WOMEN AND WEIGHTS








In the last 5 years research has shown that weight training for women is a great way to boost and maintain weight loss, increase your metabolism and provide you with greater muscle tone and shape.

There are a number of different myths surrounding women and weights, 2 of these main myths are:

1. Muscle weighs more than fat, so I will gain more weight instead of losing it.

2. Ill gain so much muscle that ill end up looking like a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Although both of these myths do hold some element of fact they are far removed from the actual truth!

Myth Buster 1:

Muscle does weigh more than fat! But weight training combined with aerobic exercise will increase your muscle mass which will result in increasing your metabolism. The more muscle you have the more fat you will burn.

Fad diets in the short term enable you to drop a lot of weight fast, but in the long term you can actually put on more weight than when you first started, as you have not only lost body fat but muscle mass as well, which means you have now lowered you metabolism even further then before.

Myth Buster 2:

Yes, if you did gain a lot of muscle you would end up looking like a female version of Arni. Lucky for women this cant happen without unnatural help. By this I mean, that muscle gain is generated through testosterone levels. Although women do have testosterone present in their systems they only have low levels of it.

Low testosterone prevents women from gaining loads of muscle mass. Women who weight train, gain body tone and shape rather than body size.

In conclusion, weight training for females shouldnt be something extra that you do but it should be included in your training program, you ll finish up having muscle tone and body shape, plus you ll be able to lose weight and maintain your weight loss.

Effective weight training comes from constantly changing your program every 4-6 weeks as your body tends to get used to the stimulus.

10 Reasons to Strength Train






During the past few years, more and more studies have shown that sensible strength training produces many health and fitness, benefits. Consider these 10 reasons to strength train.

1. Avoid Muscle Loss
Adults who do not strength train lose between 2.2kg and 3.2kg of muscle every decade. Although endurance exercise improves our cardiovascular fitness, it does not prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Only strength training maintains our muscle mass and strength throughout our mid-life years.

2. Avoid Metabolic Rate Reduction
Muscle is an active tissue, muscle loss is directly related to reduction in our resting metabolism. Research indicates that an average adult experiences a 2 to 5 percent reduction in metabolic rate every decade. Regular strength training prevents muscle loss, and improves metabolic rate.

3. Increase Metabolic Rate
Research reveals that adding 1.4kg of muscle increases our resting metabolism by 7% and our daily calorie requirements by 15%. At rest, a kilogram of muscle requires 77 calories per day for tissue maintenance, and during exercise muscle energy utilisation increases dramatically. Adults who gain muscle through sensible strength training use more calories all day long, thereby reducing the likelihood of fat accumulation. (Balanced eating still required)

4. Increase Muscle Mass
Because most adults do not perform strength exercise, they need to first replace the muscle tissue that has been lost through inactivity. Fortunately, research shows that a standard strength training program can increase muscle mass by about 1.4kg over an eight week training period. This is the typical training response for men and women who do 25 minutes of strength exercise, three days per week.

5. Reduce Body Fat
In a 1994 study, strength exercise produced 1.8kg of fat loss after three months of training, even though the subjects were eating 15% more calories per day. That is, a basic strength training program resulted in 1.4kg more muscle, 1.8kg less fat, and 370 more calories per day of food intake.

6. Increase Bone Mineral Density
The efforts of progressive resistance exercise are similar for muscle tissue and bone tissue. Resistance training not only stimulates the increase of muscle strength but also increases bone density and mineral content. (ongoing studies)


7. Improve Glucose Metabolism
Researchers reported a 23% increase in glucose uptake after four months of strength training. Because poor glucose metabolism is associated with adult onset diabetes, improved glucose metabolism is an important benefit of regular strength exercise.

8. Reduce Low Back Pain
Years of research on strength training and back pain has shown that strong low-back muscles are less likely to be injured than weaker low-back muscles. A recent study found that low-back pain patients had significantly less back pain after 10 weeks of specific (full range) strength exercise for the lumber spine muscles.

9. Reduce Resting Blood Pressure
Strength training alone has been shown to reduce resting blood pressure significantly. A 1995 study revealed that combining strength and aerobic exercise is an even more effective means of improving blood pressure readings. After two months of combined exercise, the study participants dropped their systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg and their diastolic pressure by 3 mm Hg.

10. Improve Blood Lipid Levels
Although the effect of strength training on blood lipid levels needs further research, several studies have revealed improved blood lipid profiles after several weeks of strength exercise. It is important to note that improvements in blood lipid levels are similar for both endurance and strength exercise.

1. Take an active rest - this doesn't mean doing no exercise, but instead doing unstructured exercise. Go for a walk, play with the kids, kick the footy with a friend . This allows your body to rest and rebuild from your constant structured exercise, returning to exercise stronger and ready for new challenges.
   


2. Eat - as your fitness increases, so does your body's metabolism. It may mean that you need to eat more to continue to increase your fitness level.
   


3. Mix it up - Vary your workout routine. This will surprise your body and keep it guessing, forcing it to adapt. Try not to stay on the same routine for more than 3 months, change the exercise, the weight, the environment, move onto free weights or change your set/reps/rest.
   


4. Cross training - Don't just cross train your activities, try to cross train with intensity also. Have a heavy training day, or add intervals into your training session (go hard then go easy).
   


5. Sleep! - Sleep is essential for your body to rest and repair, and recharging you so you have enough energy to get through the next workout.