If you're reading this article, we will assume that you already know you need anaerobic exercise (resistance training) to really fit for life. You're not the average woman. You worry about the fitness and health club member you may. Most likely, you hit the gym pretty hard at least three times each week, using all the fitness equipment and work on your curve.
Are you achieving your weight loss goals? Are you sexy woman you want? You know that maintaining the health and fitness is the most certain way to be a beautiful woman, but if you are pleased with the progress you've made so far?
Maybe the problem is that you have done the wrong exercises the wrong way. As they say, knowledge is power, and if you will achieve true lifetime fitness it is important to understand what type of resistance (weight) training is best for a woman, how many repetitions (reps) you should do, how many sets you must be complete and how often you should exercise.
The purpose of this article is to help you understand that how you exercise is critical to your overall physical fitness. In other words, just being on a fitness program will not turn you into Wonder Woman. But the RIGHT fitness program will.
Some of the Women's Fitness Definitions:
Resistance (weight) training is essential for women. Without it, you'll never be a fitness girl you want. Before we continue this discussion, it is important for us to pause and define some resistance exercise terms:
1. Resistance Training: Exercise that utilizes progressive resistance movements to build strength.
2. Repetition: A motion exercises done individually. Repetition is usually done in multiples. Often referred to as a representative.
3. Set: A group of repetitions of an exercise movement is performed in succession, without rest, until a certain amount (or momentary exhaustion) is reached.
4. 1RM: one repetition maximum. Maximum resistance with which a person can run a single repetition of motion exercises.
Example: If you are doing dumbbell arm curls to work your biceps, you start with the dumbbells in each hand and your arm is fully extended downward. Keeping your elbows locked at your side, you lift each dumbbell upward by the contraction of your biceps. When you have lifted the barbell biceps as high as they can, your hands will be up close to your chin. This is called 'top' of the movement. To complete the reps, slowly lower the barbell to the starting position. That's one repetition of dumbbell curls. Resistance training is generally conducted in the test set. In this example, maybe you'll do three sets of ten repetitions so that you will actually complete thirty dumbbell arm curls.
We know that women need to train resistance, and we also have some working knowledge of what resistance training mean. With the information fresh in our minds, let's look at the reasons why most women do not train this way.
I Do not Want to Look Like Arnold!
Many women fear that resistance training (or weight lifting) will make them 'a great' or it looks great. Well, do not be afraid! Perform resistance exercises will not make you big women or big. Let's look at why.
First and foremost, most women do not have enough testosterone in their system to get big muscles. That's the bottom line, and that's the main reason why you will never get big muscles no matter how much you train resistance. Just about the only way for a woman to get big muscles like a man to change his hormone balance through the use of anabolic steroids that mimic the action of testosterone. If you are not doing anabolic steroids, you need not worry.
Second, even if you want to get big muscles like Arnold would be impossible. Now, now, I can assure you that there are millions of people trying to get big muscles. Very few of them are successful, and men have all the testosterone.
The third reason why resistance training (weight lifting) will not give her big, big muscles is that women rarely perform lifts that will give them large muscles. There are several different ways to weight train, and most people do not know how to train to achieve their goals.
If your goal is to have a lean, toned muscle without a lot of size, then you should do high reps with a relatively low amount of weight (resistance). You can rise this way all day and you will not develop huge muscles. Approach to resistance training will accomplish two things: burn fat and tone muscles. That's it.
If your goal is to increase muscle size, then you should be lifting relatively heavy load (resistance) of about 6-8 times per set. Weight selected should be approximately 80% of your 1RM. For example is if the most you ever can once bench press is 100 lbs. (Your 1RM), then to get the size you want to bench press about 80 lbs. 6-8 times per set. Compare this with the training of someone who wants to burn fat and tone muscles. People who want to gain muscle size to maintain a much higher weight and do fewer repetitions.
Finally, perhaps your goal is to get the extreme power. Examples of this would be a power lifter. Resistance training for strength will ask you to lift as much weight as possible, but only once (one repetition). Obviously, this method will not burn as fatter. It also will not make HUGE muscles, but will result in some muscle growth above and beyond what most women find attractive.
To summarize, there are three different ways to resistance train and the majority of women do not train in such a way that they will end up building big muscles like Arnold. Even if you want to build big muscles, it is very likely that you will be able to do it (unless you take anabolic steroids!) Because women just do not have the same body chemistry with men.
Okay, so let's summarize the reasons why resistance training will not make a big woman or large:
1. Most women do not have enough testosterone in their system to get big muscles.
2. Even if you want to get big muscles like Arnold would be impossible because building big muscles is not easy.
3. Women rarely perform lifts that will give them large muscles.
The bottom line is that for women to get bigger and bigger, they need to be very conscious TRY to get bigger and bigger. This will require a certain type of lift, a large number of businesses, certain types of equipment and probably regular doses of steroids. So you see, there really is no danger that any of us will turn into Arnold or Rocky Balboa.
A Positive and Negative Fitness Workout:
There are two movements in any resistance training (weight lifting) exercise. This is called the concentric and eccentric portions of the exercise, also commonly referred to as 'positive' and 'negative'.
Section (positive) of concentric resistance training movement is defined as "Muscle action in which the muscle shortening under its own power" (Source: Fitness, The Complete Guide; ISSA 2001). Examples will push the bar away from you on the bench press, or lifting the bar towards your chin on a biceps curl.
Section (negative) of eccentric resistance training movement is defined as "Muscle action in which the muscles resist when being forced to lengthen" (Source: Fitness, The Complete Guide; ISSA 2001). Examples would lower the bar in the bench press, or lowering your chin bar of the biceps curl.
The point to be made here is that the eccentric part of the resistance training is a component that will lead to extensive muscle growth. The eccentric (negative) is what actually causes most of the growth of muscle in resistance training. The (positive) is concentric muscle tone.
Fitness Tips for Women:
Armed with that background knowledge in three different ways to resistance train and the two movements are different in each resistance training activities, we are ready to examine how a woman should approach her exercise. You deserve the best weight loss program, and the goal is to help you get the most out of your gym membership.
For women who lost weight quickly, they must engage in resistance training designed to achieve that goal. You have to lift relatively light weight and high repetition. With high, we do not mean good 10-12. We're talking about a total of 60-75 repetitions, was completed in three sets of 20-25 reps per set. Higher repetitions with lower resistance will burn fat and tone muscles, but will not result in extreme muscle growth.
Women should train often enough to achieve their weight loss goals, which generally means at least three times per week. However, many women want to get into the health club more often than it is to accelerate their results. The only reason for resistance training more often than every day is concerns of muscle damage. It’s occurs of using free weights or weight stacks. As we've discovered in our discussion of the eccentric (negative) and concentric (positive) movement of resistance training, it is possible to damage muscle tissue when using free weights or weight stacks.
So when it comes to frequency of training, women using free weights or weight stacks should keep them for resistance training every day at most. This will allow the muscles time to recover between workouts and minimize the risk of injury.
To summarize, women in fitness quest should remember these tips health clubs:
1. Use a relatively low weight, maybe 50% of your 1RM.
2. High repetition. 20-25 reps per set should be about right.
3. Perform at least three sets of each exercise resistance.
4. If you use free weights or weight stacks, train every day at most.
The following suggestions will help you lose weight and tone up without turning into a woman's risk of muscle your kids are so big it will not recognize you.
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