20 Apr Five strength training tips for women

More and more women make it a point to exercise regularly, but most of their time and effort is centered around cardio workouts. You know, getting on the treadmill, elliptical or exercise bike, or walking or jogging.
Those are all great for you, but for really well-rounded fitness women should also incorporate at least some strength training into their routines.
Here are five strength training tips for women:
Lift weights at least three times a week – Three workouts a week is really the optimal number as it will give your muscles regular work, but also enough time to recover in between. Once or twice will help you some.

Up your weights – Make sure to gradually up the amount of weight you’re lifting. If you can effortlessly do exercises with little 10-pound dumbbells, or easy reps on a squat machine, then that’s not going to do much good. Make sure to push yourself at least a little bit.
If you can do 10-12 reps easily, then increase the weight the next workout.

Pick compound lifts – Do exercises where several muscle groups are being used at once, such as bench press, squat and lat pulldown.

Try a variety of lifts – If you’re just getting started into weight training, try out both free weights and machines – such as a functional trainer. Many people use both during a strength training workout.

Don’t worry about getting too big – Some women say they’re afraid of getting huge if they lift weights. It’s difficulty even for men to get really big working out, so fear not ladies – you won’t look like a model for Muscle and Fitness magazine.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com