Strength Training for Women

     There are many misconceptions about strength training with women. Many believe that only cardio exercise will eliminate body fat.

However, you have to do more than jog on a treadmill to achieve most physical fitness goals. Treadmills are a good option for cardio exercise, however.

Cardio exercise should be properly balanced with targeting specific muscle groups in order to yield the best results. So, equipment like treadmills and ellipticals are still valuable, just not if they are used alone.

Though more and more women are now lifting weights, some still avoid this form of exercise like the plague. This is very unfortunate because it is essential just as cardio is for burning fat.

They avoid it for many reasons like they think it only benefits men because it builds big, bulky muscles. They think it will not help them lose weight and they feel intimidated by the weight room and often don't know where to start.

However, it is important to throw all of those excuses out the window and do more than just the treadmill and elliptical workouts they are accustomed to. Weights are not something to be afraid of and women do not have the testosterone necessary to build big muscles.

Even men have a hard time building much muscle and they have much more testosterone than women. Even better, once you start lifting weights, you will see major changes happen in your body, more so than with cardio which just burns calories, but does not give you muscle mass.

Without strengths, you cannot control the weight gain that comes with age and lack of exercise. If you are convinced that this can enhance your workout, then here are some tips for getting started below.

Strength training for beginners can be difficult, but it is possible with some help. If you are not familiar with the basic principles, you can meet with a personal trainer who can get you started on a workout regime to fit your specific body and its needs.

You should start with a program that works all of your muscle groups anywhere between one and three non-consecutive days a week. You should also warm up with five to ten minutes of light cardio or with warm up sets of each exercise using a light to medium weight.

By not doing consecutive days, your muscles can have a chance to reboot and repair in between workouts. You should choose one or two exercises for each muscle group and do sets of eight or sixteen repetitions of each exercise.

As a beginner, you may want to start with about fifteen or sixteen reps until you feel comfortable with the moves and build up some strength. After that, you can add more weight and reduce your repetitions for a different challenge which will yield varied results.

If you exercise in a gym, you may want to start with machines so you have more stabilization for the movements. This can help target specific muscles.

However, you will want to progress to free weights as the stabilization adds and extra challenge. This will progressively work more accessory muscles than the machines will as you will have to use them to control your movements.

You should always to remember to give yourself at least one day of rest, even though you may need more than that after the first workout or after really difficult workouts to recover. It is important not to overwork your muscles so you can avoid injury and get better results faster by taking care of your body.

Each week, you can add either one repetition and or a few pounds of weight to each exercise in your routine to progress steadily. Just make sure you keep your reps at about sixteen or fewer.

Once you hit sixteen reps, you should increase your weight and drop your reps down to ten or twelve. If you want to challenge yourself and not kill yourself, the first few weeks, you should focus on learning how to do each exercise rather than on how much weight you are lifting or how many exercises you are doing.

You have plenty of time to build muscle, so make sure not to rush it. After six weeks or so, be sure to consistently switch up your routine to make it more challenging.

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