Weight Training Routine - For Girls

Contrary to what is commonly believed, weight training will not give girls big muscles. It happens in boys because they have testosterone which helps the body develop muscle mass. Weights will help girls to develop long, lean muscles which will give them an athletic appearance. In addition, it will help burn calories faster; develop strong bones and better cardiovascular endurance. Here are some useful tips to help develop a weight training routine.

a) What is your "Why". You must have a reason to start resistance training - building strength, lose weight, and sport specific training are all common reasons. What you are trying to accomplish will determine how you will set up your routine.

b) As a beginner, you don't need a gym membership, you can use a set of dumbbells at home. They generally come in 3, 5, 8 and 10 lbs but can be purchased even larger if needed. For a more versatile item, use resistance bands which are much easier to take on the road and use in a hotel room.

c) Schedule a regular workout time so you get into a routine. Allowing time to finish your training will help stop you from feeling rushed and make it a positive experience.

d) Warm up properly with some cardio (5 - 10 minutes) and light stretching so your muscles are ready for training.

e) The exercises you choose will be determined by your reason for being there. Upper body can include arm curls, triceps extensions, upright rows and military dumbbell press. Lower body exercises can include dead lifts, squats, and lunges.

f) The most common routines involve three sets of 10 - 12 reps per exercise. This may change depending on your goal. Endurance goals will use more reps, strength gains will use less reps with more weight. Use a large enough weight to make the exercise challenging.

g) Technique is important to get good results. Use your muscles and not momentum to lift the weight. This means not swinging the weight or using body movement to get it moving. Contract the muscle at the end of the movement to force it to work harder. Keep pressure off of your joints by understanding the proper form to use. There are lots of resources for free online that will show you how.

h) Your rest time between sets will vary from 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the type of routine you are using. The most common is a 1 minute rest.

i) A cool down after your weight training will help to prevent soreness later. A light jog and stretching works well.

Weight training by girls does not need to be scary. You will not be able to lift as much as the boys but the intent is not to compare yourself with anyone else. Compete with yourself to reach your goals.

My name is Jacques Delorme and I am the founder of ViSports. I run three websites designed to help educate visitors about youth nutrition, training and motivation. The primary site is a blog at http://visportsnutrition.ca. Visiting this site will lead you to the other two sites as a hyper link at the top of the web page. We produce a newsletter which you can subscribe to to receive a number of free articles and books including this article. Feel free to leave comments and questions if you need more information on a related topic you can not find.

Visit my page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/visports

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Weight Training And The Power Of Simplicity

Exercise and fitness has grown tremendously over the years along with the multitude of fitness fads and exercise programs. All promise to be the best program available and to get those results you have looked for but have not been able to meet.

Many of these programs also contain some sort of entertainment component as well to hopefully keep you enthused and coming back for more.The bottom line is your body will respond to any type of exercise initially and some exercise of course is better than none.

Our bodies have not changed over the years and still respond to good old-fashioned resistance training along with following proper dietary habits and sleep habits. If you are either looking to gain more muscle and get stronger, or to lose weight, you will find that there is power in simplicity when it comes to following an effective exercise program that will get you results if followed consistently. Below I have listed the three top components that should be followed in any exercise program to help you achieve the best body you can develop.

1. Resistance Training Program. Any type of exercise program you start if you are either looking to add muscle or lose weight must have a resistance training program in it. If you are just starting or, if you have been lifting weights for years, your program should have compound exercises in it.

Compound exercises include, bench presses, deadilfts or back rows, military presses, squats or leg presses. All of these exercises can be used with free weights or machines if you have previous injuries or, do not have the strength to use free weights yet. No matter what age you are, these exercises should be a part of a basic weight training program. These types of exercises build muscle and strength quickly and work your entire body.

Compound exercises are the bread and butter exercises when it comes to building and strengthening your entire body.

2. Follow Simple Dietary Recommendations. Keeping your diet simple also is a key component and really the most important for overall success. The older you get the more important it becomes. Your body, though no matter what your age is needs a certain amount of carbohydrates, fats, and importantly protein to help muscles grow and to keep the production of hormones responsible for growth producing.

Eating low-fat high protein foods like skinless chicken breasts, turkey breasts, egg whites are just several examples. Complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice, and fats like virgin olive oil, flax seed oil are just a small example of foods that you should consuming if you want growth and weight loss.

Also important is consuming plenty of water. making sure you stay hydrated with water is very important for muscle growth and keeping your metabolism running efficiently.

3. Sleep. It is a known that your body does not grow in the gym but grows outside the gym during your periods of rest. It is your sleep habits that will decide your overall success. Consistent sleep habits, getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night will allow your body to recuperate and repair itself properly.

Lack of enough sleep will undermine everything you do in the gym if you do not have a consistent sleep habits. Your sleep or the inability to do so affects every function in the human body.

The three basic areas I mentioned here are not anything new however, they are easily overlooked and many times not followed. Keep your workout plan simple but consistent and you will see the changes in your body develop over time.

Richard is the owner of Total Joint Fitness LLC located in Punta Gorda, Florida. Richard is also a physical therapist assistant and personal trainer for older adult fitness and rehabilitation. For more information regarding fitness prior to or, after surgery or, if you want to get healthier and work on prevention to maintain a healthier lifestyle, contact Richard at http://www.richardhaynes.com. Also for more information on weight loss and building muscle go to http://www.totaljointfitness.com. for more details.

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Weight Training for Women: The Top 9 Benefits

In spite of comprehensive research promoting the advantages of weight training exercise, lots of women continue to go for cardiovascular exercise above weights. Perhaps they are concerned about "bulking up". Girls have witnessed several too many beefy dudes grunting away within the weight area and have a fear that when they pick-up a weight; they will immediately begin to look like one also.

For the vast majority of females, this kind of situation seriously isn't achievable. Females have a considerable amount of estrogen within their hormonal makeup.

So what exactly is the key to be able to look a lot more toned?

Below, are 9 explanations why women must think about resistance training for no less than 2 or 3 instances every week:

1. Your fat burning capacity will rise.

As girls get older, they tend to naturally drop muscle tissue. This will cause your metabolic process to slower, and that means you might get a spare tire as soon as you get to your thirties. If you perform weight-bearing workouts, you commence enhancing your own metabolism-and it will keep burning for several hours following your workout.

2. You actually burn up fat.

Muscle is a lot more "active" than body fat tissue, with each and every pound using about 40 calories per day just to preserve itself. Consequently, regardless if you're sat on the chair or are usually stuck behind your desk for maybe eight hours every day, the extra muscle tissue you produce will burn up more calories, helping you at last to eliminate your spare tire-and ensure that it stays away once and for all.

3. Your body is certain to get firmer.

Even though cardio exercise is very important and will support in melting away body fat, weights strengthen your entire body, developing curves and also definition specifically where you need it. Additionally, they help with the effects involving gravity, causing you to be much less prone to 'tricep jiggle' in your arms.

4. You'll fit into those skinny jeans.

A pound of body fat takes considerably more area than a single lb. of muscle mass, although muscle mass weighs far more, what do you want on your body, a thing that is bulky such fat, or something else that's lean, that also takes up a smaller amount of space, such as muscle?

5. You'll lower your chance of heart disease along with diabetes.

Reducing age-related muscle reduction isn't just beneficial to your looks; it could protect the heart and also help defend against type 2 diabetes as well. Muscle aids in removing sugar and triglycerides in the bloodstream that reduces the probability of type 2 diabetes, along with hardening of the arteries.

6. Your blood pressure levels could decrease.

Strength training decreases blood pressure for around ten to twelve hrs. after each and every workout session, giving your heart a well-deserved break. Precisely how strength training creates this change is not entirely understood, however it probably features subtle consequences on anything from hormones to the nervous system regulation.

7. It can be done at any time, anyplace.

You will not need lots of floor space or a great deal of special gear to get a fantastic strength work out. Simply with your own body weight through the use of push-ups, planks, chair dips, the squat, and pull-ups it's possible to tone and also strengthen your physique.

Bonus Advantage: It is possible indoors, and that means you don't have to deal with the frosty, freezing temperature ranges of winter season or the sizzling heat of summer!

8. You will burn away lots of calories.

Plyometric power moves (consider squat leaps and burpees) and also kettlebell workouts increase your heartbeat, which boosts the actual calorie burn. These kind of workouts present you with cardio, power, and building muscle all-in-one, that's a great timesaver,

9. It's great for strengthening bones.

Weight training is among the ideal way to strengthen your bones. Resistance training can help deal with age-related bone damage, Strengthening and building muscle tissue also boosts balance as well as keeps you as powerful as is possible which in turn lowers the likelihood of a fall-related bone fracture.

Addisson Patrick is a writer for http://www.ListedFit.com, where readers can find the best information on health, fitness and many things in between. He's an expert with years of experience in health and fitness!

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