The Zen of Weight Lifting
I've been doing strength training for the last few months with both bodyweight and dumbbells and am really loving it. It's amazing how fast you can go from feeling completely hopeless as a beginner to making significant improvements with almost every workout if you stick with it, are consistent, and don't get hurt. It has fixed my back pain, neck pain, wrist pain, hamstring tightness, and improved my posture. The desire to keep improving has also motivated me to eat a lot better.<p>One thing that has made it more enjoyable for me and helped me avoid injuries (I initially had some nagging shoulder issues) is to stop caring about the number of reps. Obsessing about hitting a certain number causes form breakdown, injury, a stunted range of motion, and discouragement when you can't reach your goal. It's far better to just do as many as you can on each set with good form and not focus too much on what number you hit. As long as you're pushing yourself on the last few reps, your muscles won't know the difference, and if you're consistent in your workouts and diet, the numbers will take care of themselves over time.