Strength Training For Women

Like many women, I started strength training for vanity reasons…to look better.  Of course I knew there were other benefits of strength training for women but there was a goal having more toned legs and it branched out from there once I saw results.  How much better I look is what keeps me motivated, but behind that I know other benefits keep me going as well.

One of the most important benefits of strength training for women is bone health.  Strengthening your muscles also strengthens your bones, which of course is extremely for women at any age.  Bones are living tissue, just like muscle.  And, just like muscle, bones will respond to exercise by getting stronger.  Bones will also become more dense with strength training, and this is important for health, too.

Denser, stronger bones will keep you strong and healthy and this becomes more important with age.  One of the  less well-known benefits of strength training for women is improved balance and coordination.  In elderly people, this is vital for preventing falls.  Plus, if you do end up falling down, your bones will be less likely to break since they are strong and dense from strength training.

BTW the woman in the picture has Too Small Weights But She’s Got the Right Idea.

The most essential piece of equipment in a strength training program for women is the leg extension machine.  Pictured here, it works the quads and is very difficult to replicate at home.  In fact, the leg extension machine is my number one reason for belonging to a gym, after the cardio machines since I live in Florida and it’s too hot outside to run.

A gym owner and former award-winning bodybuilder was asked how one might get the leg extension results in a strength training program for women at home.  His only answer was to lift the side of a couch by hooking your ankles under it.  So I tried it and of course ran immediately out to renew my gym membership since it totally did not work.  I would never ever include the couch move in any strength training program for women.

The leg extensions will work the top part of your thighs, which will dramatically change the way your legs look…for the better.  This is another muscle that’s hard to work in normal life so a machine that isolates the muscle (it’s the quad muscle, by the way) is your best bet.

The other gym-only machine that’s essential for the leg portion of any strength training program for women is the leg press.  That will work more muscles in your legs, plus your butt and it’s almost impossible to do at home.

There are just a few key exercises that make up the essential parts of the best strength training routines for women.  They include moves for arms, chest, core, and legs and can be one in to or three sessions per week at the gym.  If strength training at home for women is what you’re looking for, then most of these can be done at home but not all of them.  These strength training routines for women can be done as a weekly regimen that requires a trip to the gym some days and other days can be done at home.

1. For sexy, defined shoulders, do front arm raises.  Start with dog biscuits (tiny 3 pound weights) and do ten sets of ten three times a week.  Then do it for times a week.  Then after a month, go back down to three times a week but up the weight to five pounders.  Keep it up, raising the weight until you can do lateral arm raises with a ten pound weight in each hand.  This is the core move in most of the best strength training routines for women, since it quickly improves a muscle that doesn’t get used very much so you see fast results on a part of the body that’s very visible.
2. For great legs and butt, do lunges with weights.  For your first time, use a 3 or 5 pound weight in each hand.  Lunge backwards with one foot, as far back as you can.  Then stand back up.  Do ten, then ten on the other side.  Do 3 to 5 sets and increase the weights after a few weeks.
3. Do crunches: middle and both sides you tone your whole core.  Use a decline bench (shown in the picture) and don’t go all the way down to a lie-down position.  Stop a few inches from touching your back on the bench, then crunch up.

Of course there are more moves in most strength training routines for women, but these three exercises are a great place to start and will show fastest results if you’re trying for visual effect.  When you feel you’ve gained what you want and are at a nice level of strength and comfort with these routines, start targeting more muscles in your strength training routine.

Really, it’s misleading to say strength training exercises for women because what’s good enough for a man is good enough for a woman.  There are hundreds of silly moves for the gym designed to attract women to strength training and make it fun and easy, but the fact of the matter is, strength training is hard work and sometimes it’s not fun.  So when you hear the phrase strength training exercises for women, ask yourself, is this a silly move that seems like fun but will make me look like a fool in the gym?  Is this move really going to help me gain muscle and lose weight?  Is it possible to work that muscle without the awkward and strange moves they’re telling me to do in that women’s health magazine?  Do men posture themselves that way when they use weights?

The woman in the picture has a set of cool workout clothes and she’s using a trendy kettle ball for her strength training exercise.  She seems to be in great shape and wow look how pretty she is, too!  But what exactly is she doing with that kettle ball?  If she’s doing lateral arm raises, why is she lunging forward?  Maybe she’s just swinging the ball and momentum pulled her body to the side so she leaned that way.  This is an example of strength training exercises for women designed to sell cool workout clothes, gym memberships, or sessions with personal trainers.

If you’re searching for strength training exercises for women, broaden your search and just look for strength training exercises, period.  A lateral arm raise without the lunge and using a good old cast iron dumbbell works for men so it will work for women, too.  Just stay ahead of the hype and ask yourself what’s marketing and what’s just good advice and you’ll find the best strength routine for you.

Strength training at home for women has been on the rise of late, partly because of the economy.  With the purchase of just a few iron dumbbells and perhaps a DVD or two, women are discovering that they can build muscle, gain strength, and lose weight just from a few weekly workouts and a little learning about strength training at home for women.

To start with, schedule two sessions per week.  Go for strength training exercises that target your whole body so you can get benefits all around.  Do three sets of each move, and do 10 or 12 reps in each set.  Use weights heavy enough so that by the time you’re on your last rep you can’t possibly do another and still keep good form.  Stick to these rules of strength training at home for women, especially about using the heavy weights, and you’ll see improvement in a few weeks.

To stay motivated, keep telling yourself the benefits of using weights.   Strength training at home for women raises the metabolism for 24 to 48 hours after your workout.  That means more calories burned just by doing nothing.  In fact, there are studies that show strength training at home for women will cause the body to burn more calories in the next day or two than cardio workouts.

Seriously women, get real.  See the picture?  That’s all you need and strength training for women at home is easy, inexpensive, and effective.  For less than $100 you can buy a set of dumbbells that will not only tone but add muscle to your frame and help you lose weight and feel better.  All you need is a little know-how to help you cut through all the bullsh*t that fills women’s health and fitness magazines and which is perpetuated by some fitness trainers.

The goal here is to build muscle, and the best way to do that is to push yourself as hard as possible to lift as much weight as possible.  A blow-up ball won’t help you to do that.  Neither will shake weights, balance boards, or anything you wear (unless it’s ankle weights).  The best equipment for strength training for women at home is good old cast iron dumbbells.  They come in fancy colors, coated with vinyl, but that’s not even necessary.  Do you really need your weights to be purple in order for you to use them?  Is color really what motivates you?

The key to building strength (and losing inches) is sweat…work as hard as you can, push yourself to the max, and you will improve.  If you’re not sweating from strength training then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.  Strength training for women at home is not easy, and sometimes it’s not even fun.  MAKE yourself do that last rep and you’ll see results.

Strength training and weight loss for women go hand in hand.  While the tendency for most women who want to lose weight is to focus on cardio, it’s important to keep  strength training in your exercise routine.  That’s because strength training will make your body continue to burn more calories as much as 24 hours after your workout.

It’s called afterburn, and the more iron you lift, the greater the afterburn.  There are National Center for Health statistics on strength training and weight loss for women that show a few sessions a week of pumping iron can translate into a reduction in fat and inches off the waist.  That’s just from the afterburn effect, not the calories burned from the actual workout.

Other studies have shown strong connections between strength training and weight loss for women in the 24 hours after the workout.  In one study, researchers compared two types of workouts: one that included strength training and one that didn’t.   The group who included pumping iron in their workouts burned an average of 100 calories more during the 24 hours after the gym session than those women who had just done cardio.

And that adds up over a year of twice weekly workouts.  The calories burned in the afterburn can total over four pounds of muscle, and remember….that’s not from the calories burned during the workout…it’s in addition.  These are the calories burned during the course of a normal day…even just sitting there on the couch.

In an internet search for the best strength training exercises for women, I discovered an interesting yet slightly disturbing phenomenon.  I was using the search feature on a major city online newspaper, looking for tips on working out (I’m a woman) and all the articles that came up were aimed at men.  Every article thumbnail in the list of search results was a picture of a man doing strength training exercises.

So I decided that what’s good enough for a man is good enough for me.  In fact, I’ve since learned that if you want to build muscle, look to the men, ladies.  After all, muscle is muscle, and if you’re going to aim for muscle strength and definition, why would you want to do anything less than your full potential?  Look to the so-called male exercises and push yourself like you see guys doing in the gym, and you’ll see improvement in no time.  The best strength training exercises for women are the ones they guys are doing.

So many strength training exercises for women are physically dumbed down…that is, they are designed to look fun and feel fun without total consideration for how much muscle is actually going to be gained by doing them.   These are exercises that won’t even make you sweat if you do them.  Look at guys in the gym and they are sweating from lifting weights.  When considering which of the best strength training exercises for women are for you, ask yourself “am I sweating?”  If you’re not, you’re not working hard enough.

Strength training workouts for women vary from person to person but the number one rule to remember is lift more weight.  A universal misconception among women is that they can’t lift much.  No matter what part of the body is targeted, almost every woman in the gym could be lifting more weight.

To make matters worse, look at any women’s magazine that features a fitness story and you’ll see a picture of women holding dumbbells that we in the industry like to call dog biscuits.  Yes, take a look at the picture to above.  What are those, 1 pound weights?  Why bother?  If you’re serious about strength training workouts for women you will consider this picture to be a joke.

To get the most out any of strength training workouts for women add weight.  Do flys with at least a 15 pound dumbbell in each hand and always strive for the moment when you can add five more pounds.  Repeat to yourself that the goal is always to move up to the next dumbbell, not to just get through the present set and go home.  Keep your eye on the next slot in the rack of weights, and tell it: “you’re mine“.

Can’t do 15 pound flys?  Do 10 pounds in each hand.  Do that for two weeks, every other two days, and by the third week you’ll be at the 15 pound dumbbells, pressing those flys and setting your sights on the 20 pounders.  Now that, my friend is how to train your brain and your body towards the best strength training workouts for women.

Myths about strength training for women are some of the most negative influences on women’s health in popular culture. These old wives’ tales about women and strength training cause confusion and are actually preventing some women from getting a proper workout. The misconceptions about strength training for women create all kinds of silly, outdated images of what happens when women use resistance training (AKA weights) to build muscle strength. So here we go, top five myths about strength training for women are…

1. It will make you look masculine
2. It won’t make you lose weight
3. It’s not necessary
4. It takes many hours each day

Strength Training for Women Myth #1: You’ll end up looking like a man

“I don’t want to get too bulked up”

Jeez Louise if I had a dime for every time a woman said this! So many women are mistakenly afraid that if they pump iron, they’ll wind up looking like linebackers. Do they even know how hard it is even for totally dedicated, obsessed bodybuilders to achieve this look? It’s pretty darn difficult for most women to build enough muscle to the point they’ll have to worry about looking masculine. It takes steroids and long hours every day in the gym to get to that point.

Strength Training for Women Myth #2: Building Muscle Won’t Help me Lose Weight

“Strength training will make me gain weight, not lose it”

Wrong. When you gain muscle, you are increasing your body’s ability to burn calories at a resting position. Strength training for women changes your metabolism changes so that you’re burning more calories by just sitting there. As you gain muscle, you’ll gain muscle weight, but you will also be burning fat off your body as the composition of your body changes. Result: a firmer, healthier, better shape!

Strength Training for Women Myth #3: It’s not necessary

“Women don’t need muscles”

Oh, so very wrong. Building muscle will make your curves even better. And health wise, strength training for women is important to bone health and prevention of osteoporosis. Atrophied muscles will look worse, and it only gets worse as you get older.

Strength Training for Women Myth #4: I don’t have time…it takes hours and hours a day!

“What’s the use, I don’t have time and what little time I have is better spent doing cardio”

It doesn’t take long in the gym to build muscle and improve your health and shape. Just fifteen minutes on legs, fifteen minutes on upper body and you’re done.