pushups and swimming and anything that can start your body building muscle and getting stronger. Don't wait until you're in the weight room.
