Why Women Must Do Weight Training

In the gusty world of weight control, myths toss about. Women doing weight training? Horror of horrors, they would be Schwarzenegger-like, bulky and masculine. And when they stop the training, the muscle would "transform" into fat, making them even worse than before!

Let's smash these myths. Lifting weights would provide you with a sleek, toned look instead of the muscle-bound physic of a body builder. Some of the sports women and star athletes owe their muscular appearance to taking anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone). Women, by nature, do not develop large muscles, because they do not produce enough male hormone, testosterone, for this to happen.

What is every weight-watcher's dream? To "burn" fat. But what burns fat as fuel? Muscle! The more muscle you gain, the faster your metabolism will be. Research shows that for each pound of muscle earned, you will expend 35 to 50 more calories per day. Women who incorporate moderate strength training into their workout regime increase their muscle tissue. Though this may increase your weight slightly, the increase in muscle tissue results in higher resting metabolism. With your dense muscles you will burn more calories even while doing nothing special.

When most people discontinue weight training, they don't substitute it with other exercises that work on the muscles, but ease out their grip on the diet as well. Remember, if you don't use your muscles, you lose them, and the body becomes significantly less efficient at burning calories, allowing the fat to creep back on. The lower metabolism caused by inactivity and the reduced muscle mass give the impression that the muscle is being turned into fat, whereas in reality, muscle is getting lost, and fat is being accumulated with a lax, yo-yo dieting.

• Strength training is an integral part of any good physical fitness program. Not only does it build stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury. An average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat.
• Weight training is women's best defense against osteoporosis: it increases mineral density of the spinal bone
• Weight training can improve cardiovascular health by lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol and increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol
• Weight training increases glucose utilization in the body, which may reduce the risk of diabetes

Some tips:

• Don't forget a 5 minute warm-up and warm-down
• More is not better when it come to strength training. Instead of more reps, concentrate on intensity, and not volume, frequency, or duration. Short, high intensity weight workouts followed by one to two days of rest to let the muscles rebuild and become stronger.
• Quality is more important than quantity. Maintain good form and keep the weight under control. Begin your training at the minimum number of repetitions. If you can't perform the minimum number of reps, decrease the weight. Build up to the maximun reps over time and then add more weight and drop back to the minimum number of repetitions.
• Choose strength exercises that are multi-joint exercises rather than single joint movements
• Make sure that when you are training a specific muscle group, the opposing muscle groups are being trained as well. For example, if you are doing strength training exercises for your chest you should include back exercises in your program as well.