Strength Training is For Women - Ladies, Grab Those Weights

Strength training was once a practice reserved for male competitive athletes and bodybuilders. Fortunately, those outdated ideas are where they belong, in the past. Strength training has been proven to benefit all populations and it is absolutely essential if we wish to change the look of our bodies.
Women especially reap huge benefits both physically and mentally from weight bearing exercise. Strength training creates strong ligaments and tendons, which serve to support the joints and decrease the likelihood of injury from other activities. It is the best thing a woman can do to reduce her risk of osteoporosis because working with weights increases bone density. Strength training also increases your metabolism as well because by creating muscle tissue, you are creating tissue that is active and uses energy (calories) even when at rest. And maybe one of the sweetest surprise benefits of strength training for women is the confidence and sense of control it can give you, not to mention the ability to perform daily activities that require lifting with ease. (No more waiting for your husband to get home to open a jar!)
So how many of you women out there are afraid that if you lift weights you will get muscles that are too big? This is a common fear and nothing more than a myth. The vast majority of women cannot build large muscles because it is a genetic impossibility to do so. Women have high levels of the hormone estrogen and so the increase in muscle size that men (who have high levels of testosterone) have can never be the same for women.
When women strength train they will see a difference in muscle tone, strength and endurance and not necessarily in size. Do not be afraid of the weights, ladies, strength training is something wonderful that you can do for your body!
Another common myth is that you need to lose your fat before working on toning your muscle. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are overweight and wanting to lose fat, you should be performing weight-bearing exercise along with cardiovascular exercise. By challenging your muscles with weights you are burning more calories than if you did cardio alone, you are building muscle tissue which in turn burns fat for fuel and you are less likely to have droopy skin from losing weight because you will have the toned muscle underneath.
A routine consisting of cardio activities such as walking, jogging, aerobic classes, etc. combined with lifting weights is without a doubt the most effective way to achieve your weight loss goals. We all know that women today are very busy. Have no fear because strength training need not be time consuming. A good weight-training workout can take as little as 20 minutes. Some things to consider; do not be afraid of challenging your muscles! You want to feel challenged when you are lifting weights. For example, if you are doing bicep curls and aiming for 12 repetitions, you should be feeling them by the tenth repetition and the twelfth should be very challenging. If you are not challenging your muscles than you are wasting your time and energy! Also, it is important to work all major muscle groups to keep your muscles in balance. In other words, you would not only want to do bicep curls, you want to also work your triceps so that the final result is the nice toned and proportionate look your going for.
For the safest, most effective program, seek the advice of fitness professional. You can also pick up a book or For the safest, most effective program, seek the advice of fitness professional. You can also pick up a book or video on the subject or join a gym. Get yourself familiar with strength training and get started! It is a decision you will not regret!
Barry Lovelace is an internationally recognized personal trainer and fitness professional. Visit his website for FREE health and fitness tips and a FREE Ebook titled 'How To Juggle Your Health and Fitness'.
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Basic Hammer Curls for Big Guns

To Build More Muscle, Lift More Weight

If you're looking to build more muscle, you have to start lifting more weight.
That's one of the biggest problems I see as a personal trainer in the gym each day.
Many people want to build more muscle, but they do not strive to progress upwards in the amount of weight they lift. If that is the case, continually gaining lean muscle and strength can be prohibited.
I often speak with women who are fearful of lifting more weight because they do not want to build large muscles.
I explain to them that it's almost impossible for women to gain muscle mass like men can because of the lack of the amount of the sex hormone testosterone that creates this growth of muscle.
Since women do not produce enough testosterone, the likelihood of building large muscles is virtually impossible.
Women that you see on TV or in magazines with large, man-like muscles, either use muscle-enhancing substances (steroids) or they naturally produce more testosterone than most women.
It is very difficult for women to build bulky muscles.
You must strive to continuously increase your weights lifted over time. Muscle will only grow if it is forced, or coerced, into growing. You force it by lifting progressively heavier weight.
Muscle growth is simply a result of placing demand on your body. When you lift a weight that is heavier than you are used to, your body will start to add muscle to handle the extra demand (weight) you are placing on it.
As you continually lift heavier weights over a long period of time, your body will continue to adapt to the additional demand being placed on it, by building more muscle.
If you continuously lifted the same amounts of weight over time, the body would become used to that weight and new muscle growth would not need to occur. It has no reason to add more muscle because the muscle you currently have can handle the demand.
When you start lifting more weight, then your body needs new muscle to handle this additional demand, creating new lean muscle tissue to handle this demand.
Any new and additional muscle growth you achieve will have a direct impact on the number of calories you burn. So, for long term success in weight loss and fitness, continue to lift progressively heavier weights as you continue on in your program.
How do you know how much weight to lift?
If you are just starting a lifting program, keep it light and easy and learn proper form. As you progress, start to increase the weights you lift but decrease the amount of times (reps) that you lift the weight.
Something happens when you do this. If you lessen the amount of times you have to lift something, shouldn't the amount of weight you can lift increase?
Suppose if you had to lift 100 pounds 10 times. You manage it and it's not that difficult. Now, say you only have to lift it 6 times.
If you managed to do it 10 times at 100 pounds, shouldn't you be able to increase the weight if you only have to do it 6 times now?
So, as you progress into your weight training workout, begin to lessen the amount of reps and instead increase the weight.
Increase the weight to 150 pounds and lift it 6 times.
The more weight you lift, the more muscle you need to adapt to the additional weight. The more your body needs to adapt to more resistance, the more growth that will occur.
The more lean muscle tissue you have, the more calories burned and the more weight loss...see how weight lifting/resistance training has a direct impact on fat loss and weight management?
Six repetitions are a great number for you to shoot for.
A repetition is one movement. A set of movements is called a set. If you were to do a set of 10 repetitions, you would have to move the weight 10 times.
Start a particular weight lifting exercise (bench press, bicep curls) with a nice, easy set of 10 reps. The next set do eight, and the last two sets, do 6 reps.
Follow this for ALL exercises. When you can do more than six reps for that given weight, you simply add more weight and continue to shoot for six reps.
As you continue up in weight over time, that's proof that you are getting stronger and are adding more lean muscle to your body. This, in turn, is a future investment in burning off more calories.
So to build more muscle, you need to lift more weight.
Learn how to build muscle and lose fat in the least amount of time possible. Personal trainer and natural bodybuilder Shawn Lebrun shows you exactly how: Visit Shawn Lebrun Fitness
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Strength Training For Women Who Don't Want to Look Like Men

There are many misconceptions about women strength training. Because of this, many women are missing out on the incredible and numerous benefits. Aerobics seems to be the accepted choice among females. Many fear that lifting weights will turn them into Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many women fear growing large muscles and losing their femininity.
The truth is without much testosterone you can't build large muscles, even if you really wanted to. Testosterone is an anabolic hormone that helps build muscle mass. Sure, women do have some testosterone naturally in their body. Some women have more of it than others. And even a few women add more testosterone to their bodies unnaturally (If they really want large bulky muscles). But you are safe. You won't accidentally turn into the hulk.
There are numerous benefits to strength training. Here are just a few:
-Decreases fat
-Tones muscles
-Increases bone mineral density
-Improves posture
-Grows muscle
-Improves strength
-Helps body recover from stress
-Helps lower cholesterol
-Strengthens ligaments, tendons and joints (Prevents injuries from accidents)
-Improves body image
-Improves self-esteem
Women strength training has an advantage over aerobic exercise alone. It promotes weight lose. Here's how. Muscle needs to burn more calories in order to maintain itself than fat does. Fat hardly need any calories to exist. By building muscle you actually change your metabolism. You speed it up. This causes weight loss. And results in a firm, toned body. Tip the scale in your favor (literally). Build lean muscle...burn more calories...lose fat...become toned...lose weight. After age 30 women lose approximately 1% of there muscle mass each year. This slows down metabolism because your body isn't requiring as many calories to maintain it. Many women notice that they seem to put on weight after age 30 without changing anything. This is not because they have become lazy or started eating more. The body chemistry has changed. They lost muscle. "Use it or lose it". That is why you need to start a strength training program. Build back the muscle and speed up that metabolism.
"Is it worth the effort?" Yes. Even if weight is not an issue for you, osteoporosis may be. This weakening of the bones effects women more than men. Guess what can strengthen your bone mineral density and prevent osteoporosis. You guessed it... women strength training!
More fit = less injuries.
As we age we become more susceptible to injuries. Through strength training you can thicken and strengthen your tendons, ligaments, muscles and bone...causing your joints to become less week and hold up during a fall or accident. Strength and flexibility are important to your posture. Keep your body core strong through exercise and you can eliminate back problems and walk better.
Working out can reshape your body and raise your self-esteem, give you good health and improve your physical image. It may seem like too much work but I would say it is definitely worth it.
It's never too late. Strength improvements are possible at any age. Even 70 and 80 year-olds have shown significant increase in strength after beginning a resistance program.
If you are already an athlete, you can use this training to improve your abilities in your sport. Become a better tennis player, golfer, or softball player by training your muscles with resistance exercises.
Give it a try and I think you will be impressed and very pleased with the positive changes that you notice in your body, health and attitude.
If you are an athlete and would like to get more information about developing your competitive edge through strength, power, speed, and agility training you may want to visit http://www.strength-training-coach.com
Joe Ross
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