Weight training for young women, especially athletes, must be a part of any exercise program, whether they want to lose fat, gain muscle, prevent injuries or improve athletic performance. However, if you walk into any gym, you would most likely see that there are more men than women doing weight-lifting. Because of many myths and stigma associated with weight training, many women avoid or do very little of it.
Types
There are several types of weight training that are beneficial to do. The most common one is free weights, which requires you to control its direction of movement, balance and range of motion. These include dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, clubbells and weighted bars.
Another type is the resistance exercise machines, which usually trains one body part in isolation and in one direction. These often put you in a seated position while you move a body part with very little variation in your workout.
The cable and pulley machine blends the benefits of free weights and machine training, and require you to stand rather than sit while using it.
Benefits
According to Vern Gambetta, director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems, weight training helps increase muscle mass which helps increase your metabolism and fat-burning potential because muscles are the site for fat metabolism. Other benefits include stronger bones and joints, increased physical strength, stability and balance; and improved body movement and control.
Misconceptions
Most women do no weight training because they fear getting bulky like men. However, they lack enough testosterone to stimulate much muscle growth so they would not become larger if they lifted weights.
Warning
If you have never done any weight-lifting before, you should seek out professional help in both exercise techniques and program design from a qualified fitness professional. Never lift more than you are able if you are fatigued, and be sure that all equipment are in proper function and condition before using it.
Expert Insight
If you want to build muscular strength and endurance at the same time, try circuit training, where you do a series of exercises that trains a certain movement pattern or physical ability with very little or no rest between exercises. You can do this anywhere with enough space and you do not need much equipment.
A sample workout with five exercises include dumbbells squats, kettlebells front swings, chest press on a stability ball with dumbbells, bent-over row with dumbbell and kettlebell snatches.
References
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
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