Introduction If women want to lose weight more efficiently and are looking around for a weight loss program, one of the best methods to shed unwanted pounds is through weight training.
This is because weight training develops all of your muscles as a whole in more dynamic ways than any other type of exercise.
The way to lose weight is to increase your metabolism.
Your muscles are your metabolism.
Energize your muscles and you will energize your metabolism and burn more calories.
There is a misconception that pumping iron will cause a woman to get big muscles but this is simply not true.
The hormone testosterone is needed to build a lot of muscle.
Women do not have anywhere near the testosterone levels of men.
Unless a woman injects male hormones, she will not get huge muscles.
It is impossible.
What she will get is a more streamlined and shapely figure in an athletic style.
Weight Training and Nutrition A good weight training program is useless without changing your eating habits and watching the number of food calories you are putting into your mouth.
Another change is that weight training requires you to increase your protein intake.
Women typically don't eat enough protein.
Find out what kind of protein you like such as chicken, beef, fish, tofu and then eat a little more of it.
If you are on the go quite a lot, then invest in a small shaker you can carry with you in which you can mix whey protein powder and water.
Eat plenty of vegetables.
Every day make yourself a large salad.
Choose the most colorful vegetables to eat because they are usually the ones highest in anti-oxidants.
You'll need a lot of anti-oxidants for weight training.
If you take away only one thing away from this section on nutrition then ponder on this: The main way to start losing weight is to restrict your sugar intake.
Read the label of everything you eat.
There is hidden sugar in everything.
Keep the sugars you are consuming in a meal somewhere between 5 and 10 (or even less) and don't consume any more than 30 grams a day.
When eating carbohydrates, eat foods as close to their whole and complete state as possible.
Restrict your fruit intake as well.
Fruit is a simple sugar called fructose which goes first to the liver as glycogen (muscle sugar) before it is distributed.
You don't have to restrict fruit too much; one or at the most two pieces a day is enough-if even that.
Calorie Burning and Cross training The key to weight management and control is more in healthy nutrition than some type of endurance exercise.
Lunges will tone your thighs better than any stairmaster or treadmill.
Although weight training can be converted into a cardiovascular exercise by itself, it is not usually endurance oriented.
If you are an exercise enthusiast, you may want to cross train by doing an aerobic exercise such as cycling in between your weight training days.
Cycling may be better than a high impact exercise like running because you are less likely to get injuries such as ankle sprains-and incidentally, when it comes to twisting an ankle, do regular calf lifts with weights and you won't have to worry too much about that type of injury again.
Weight training does not mean you throw away your yoga time.
In fact, you may need a stretching routine now more than ever before to stretch out those fatigued muscles after or between weight workouts.
A Basic Workout-Utilizing High Intensity Training Monday: Legs: Squats Pushing: Bench Press Pulling: Upright rowing Four days later Friday: Legs: Lunges Pushing: Overhead Press Pulling: One arm dumbbell rows Five days later Wednesday: Legs: Step ups (onto a chair or platform) with dumbbells Pushing: Dumbbell flys Pulling: bicep curls Five days later do Monday's workout again.
This workout is for both beginners and long time weight trainers alike.
It is simplicity in itself.
As you can see, you will be training Mondays, Fridays and Wednesdays.
Aim for 8 to 12 reps for each exercise.
You do only one set and you do as many reps as you can possibly do.
In other words, you train to muscular failure (volitional fatigue).
Don't lift fast: The rep cadence should be two counts up and four counts down.
One set? Yes, only one set per exercise.
You can mix is up a bit by doing two things: 1) Get used to the principle of progressive overload.
This is when you increase the weight a little more each time you train.
You can do what is called micro loading.
This is when you put a little more poundage on the barbell every other workout or so.
Small little micro-loading plates can be bought.
A homemade way is to go to a sporting goods store and buy light fishing weights and tie them onto the ends of the barbell.
(As a beginner, you probably won't need to micro load because you will be moving up in poundages quickly the first month or so as your muscles get stronger "learning" the weights).
2) Change your exercises.
Muscle systems called motor units adapt very quickly to the same movements over a period of time.
After two months of doing an exercise, switch to another.
For instance, switch a barbell exercise for the same movement with dumbbells and vice versa.
Conclusion Don't underestimate the effectiveness of this simple workout.
The key is to give the last rep of every set all the intensity you've got and train to failure and never miss a workout.
You won't see results overnight but you will see some major differences in about a couple months.
You'll fit into clothes better.
You'll have more energy.
Start today and never look back and you'll agree that weight training definitely belongs as a major part of every woman's weight loss program.
This is because weight training develops all of your muscles as a whole in more dynamic ways than any other type of exercise.
The way to lose weight is to increase your metabolism.
Your muscles are your metabolism.
Energize your muscles and you will energize your metabolism and burn more calories.
There is a misconception that pumping iron will cause a woman to get big muscles but this is simply not true.
The hormone testosterone is needed to build a lot of muscle.
Women do not have anywhere near the testosterone levels of men.
Unless a woman injects male hormones, she will not get huge muscles.
It is impossible.
What she will get is a more streamlined and shapely figure in an athletic style.
Weight Training and Nutrition A good weight training program is useless without changing your eating habits and watching the number of food calories you are putting into your mouth.
Another change is that weight training requires you to increase your protein intake.
Women typically don't eat enough protein.
Find out what kind of protein you like such as chicken, beef, fish, tofu and then eat a little more of it.
If you are on the go quite a lot, then invest in a small shaker you can carry with you in which you can mix whey protein powder and water.
Eat plenty of vegetables.
Every day make yourself a large salad.
Choose the most colorful vegetables to eat because they are usually the ones highest in anti-oxidants.
You'll need a lot of anti-oxidants for weight training.
If you take away only one thing away from this section on nutrition then ponder on this: The main way to start losing weight is to restrict your sugar intake.
Read the label of everything you eat.
There is hidden sugar in everything.
Keep the sugars you are consuming in a meal somewhere between 5 and 10 (or even less) and don't consume any more than 30 grams a day.
When eating carbohydrates, eat foods as close to their whole and complete state as possible.
Restrict your fruit intake as well.
Fruit is a simple sugar called fructose which goes first to the liver as glycogen (muscle sugar) before it is distributed.
You don't have to restrict fruit too much; one or at the most two pieces a day is enough-if even that.
Calorie Burning and Cross training The key to weight management and control is more in healthy nutrition than some type of endurance exercise.
Lunges will tone your thighs better than any stairmaster or treadmill.
Although weight training can be converted into a cardiovascular exercise by itself, it is not usually endurance oriented.
If you are an exercise enthusiast, you may want to cross train by doing an aerobic exercise such as cycling in between your weight training days.
Cycling may be better than a high impact exercise like running because you are less likely to get injuries such as ankle sprains-and incidentally, when it comes to twisting an ankle, do regular calf lifts with weights and you won't have to worry too much about that type of injury again.
Weight training does not mean you throw away your yoga time.
In fact, you may need a stretching routine now more than ever before to stretch out those fatigued muscles after or between weight workouts.
A Basic Workout-Utilizing High Intensity Training Monday: Legs: Squats Pushing: Bench Press Pulling: Upright rowing Four days later Friday: Legs: Lunges Pushing: Overhead Press Pulling: One arm dumbbell rows Five days later Wednesday: Legs: Step ups (onto a chair or platform) with dumbbells Pushing: Dumbbell flys Pulling: bicep curls Five days later do Monday's workout again.
This workout is for both beginners and long time weight trainers alike.
It is simplicity in itself.
As you can see, you will be training Mondays, Fridays and Wednesdays.
Aim for 8 to 12 reps for each exercise.
You do only one set and you do as many reps as you can possibly do.
In other words, you train to muscular failure (volitional fatigue).
Don't lift fast: The rep cadence should be two counts up and four counts down.
One set? Yes, only one set per exercise.
You can mix is up a bit by doing two things: 1) Get used to the principle of progressive overload.
This is when you increase the weight a little more each time you train.
You can do what is called micro loading.
This is when you put a little more poundage on the barbell every other workout or so.
Small little micro-loading plates can be bought.
A homemade way is to go to a sporting goods store and buy light fishing weights and tie them onto the ends of the barbell.
(As a beginner, you probably won't need to micro load because you will be moving up in poundages quickly the first month or so as your muscles get stronger "learning" the weights).
2) Change your exercises.
Muscle systems called motor units adapt very quickly to the same movements over a period of time.
After two months of doing an exercise, switch to another.
For instance, switch a barbell exercise for the same movement with dumbbells and vice versa.
Conclusion Don't underestimate the effectiveness of this simple workout.
The key is to give the last rep of every set all the intensity you've got and train to failure and never miss a workout.
You won't see results overnight but you will see some major differences in about a couple months.
You'll fit into clothes better.
You'll have more energy.
Start today and never look back and you'll agree that weight training definitely belongs as a major part of every woman's weight loss program.