Women And Weight Training
Many women overlook strength and weight training as a method of personal fitness. However, it is a great option for women who are trying to build muscle mass as well as keeping your bones strong and healthy.
Below, you will find some great tips in which you can use to build a strength training program that will work well for you.
Do not simply focus on weight training. Add high-intensity cardio into your routine. This will help you work out your cardio system while developing your muscles. An aerobics class or spinning class could be the perfect addition to your weights.
Hit the weights about three times each week. You do not want to lift every day of the week. You need to allow your muscles to heal between each weights lifting session. Spending thirty minutes to an hour lifting weights every other day is plenty of time to get yourself into good shape.
RIGHT WAY FROM THE START
Do not hit the gym with the hopes of going all out right from the start. Begin small and work your way up to a full workout routine.
Keep the weights that you are lifting low and slowly develop your muscles to the point in which they can handle the additional weights. Starting out too heavy could cause you to damage your muscles and actually slow your progress.
Before you lift anything or do any exercises, spend an adequate amount of time warming up. Stretch your muscles and run a mile or two on the treadmill.
The better you prepare your muscles for the workout you are about to give them, the better they will be able to handle what they are about to go through. This will also help prevent injury during workouts.
Some women are concerned about “bulking up” through weight training. You do not have to worry about developing the muscles that body builders do.
It takes a great deal of hard work, constantly hitting the weights and many supplements to build the muscle that you see in body building competitions.
Do not neglect any of your muscle groups. Each group is equally as important as the others. Many people make the mistake of working the larger muscles while neglecting the smaller ones.
This could lead to injury as well as leave some of the areas of your body looking soft.
Hire a personal trainer to get you started. If you are the least bit unsure about the proper way to lift weights, look into hiring a personal trainer.
They will be able to help you develop a routine that you will eventually be able to do on your own.
This trainer will teach you the best way to warm up, stretch your muscles, and the proper way to lift the weights while working out. If you are spending hours lifting weights in the wrong way, you will likely do more damage than good.
Weights training could be just what your body needs to develop the muscles and give you that toned look that many women want. Begin working slowly today, and by this time next year, you will look your best.
THE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW
The image that comes to mind when people think of exercise tends to be cardiovascular: you picture treadmills and ellipticals, spinning or step classes, or running.
However, an equally important aspect of exercise is strength training. The following article will talk about how to incorporate strength training into your exercise routine.
Strength training has many advantages. Building muscle not only gives you an overall nicer form, but it also helps you to burn more calories.
STRENGTH TRAINING
When you engage solely in cardiovascular activities, the only calories that you burn are the ones that happen during exercise.
Weights lifting, on the other hand, kicks your metabolism into high gear and you continue to burn calories throughout the day, giving you more bang for your buck with exercise.
Having good form is extremely important when working out.
When you are first starting a strength training activity, you want to make sure that you have the correct form in order to prevent injury and to get the most benefit from the exercise.
Also, by slowing down and controlling your movements, you are actually working your muscles harder, which means they end up being more toned than if you did rapid-fire weight lifting.
Warming up before you work out can help you to prevent injuries such as strained muscles and tears.
The best warm-up regimen is to engage in light cardiovascular activity for about five minutes to get your heart rate slightly elevated, and then to engage in static stretches (don’t bounce! This can put an extraneous strain on your muscles and result n a tear).
Stretching lightly after each strength training set can also help your muscles stay fluid and less prone to injury.
When you are lifting weights, no matter what muscle group you are targeting, your core sees some benefits. This means that you can help to tone your lower back and abs without necessarily doing crunches and back lifts.
All muscles are basically connected to the core, and all the movements your body engages in stem from this area of the body. And by strengthening your core, you help to improve your posture, which can further aid in the perception of weight loss. It’s a win-win situation.
One thing you want to avoid weight training is focusing too much on one area of the body. You want to give your muscles ample time to rest between sessions.
There are several ways that you can do this. The most common strategies are to alternate days of strength training and cardiovascular exercise or to alternate areas of the body you focus on.
In the first scenario, your muscles are given the opportunity to rest on days that you are working on endurance and aerobics. In the second situation, groups of muscles are not worked on during certain days.
For instance, you may focus on strength based exercises on your arm muscles one day, leg muscles the next, and core muscles the following, then repeat. Find out which strategy works best for you and stick with it.
CONCLUSION
Don’t ignore strength training when it comes to working out: it is just as important as cardiovascular exercise.
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