As a reminder to all of you, I want to reephasize the importance of strength training for women. I have written several articles on the subject, but have recently been doing some studying for an exam that has prompted me to reopen this topic.
It is absolutely essential that women do some type of strength training in addition to cardiovascular activity. Strength training helps us maintain muscle tissue, which in turn keeps our metabolisms optimal. Loss of muscle tissue as we age is normal, but it is this loss that causes our metabolisms to slow, thus causing weight gain. Without some strength training, you will notice a loss of muscle tone and an increase in cellulite!! You’ll feel weak and fatigued with labourous work and your risk of injuries skyrockets. On a positive note, weight training decreases our risk of osteoporosis and improves posture. Don’t wait til it’s too late. No one wants to have a painful curved spine from poor posture and osteoporosis!
Women can get wonderful benefits from working all muscles 2-3 days a week, working up to 3 sets of each exercise. Since women do not have as much testosterone as men, they lose muscle more quickly, and thus need to train more frequently than men. Choose a weight that produces lots of muscle fatigue between 8 and 15 reps- don’t be fooled into thinking that lifting light weights will increase muscle mass- it just won’t! If you can lift a weight 20 times or more- it’s probably not going to change the shape of the muscle. Finally, good nutrition MUST go along with strength training. You will NOT see results if you either overeat (muscle will be covered by fat) or undereat (your body won’t have enough energy to make muscle) For more information, see my article in the Resources section, or email me!