The benefits of lifting weights — also called weight training, strength training or resistance training — include stronger muscles, a stronger heart, a much leaner physique, a longer life, and a body better able to support your everyday needs and activities. Women, however, still tend to shy away from this beneficial form of exercise.

Ladies, does the mere idea of weightlifting scare you?

“I don’t want to lift weights because they’ll make me too big and bulky.” For how many of you is this the reason you’ve never attempted weight training?

It seems to be many a man’s dream to have big, bulky muscles. Why is it then, that men, whose bodies naturally contain much greater amounts of testosterone and growth hormone, lift weights yet DON’T get big and bulky?

It’s true! Unless they are supplementing with dangerous and unhealthful steroids or similar substances, most men do not naturally bulk up hugely by lifting weights regularly. And neither will most women.

The idea that women get big, ugly muscles from weight training is a complete misconception.

The fact of the matter is that women must lift weights in order to achieve the lean, sculpted bodies they dream of having. If a woman does happen to have the genetic disposition to bulk up quickly, there are easy ways to alter a workout to prevent this extra muscle size, while still increasing strength and rapidly burning fat.

The idea that weightlifting causes insanely huge muscle buildup is largely a creation of the media. It’s true that some women weightlifters takes steroids, and these hormones do make them look very masculine. The average woman who weight trains, however, will simply achieve a slim, healthy body without adding unwanted muscle mass.

Let’s start by discussing the basics of weight training…

Weight training involves controlled lifting and working out with weights. Two basic terms related to weightlifting are “rep” and “set.” A rep describes the complete act of raising and lowering a weight during a single act of exercise. A set describes the number of times a particular rep is performed.

For example, when a person does five reps of a squat, they squat down and stand up five times, continuously, before stopping and either moving on to another exercise or finishing their workout. Those five squats would equal one set. A balanced weight-training session will include several sets of different exercises.

Your goal as either a beginner, intermediate, or advanced weight lifter should be to exhaust your muscles in the shortest time frame – that simply means that when you lift a weight, you should lift a heavy enough weight to exhaust your muscles doing only 10 – 15 reps.

And you should do this exercising pattern about 3 days each week – with at least 24 hour of rest after each workout.

Now I’m going to share a principle exercise with you that many commercial fitness “buff’s” will hate me telling you because this single exercise will do more for your body than almost any other exercise around – making it completely unnecessary for you to ever buy another exercise gadget from late night television ever again.

Before I share it with you I’ve got to give you a quick disclaimer…this exercise should be done (at least initially) under the supervision of a qualified personal trainer, so that you learn the proper form to use during the movement.

This exercise will work EVERY muscle in your body, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home, without any fancy machines or expensive video’s.

In fact, this exercise a foundational core exercise and it’ll set your internal furnace up to burn more calories throughout the rest of the day than any other exercise we’ve tested (when done properly).

It’s called the dead-lift and here’s how it’s done for maximum fat loss and body shaping…

STARTING POSITION

Stand with feet flat and placed slightly farther apart than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.

Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the weight lifting bar (or any small object)…in the beginning I highly suggest that you use very little added weight, so when you bend to grasp something, use a book or something else that’s small and light weight – just to help you balance.

Place hands on bar (or whatever you choose to lift) slightly less than shoulder width apart, inside the knees and with elbows fully extended. Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet.

UPWARD MOVEMENT

Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.

Maintain an erect and flat back at all times.

Keep elbows fully extended.

Keep bar as close to shins as possible without hitting or scraping.

When bar passes knees move the hips forward.

Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension.

DOWNWARD MOVEMENT

Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.

Repeat movement until finished with set.

Now this might sound a bit confusing the first several times you read it – however, once you practice it for a day or 2, the movement will become second nature to you and you’ll begin feeling and seeing the results quickly.

Remember that with any new exercise comes a bit of soreness, so start very slowly, and gradually increase your intensity.

Ladies, I encourage you: Let go of your preconceived ideas about weight training. Do not fear it. Embrace your weightlifting potential! You will benefit so much more from it than from spending hours on that piece of cardio equipment alone.



Thanks to Christopher Guerriero for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:

Lower Back Pain Exercises

Can you answer amidreamin’s question about Exercise?:

I do a lot of cardio and fit in pilates or body scuplt class about 3 times a week. How effective is this to lose weight if i want to build some type of muscle to help speed up my metabolism? Should I also incorporate basic weight training to this plan to lose more weight or stick with pilates and body scuplt?

Lower Back Pain Exercises

There are no aesthetic concerns involved in the use of weightlifting gloves; the necessity of such body building apparel items is justified by the very practical nature of the products. Weightlifting can be definitely compromised by sweaty and slippery hands, not to mention the protection level the gloves provide against various joint and muscle injuries. The skin is exposed to a very intense pressure during body building training, thus sores and blisters are pretty common problems if the athlete does not use the right weightlifting gloves. Statistics even show that women are more exposed to skin injuries because of the increased sensitivity of their skin.

The material the weightlifting gloves are made of meets all the requirements necessary for sweat absorption, so that the quality of the grip may not suffer. Though there are plenty of sites to order such apparel items from, it is often a better idea to actually have the chance to try the gloves on and check the level of comfort they provide directly. A rule thumb here says that comfort comes before style and good looks, therefore, make sure to complete your weightlifting gear with quality products. Choose training gloves designed by good brands, and even if you get to pay a higher price, at least you know it’s worth every cent.

As for the perfect color choice of the weightlifting gloves, most athletes’ preference definitely goes towards dark shades since stains are less visible on them. One other element you should be careful about when choosing the weightlifting gloves is the fabric; your hands need to breathe properly through the material. If this condition is not met, heat and sweat will accumulate inside the gloves and you will feel more than just uncomfortable. The perfect weightlifting gloves are padded so that the grip is improved and supported, while the risk of blisters and hand calluses formation is lowered to the minimum.

Most weightlifting gloves are made of neoprene, leather and nylon, but only neoprene and leather are truly reliable when it comes to allowing the hands to breath. Nylon is not necessarily the best choice, since there are varieties that are both slippery and smooth, thus hindering the easiness of the grip. Leather is pretty good for glove manufacturing, but it is not as light as neoprene and nylon. Most often, these other two materials are used for linings; yet, most athletes consider that neoprene is the best fabric for weightlifting gloves due to its lightness, breathable nature and high durability.



Thanks to Muna wa Wanjiru for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:

Have you claimed your Genesis site?

Unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere in the middle of nowhere, you should be well aware that the gym is no longer just for men, and neither is weightlifting. Gone are the days when women spent their time at the gym running on a treadmill, taking aerobics classes, and avoiding the free weights section.

Although treadmills, aerobics classes, and weightlifting machines still have their place in a woman’s gym world, more and more women are discovering and taking advantage of the many benefits offered by weightlifting.

For years, women were scared away from lifting weights by ridiculous rumors and disinformation - usually from muscle-headed men or trainers who knew little about what they were talking about. Weights were for men and so was weightlifting.

Women were often relegated to using cute little dumbbells for the purpose of toning their bodies. Weightlifting, they were told, makes women bigger, puts them at risk of injury, and makes them look less feminine.

Today many of those misconceptions no longer exist, and if they do, most women ignore them. There are simply too many benefits to lifting weights for women not to include a weightlifting workout into their current exercise routine.

Reasons For Lifting Weights

Weightlifting for women takes place for a variety of reasons. For most women, lifting weights is an effective way of getting their bodies toned and firmed. Most of the time, this type of weightlifting involves light weights and high numbers of repetitions, usually 10 to 15 repetitions of each lift for 2 to 3 sets.

Another reason for why women begin lifting weights is to promote improved weight loss. Lifting weights can increase the body’s ability to burn more calories and fat than exercise alone. Any woman looking to lose weight will definitely consider adding a weightlifting component to their workout.

Weightlifting For Women - The Plan Of Action

Like a weightlifting routine for men, weightlifting routines for women are most beneficial when they involve a full-body workout. For most, this means about 45-60 minutes of hitting the weights, and a series of exercises that will target all of the major muscle groups in the body.

Not to say that there is something wrong with exercises that isolate specific muscle groups, but most of the time (especially for beginners) a complete body workout is often the best approach.

Exercises that comprise a weightlifting routine for women might include the following: lunges, bench press (with barbell or dumbbells), leg curls, rows, crunches, flys, squats, back extensions, deadlift, shoulder press, calf raises, step-ups, reverse flys, and reverse crunches.

Of course, its impossible to fit all of these exercises into one day’s workout, but selecting 5 to 6 different exercises to do every other day is a very effective approach. It is always important to give your body (especially your muscles) a chance to repair themselves and rest. For this reason, weightlifting should be done at least every two days, and rarely should it be done on consecutive days.

In terms of weight, repetitions, and sets, consider doing 2-3 sets (depending on ability and experience), with 8-12 repetitions per set. Typically, many repetitions of light weights are meant to promote weight loss, while few repetitions of heavier weights tend to be beneficial for building muscle.



Thanks to Richard Black for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:

Strength Training Weight Loss

The fastest way to build muscle is to have a weight training program that is designed exactly for your goals. If you are trying to build strength then high loads and small reps are best for a strength training routine. To advance your fitness and endurance, use smaller weights and many repetitions. Increasing muscle size is accomplished by using a weight that allows for about 7-12 reps. Know what you want to achieve before you begin a weight training program.

If you are just starting out it may take a gym session to evaluate your starting weights. The point is to be careful at the start so injuries don’t thwart your progress.

Your current fitness level will be a large factor in determining what weight you will start with. You’ll need to be able to just barely complete the repetition target at the weight you’ve chosen. For example, say your goal is to build muscle fast or body build. You have not worked out in decades and it is hard to lift a gallon of milk ten times. Start with fifteen pound weights. Can you make twelve reps easy? If you can’t do more than 5, you will need to choose a smaller weight. You want to totally fatigue your muscle so there’s nothing left at your specified rep count.

This is what happens. Your body is very adaptable and it has its current limits. You can only do what you do. Give your body a challenge and it will adapt. It will not build more muscle if it does not need to. Do more than you do now and you will improve. Your amazing body will adapt quickly and build muscle. It needs more muscle to lift the weight. Your weight training program allows your body to meet the new demands. If you can bump up the weight with your weight training program at a fairly fast pace and you’ll be able to build muscle fast. Do over do it or you will be sitting out and not build muscle at all.

Know your goals to establish the correct weight training program for you. Your weight training strategy will depend on if you want sheer strength, fitness and endurance, or well defined muscles. A weight training program to build muscle fast will have you tanking out after about seven to ten reps. Increase the weight when you can finish the set without fatigue.



Thanks to Lana Hawkins for contributing this article to our Exercise blog:

Folding Exercise Mat