Different Ways for Women to Progress in Weight Training

Submitted by a reader:

A woman I met at a summer barbecue told me she started a weight lifting program but stopped after only a short while. When I asked her why, she responded that increasing weight each time she worked out was too hard --she couldn't do it. It hurt.

The goal of strength training is to get stronger and healthier and to improve your appearance. The body must always be challenged in any weight training routine, otherwise you will start to see declining results. But it should never hurt. It should never be painful.

We have listed several ways in which you can increase strength by your workout. You have a number of options from which to choose.

Increase Weight

The most common and effective way to challenge your body is to increase the weight you are lifting. This alone will keep your body challenged for a good while. Each muscle is comprised of numerous muscle fibers, and the more weight you lift, the more muscle fibers are recruited for the job, and the more your body gets a full workout. When we increase weight, we should always be vigilant about performing the exercise with proper form. If that form is compromised during a weight increase, it may be that your body is telling you it needs a different method of getting to the same result. Some alternative methods when we are not ready to increase weight are described below.

Increase Repetitions

The standard range is to perform 8-12 repetitions of a movement in one set. Do not exceed that maximum range. There is no weight training benefit to doing more than 12 reps per set unless you are in physical rehabilitation from an injury.

Increase Number of Sets

Normally you perform 2-3 sets per exercise. If you’ve done two sets at the same weight, increase to three.

Increase Frequency of Workouts

If you are working out two times a week, increase to three, if three times, then four. You should not weight train more than two days in a row unless you're training requires it(for instance, if your are a bodybuilder). Your muscles get stronger, not during the workout phase, but during the rest phase.

Increase Intensity

There are two ways to increase intensity without increasing weight - super sets and compound sets. Super sets involve exercising two opposing muscle groups by following one exercise immediately with another. For example, do a set of dumbbell bicep curls, then, without a rest period, do a set of standing tricep pushdowns. Rest. Repeat. Compound sets- involve exercising the same muscle group by attaching one exercise to another. For example, do a set of chest presses, then without a rest period, do a set of dumbbell chest flyes. Rest. Repeat.

Change Tempo

Slowing down the negative (eccentric) portion of exercise will promote more muscle development. This phase is usually the downward portion of an exercise, when you are lowering the weight. External resistance (usually gravity) is greater than the tension in your muscles. For example, during a chest press, the eccentric phase is when you are lowering the dumbbells towards your chest.

Change Position

Go from flat, to incline, or decline. A change in position forces you to exercise different parts of your muscles, helping you to achieve a more well-rounded workout.

Use Resistance Bands with Dumbbells

If you are doing a one-armed standing bicep curl, place a resistance band underneath your left leg, slide your left arm through the other end of band, gripping the dumbbell with the same hand. Repeat with your right side. Your exercise will have added resistance near top of movement because of the added tension exerted by the resistance band. This means you challenge your muscles at both the beginning and at the end of the movement, allowing you to exercise more parts of your muscles.

Increase Length of Levers

Weight held further away from your body exerts more tension on the muscles. For instance, if you are doing chest flyes, instead of keeping arms bent, straighten them.

Add Instability to Your Workout

For instance, if using a bench, change to a stability ball. If doing lunges, try them on a balance disc. If doing a bicep curl, try doing it while standing on one leg (the one opposite your lifting arm). Adding instability to your exercise regimen will force your body to exercise your supporting muscles as well as the targeted muscle groups.

In brief, by utilizing the various methods mentioned to increase strength, you will continue to develop muscle. And the more muscles you develop, the more calories you burn, the younger you feel, the greater your appearance will improve.

author -- Linda Kravitz, CEO, PowerFit LLC
http://www.thefitwomanonline.com

Simple Boxing Workout

Boxing workouts are some of the best for overall fitness, weight loss, and functional strength training. Here's a very simple but very effective boxing workout that only requires a jump rope, a pair of light dumbbells, and some weighted gloves...

From MensHealth.com:

The Simplest Boxing Circuit Ever

1. Shadowbox with weighted gloves. Start with smooth, controlled punches--six to the imaginary body, six to the phantom head, again and again for 30 seconds. Later you can add other punches and combinations to the program. For now, keep those gloves up and feet dancing. Extend the punch out, then pull it back to guard your face and chin. Bob and weave to avoid vicious (if fictitious) counterpunches.

2. Jump rope for 30 seconds. Start with both feet together and your elbows bent in tight, and stay close to the ground. And this ain't no playground. Go 85 percent of max for half a minute--or until you puke. When you work up to 60 seconds, you're only a third of the way through the round.

3. Do pushups--nice and smooth--for 30 seconds. Keep your body straight from your shoulders to your ankles, and lower yourself until your upper arms are lower than your elbows.

4. Roll over for abdominal crunches. Feet on the floor, hands behind your head, and shoulders lifted off the ground, then lower and repeat. For the second set, the upper body remains flat while you raise your knees toward the ceiling, lower, and repeat--a small but powerful movement.

5. Get on your feet again for weight work. Starting with 5-pound weights, do full-range-of-motion biceps curls, all the way down, all the way up, for 30 seconds; then military presses for 30; then combine the two for 30, raising the weights from the bottom of the curl position to your shoulders, then above your head. Keep at it for 4 minutes. (The next day work your legs instead, lunging to the left, then right, then squatting for 30 seconds, with weights in your hands.) Number 5 can be ignored every third day, if desired.

6. You're almost halfway home. Now repeat the circuit.

7. Increase weights gradually and interval lengths by 5 seconds every week until you start seeing the results you're after (i.e., that jerk at the bar, flat on his back). For conditioning, exercise in short bursts of speed--sprints and hill work, for instance, not marathon training. To find a complementary workout, turn to "New Game, New Gains," in this issue.

Don't go picking a fight unless your skills meet your conditioning. Boxing, as it turns out, is a lot like golf: Without outside observation you tend to master your mistakes. At some point, you should visit a boxing gym or consult a trainer. Plus, there is genuine pleasure and release in hitting a heavy bag alongside another boxer. Go ahead. Take a whack at it.

Simply a Great Fitness Site: CrossFit.com

I was recently "re-introduced" to the CrossFit.com web site. Boy has it improved! If you haven't yet seen it you should take a moment and check it out. Definitely one of the best "functional" fitness sites on the web and a great resource for good workout ideas...

http://www.crossfit.com/

Stretching For Health & Fitness

From eDiets.com:

(by Gary Matthews)

Lack of flexibility is now seen to be a major cause of general health problems and sports injury, and it is being linked to everything from stress, back pain and even osteoarthritis. It also means that nagging injuries, especially around your joints take longer to heal.

The latest studies show that up to 60 percent of the general population with bad backs and knees have tight hamstrings and hips, and the main cause is a lack of flexibility.

Active-Isolated Stretching (AI)

Olympians have been employing Active-Isolated Stretching (AI) now for about 10 years, but it has only recently been brought to the public's attention.

I have used this technique on my clients for quite a while now with great success, while adding renewed life and spring to tired muscles. AI stretching prevents injury, as conventional stretching can cause real harm such as muscle pulls and tears.

AI stretching does what stretching is supposed to do; it transports oxygen to sore muscles and quickly removes toxins so recovery is faster. It also works as a deep massage technique because it activates muscle fibres during the actual stretch.

How To Stretch

Before stretching, dress in loose clothing and try to acquire a five-foot length of rope and tie a loop in the end. The purpose of this is to loop the end of rope around the exercising appendage to squeeze the last couple of inches of stretch from the exercise.

Find a comfortable place to stretch; either on your bed, a carpeted floor, or on a mat.

Isolate the muscle or group you want to stretch then contract the muscle opposite. This causes the isolated muscle or group to relax straight away and when it does it's ready to stretch.

Gently and quickly stretch the isolated muscle until it can't be stretched any further. Now give yourself a gentle pull with your hands or rope. Go as far as you can and then hold the stretch for no more than two seconds then release, do this for a total of five repetitions on the isolated muscle or group.

The reason for just a 2-second stretch is because when a muscle realizes that it is being forced into a stretch it contracts to protect itself from being overstretched.

If you can beat this contraction, you'll be well on the way to a greater range of motion.

Remember to hold for no more than two seconds, release, return to the normal position and repeat for the five repetitions. Try not to have any hesitations between stretches and make it as fluid as possible. Try to stretch every day if possible.

Remember to:

# Work one target muscle at a time.
# Contract the muscle that is opposite the targeted muscle, which will relax in preparation of its stretch.
# Stretch it gently and quickly.
# Release it before it realizes that it has been stretched and goes into its protective contraction.

Below are two exercises that can be done even while you are at work to stretch that tension and stress from your body.

1. Lie down on the floor with your buttocks against a wall and your legs straight up the wall. Slowly flex your toes towards your knees, hold for two seconds and repeat five times. This will loosen up your lower back and stretch your hamstrings and hips giving instant relief for tired backs.

This exercise can be done while at the office anytime you start to feel that stress and tension building up.

2. Sitting in a chair and putting one leg out straight, flex your toes toward your knee, now lean toward that foot, stretching your hands towards it and letting your head and shoulders follow, hold for two seconds and repeat five times. This will create a stretch right across your lower back and neck.

A flexible body is:

# More efficient
# More easily trained for strength and endurance
# Able to use a wider range of motion
# More easily balanced and less prone to injury
# Better able to recover more quickly from workouts.

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Gary is the author of several ebooks, including "Maximum Weight Loss in 10 Weeks," and "Maximum Weight Gain in 10 Weeks." Visit Gary's website at www.maximumfitness.com