Lifting weights, resistance training, or strength training... call it what you want they all lead to a few of these main goals:
Bigger muscles
A stronger, healthier heart
Leaning up
A more durable body for your daily routines
However, despite all of these benefits, women have been known to stay away from this type of exercise. I think most of you know why this is, especially most women who may read this.
"I don't want to lift weights because I'll get too big and man-ish". Perhaps, you've said or heard other girlfriends say something like this when it comes to weightlifting.
Does this sound familiar? I know I've even heard my own family members say this about weightlifting.
Think about it, there are TONS of guys out there (myself included just to be honest) that would absolutely love to have huge muscles! However, if you'll notice, despite the fact that men have higher amounts of testosterone and growth hormone they don't get huge and bulky, right?
In fact, it is quite rare that men will bulk up massively even when they lift weights on a very normal basis. Guess what, women will not either.
There is a huge misconception that big manly muscles are just an automatic byproduct of normal weight training.
With that said, it is absolutely imperative that women understand that lifting weights is a fantastic way for them to carve out the lean and toned (not too much of course) body that they desire. In the event that your genetics are just amazing and cause you to actually bulk up fast, there is no worry. It is quite simple to change up your workout and stop unwanted extra muscle growth. You can do this while still get stronger and still ridding yourself of fat, quickly too.
Unfortunately, the media has vastly overhyped the idea that weightlifting can make you some kind of "roided out looking freak". There are some female weightlifters that experiment with using steroids and the effect of the hormones can result in a very masculine look. On the other hand, most women who do weight training will just get a leaner, healthier body while avoiding that undesired extra muscle.
So, let's begin by talking about the basics on weight training.
First of all, you have a reps and you have sets. Reps are one solitary act of any exercise, this will be some form of you raising and lowering a weight. Now a set is simply how many times you repeat that rep. Keeping track of these rather than just lifting blindly will help you have a more controlled workout where you can gauge your improvement by tracking your numbers.
For instance, let's say that you're doing 20 pound dumbbell bicep curls. In order to do 10 reps, you must lift the weight up then let it back down (slowly, to keep form of course) 10 times, non-stop, before stopping and then starting up another exercise or just conclude the workout. A well-balance weight-training workout session will have a variety of different exercises.
It does not matter what level you're at in weightlifting, your goal should always be to lift to exhaustion as quickly as possible. You want to lift a weight that will achieve just that with a solid 10-15 reps per set.
Also, a good routine to execute this around 3 times a week with a full day's rest in between every workout to let your muscles heal.
OK, here's where you'll thank me. I'm going to share an exercise with you that all the "gurus" in the fitness industry will utterly detest. This exercise will eliminate the need (better yet desire) to purchase any infomercial product that comes on late at night. In fact, this workout alone trumps almost any other one.
There is one caveat so let me just announce this disclaimer: at first, you want to do this exercise with supervision from a certified (preferably) personal trainer. Now I say this in order for you to use the correct form to be safe and to maximize the exercise of course.
Here's the best part: This workout is one you can do at home without the need for any Bowflex or any other pricey machine or video. Oh and here's the kicker, it'll also workout EVERY muscle in your body!
As a matter of fact, this is a core exercise that'll make you burn off more calories even when not working out, trumping any other workout we've experimented with. Of course, this is when you keep form and do the exercise correctly.
That's enough drama... the workout is called: The Dead-lift. Oh, and the following will explain how you can optimize it for getting rid of fat and toning your body.
STARTING POSITION
You want to start by simply standing on your feet flat with your feet kicked out just a bit farther out than the width of your shoulders. Also, you want to point your toes outward just a bit.
After this, you'll need to squat down with your hips lower than your shoulders and then grab your barbell or anything else that has some weight. You'll want to start off very small on whatever you're going to be holding while lifting, you'll want to focus on balance so choose something that you can hold easily and that's not huge and bulky, perhaps a book or something similar.
OK, now you'll need to put your hand on the bar, book or whatever object you chose to lift just a little less than shoulder width apart with your elbows fully extended but keeping them inside your knees. You'll also want whatever item around an inch in front of your shins and hovering over the balls of your feet.
UPWARD MOVEMENT
Pick the bar/object off of the floor by stretching out your knees and hips.
Make sure to keep your back straight no matter what.
Maintain those elbows extended.
You'll want to keep the bar/object as close to your knees as possible without making contact.
Move your hips forward as soon as the bar/object passes your knees.
At full knee and hip extension, you'll need to keep your body straight.
DOWNWARD MOVEMENT
Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat movement until finished with set.
While this may be a bit awkward for you when you scan over this post, try giving it a shot for a day or more and you'll be able to see and feel improvement after the motions become more and more familiar.
Don't forget that you should start off slow as most of you will probably be exhausting muscles that have not seen this type of strain in a long time. Make sure you increase slowly but surely as your muscles adapt, there will be a little bit of stiffness and muscle pain (that's why it's important to rest a full day).
And there you have it ladies. Don't let the hype get to you. Weightlifting is important for women too! Forget about spending hours with cardio exercise, go do some lifting, trust me you will not become one of those super muscular women.
I have several other free weightloss tips on my blog for women and men at: http://stubbornweightlosstips.net/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Phillip_Lopez/1998758
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