Weight
Training for Women
From BB.com
| Weight training is the easiest
and fastest way to improve your female shape! You can gain strength,
while getting a lean and toned body. Cardiovascular activities such as
bicycling, walking, swimming, and aerobic dance are wonderful ways to
burn calories, but they can not compare to the benefits of weight
training.
If you continually stick to a weight training program you will
begin to see results with in two weeks. Your scale may not show it,
but your clothes will be fitting better, and your mirror will be
showing it. Muscle weighs more than fat but as your abdominal muscles
get stronger, your stomach gets flatter, and as you leg and gluteal
muscles get stronger your pants will get looser.
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- DIET
"The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn!".
Quick weight loss from dieting can cause a quick loss in muscle tissue. This
is not the best way to receive the best proportions. Since women have less
muscle mass then men, extreme dieting is more damaging to the female physique
then to the males. When you cut back a lot on food intake, it deprives the
female body of energy, and the body usually becomes weak. A loss of two pounds
or more a week, means you are loosing muscle mass as you are loosing fat. With
weight training and moderate dieting you can receive the best results for an
attractive body.
- BONE STRUCTURE
Because of a woman's ability to facilitate childbirth the
females pelvic girdle or hips are usually proportionately wider then the males
yet a women's knees are the same distance apart as the males. Therefore there
is a greater angle of stress on the knee and women are more prone to injury.
You may reduce this risk by starting off slowly, and slowly increasing weight
and resistance.
- PHYSIOLOGICALLY
Cardiovascular training is positive for both men and women,
and supply the same benefits to each. In muscular training, however, there is
a big difference-primarily due to hormonal influence. The dominant male
hormone is testosterone while the dominant female hormone is estrogen.
Testosterone can be very helpful when weight training to see positive results
such as increased muscle mass. Females do secrete small amounts of
testosterone, but seldom experience drastic muscular development from
training, yet can create a lean and toned physique. Unless a female has very
high testosterone levels or is taking anabolic steroids, it would be very
difficult for her to gain masculine looking muscles. Women may though increase
strength, and muscle tone and improve their endurance.
- BODY FAT
Women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat then men.
Women usually have an average body fat percentage of 18-24% while men usually
have on average about 14-18%. Exercise can reduce body fat for both sexes.
- MENSTRUATION
Some women who combine heavy weight training, dieting, and
stress sometimes go into a state of amenorrhea or to quit menstruation. Recent
studies show that this combination of things can cause this, but the evidence
is not clear. It appears to not cause any major physiological problems. If a
women wants to regain menstruation, she would need to cut back on training,
and increase her body fat above 10%.
- PREGNANCY
Women who are physically fit are said to have fewer problems
with pregnancy, and labor. Exercise during pregnancy will produce better
muscle tone, and cardiovascular response, which will help when trying to loose
your pregnancy weight. It is best to be fit before getting pregnant and not
just begin a high intensity workout once you become pregnant. During pregnancy
women should restrain from doing extreme exertion, and high impact exercises.
If she should feel faint then immediately STOP. A women's level of training
should decrease as the women becomes farther along in her pregnancy. If you
are pregnant or considering having a child you should consult with your
physician on your exercise routine.
During the past years women have made great strides in improving
and caring for their bodies. The interest of staying fit has grown much more
popular in the past decade, and women athletes are faster and stronger then
ever. Yet there still seems to be a lack of women who understand the truth about
achieving a fantastic body. So many women today are still trying to achieve the
Hollywood look (i.e. Ally McBeal, Tori Spelling, Jennifer Aniston or Christina
Aguliera), not understanding that the anorexic look is not attractive to men and
is definitely not healthy. Most women today do not understand the importance of
having lean muscle mass and are to scared of developing large, bulky muscles
that would make them look manly. Women do not actually realize though how hard
it is to achieve and build large amounts of muscle. Women also do not understand
how having more lean muscle mass actually helps boost their metabolism, and
helps to burn fat faster.
There are four steps to achieving a great feminine body with shapely muscle
and a low percentage of fat. They are:
- Eat a high protein, moderate carbohydrate, and low fat diet.
- Perform aerobic activity about 3-4 times a week
- Do a well-balanced weight training routine on a regular basis.
- Take supplements that will help aid in losing fat and increasing lean
muscle mass.
Forget the fad diets and stick to the four steps to achieving your goal. This
will help you burn off the excess calories, build muscle tone and burn fat at
the quickest rate possible. Below you will find links to short articles which
may help you in understanding the steps 1-4 a little bit better.
Good Luck and we will see you lighter later!
-Cheryl
EAT A HIGH PROTEIN MODERATE CARB AND LOW
FAT DIET
In the early 1980's there was a major diet movement which consisted of many
doctors and professionals advising people to consume a lot of carbohydrates and
a low amount of fat to help fat loss. The diets consisted of eating lots of low
fat pastas, cereals, and vegetables and small amounts of meat, protein, and fat.
Yet Americans in the 1980's were the fattest that they had ever been with the
obesity percentage being very high. In fact, it's continued to rise during the
1990's. So, what was the problem? The high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet just does
not work. The truth is a high-protein/moderate-carbohydrate diet is the most
effective for controlling weight problems. It also aids in controlling diabetes,
and heart disease. For some reason many women do not eat an adequate amount of
protein. This can really be very detrimental to someone who is trying to lose
weight because of the importance of protein. Amino
acids and protein are the building blocks to the entire body, and a complete
source of protein is necessary to help in burning excess calories and fat. Some
good sources of protein include eggs, meat, poultry, fish, and cheese. You can
also supplement your protein intake by taking a protein
shake or bar.
My favorite bars and shakes are the: Solid
Protein Bar, Lean
Body bar, Nitro-tech,
and Pro-Blend 55.
PERFORM AEROBIC ACTIVITY ABOUT 3-4 TIMES A
WEEK
Aerobic activity is also important to keeping you in good shape and achieving
that physically fit body. Aerobic activity helps with the cardiovascular system,
keeping the lungs and heart in good condition. This helps you shed off those
extra pounds and lower your dress size. There are many different types of cardio
exercise that you can do, these include: walking, running, stair climbing,
aerobic classes, swimming, and bicycling. I personally recommend group classes,
which can hold you accountable. Get a workout partner! There will be some days
when you do not want to exercise and there will be days that she/he doesn't, but
you can push each other, hold each other accountable and keep each other going.
DO A WELL BALANCED WEIGHT ROUTINE ON A
REGULAR BASIS
There are many different theories on weight training. Do you want to do a
program that consists of lifting lightweight numerous repetitions or a heavy
weight with less repetitions? This is purely up to you. Studies have shown
though that if you are trying to increase muscle mass and gain strength then a
little heavier weight may be beneficial. Or are you more interested in losing
body fat while toning up? Then you may want to go with the lighter weight
repeating the set more times. This helps you to lose more body fat. Both methods
can be beneficial and a mixture of the two would probably help the most. Cycle
your workouts! Try something for 4-6 weeks and then try something new, you don't
want your workouts to become boring and drab. Be sure to lift weights at least
three times weekly for a minimum of a half an hour each setting.
TAKE SUPPLEMENTS THAT WILL HELP AID IN
LOSING FAT AND INCREASING LEAN MUSCLE MASS.
There are many great supplements out there that are totally safe for women to
take. Some that I recommend for fat loss are Hydroxycut, Xenadrine, and BetaLean
HP. These stimulant supplements will help you shed the fat off quickly. You
may also try Creatine.
Believe it or not it is great for females, and does not cause you to bulk up. It
helps you to gain lean muscle mass by providing more ATP energy and aids in
recovery. If you are not getting your daily dosage of protein, don't forget to
stock up on shakes and
bars. You may also want to consider taking a multivitamin, glutamine and an antioxidant
which can be helpful to your muscle recovery and health in general.
Weight Training for Women
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