For Additional Information and Workouts:
Muscle Net
Workouts For Women |
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Weightlifting...For Women |
It has always been thought that weightlifting was just for men, and that women would get too bulky and look like men. However, things have changed, and now even fitness magazines for women are encouraging women to lift weights. The reality is that women will not bulk up, for it is “nearly physically impossible to build bulky muscles like a guy” according to Sarah Richards of Fitness magazine. Although weightlifting is being promoted, “of the 12.7 million women who belonged to a commercial health club last year, only about half used weight machines, and only one-third lifted free weights”(Sarah Richards). Weightlifting is more than just building muscles, for it helps build bone density, and speeds up metabolism. Anyone who has been lifting weights on a regular basis know the basics when it come to lifting and how to get the most effective results, it is recommended to lift about two to three times a week. I have been lifting weights since eighth grade, and when you lift, it is better to focus on either the upper body or the lower body, for not as much can be accomplished when trying to work both. When lifting, do not tug or ‘swing’ the weights, for it can cause possible muscle tears, and do not drop the weights when you are done with them. |
Not only is weightlifting beneficial for short term, but long term too. Sarah Richards states in her article that, a high-intensity routine has been shown to bump metabolism by 20 percent for several hours post-workout. Resistance training helps women fight the aging process by maintaining lean muscle tissue. Women who regularly lift weights have better self-esteem and get sick less. [While] others have found weight training improves the way the body processes sugar, reducing the risk of diabetes.
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When you are reading through a fitness magazine or any workout schedule, it will say something like, do 3 sets of 10-12 reps. “Reps and sets? What do they mean? Reps or repetitions are how many times you move a weight in a set. A set is how many times you cycle through an exercise. Therefore 3 sets of 10 reps is that I would lift the bar 10 times for 3 different times with rest in between them. Talking about rest, you should take between a minute and a half in between each set”(musclenet). Here is a sample of a 'split' workout from musclenet that I had mentioned:
Day 1:
Chest (upper body)
Day 2:
Legs (lower body)
Day 3:
Off
Day 4:
Back/Shoulders (Lower body)
Day 5:
Biceps/Triceps (upper body)
Days 6&7:
Off  |