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Weight Training For Women
Female Weight Training Guide
I'm going to talk about fitness for women and or weight training for women. I will separate myth from fact, and tell women how to really work out.
So much of the the fitness world has been devoted to men over the years and I think women have taken a back seat as far as really understanding how to get into shape. Women it seems have been relegated to the aerobic room where they are free from men ogling them. Well ladies lets step out of the aerobic room and approach fitness from a different angle and understand weight training for women.
Lets talk about weight training for women.
I always hear women say... "I don't want to get bulky". Ladies it is very hard to get bulky, even men have a hard time adding bulk. Because of women's hormones and genetic makeup getting muscle bound is almost impossible. Furthermore, adding muscle is a great way to burn fat, because muscle burns more calories than fat does. For each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 30 to 50 more calories a day. And so what if you get a little definition in your arms, it looks great.Remember, weight training for women is good.
So for now on when your lifting weights add a little more weight, and try to get 10 good, hard reps. Maybe even get a spotter, so you can grunt out a few more reps. You will not bulk up, you will burn fat, and you will look alot better.
A couple of facts: Women on average have 50% less muscle mass and strength than men do in their upper body and 30% less in their lower body, however relative strength is about the same.
Now lets talk about another aspect of weight training for women, that is spot training.
I always see women at the gym trying to spot lift fat off, usually from their thighs and butts, and sometimes stomachs,and this is a huge myth.
You cannot, and I repeat, cannot spot train fat away. When I see women doing squats, lunges or any kind of lower body lifting, they are only adding muscle under the fat, making their legs even bigger. And the same goes with the stomach, you cannot get a flat tummy from doing situps. Yes it is true, the more muscle the more calories you burn, however your must work your fat burning aerobic exercise in the routine as well. And yes again weight training for women is good, but you must know when lifting is beneficial and when it is detrimental.
The aerobic portion of your workout must be done right in order to get the maximum benefits.
When working out, it's no so much the quanity, but the quality. Just like when your resistance training and I told you to lift a little heavier for a better more quality workout. The same goes with your cardio workout. Don't just spend 30 min. on the treadmill or other piece of fitness equipment waisting your time.
To start burning fat you must get your heart rate up to a certain level for 30 minutes a day, and at least 4 times a week. Your heart rate must be in your target heart rate zone.To find your target heart rate (take 220 minus your age and multiply that number between 70% to 85%. For example if your 30 years old, take 220-30=190 times .7 to .85= 133 to 161.5. So a thirty year old must keep their heart rate between 133 to 162 beats per minute for 30 minutes to burn fat. You also change your metabolic rate. Changing your metabolic rate means you burn more calories throughout the day.
Fact, the best fat percentage for women is between 23% to 31%.
A good way to check if your not in shape is finding your waist-to-hip ratio. The way to do this is measure your waist and hip circumference, take the waist and divide by the hip. .80 is about right for a woman, anything above 1.0 is bad. Also, a womans waist should be no greater then 35 inches.
One more thing I would like to talk about is the temperature at which people workout in.
I find that most health clubs keep the heat in their buildings way too high. This really is not conducive to getting a good workout, especially when your getting a cardio workout. When your working out your body tends to over heat when the surroundings are too hot, making the workout much harder on yourself, and if the workout becomes too hard people will quit. Try to workout in cooler areas, maybe with fans on you. At first before you get warmed up you may be a bit cold, but once warmed your body will perform much better, and you will not think about quitting. As a matter of fact studies have shown subjecting your body to cool places burns more fat then mild or warm places.
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