by Viviana Victoriano

Created on: July 15, 2008   Last Updated: July 18, 2008

Women should not be afraid of weight training. On the contrary, they should pursue it as an integral part of a well rounded preventive and rehabilitative exercise program

Women are not genetically made to grow bulky muscles and achieve a body builder's physic by natural means. The female body lacks the amount of testosterone (hormone responsible for increasing muscle size) that men have. So, unless a woman uses anabolic steroids, weight training will only help her get the firm and fit cellulite-free body that she wants.

Some of the benefits of lifting weights are:
* increased lean body mass
* increased metabolism and therefore, increased fat burning capacity
* easier performance of daily activities
* stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments, which helps to prevent injuries
* stronger bones and decreased risk of osteoporosis
* decreased risk of low back pain

I would recommend the following guidelines for women that want to begin a weight training program:

1) It should be progressive in nature. Go slowly and creat a solid foundation. Let your muscles get used to the training load step by step.

2) For beginners, each training session has to provide a stimulus for all the major muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quadriceps (front of leg), hamstrings (back of leg), calves and abdominals.

3) Use mostly free weights such as: dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, tubing, etc.

4) Include 2-3 weight training sessions per week.

SAMPLE TRAINING SESSION
10 Exercises One for each major muscle group
Number of sets per exercise: 2 sets
Number of repetitions per set 12-15
Rest in between sets 30-45 seconds

For your 1st set pick a weight that is challenging, but that will allow you to finish the number of repetitions without extraneous effort. For your 2nd set, increase the weight in about 5-10%. You should finish the repetitions of this set with difficulty.

These are same exercises that I would recommend for each muscle group. For detailed information about motion patterns I strongly suggest you visit www.exrx.net. They have great templates with pictures and explanations that shows you exactly how to perform each exercise.

CHEST-Dumbbell press/Barbell press/Push ups

BACK-Barbell row/Cable pulldown/Bent over dumbbell row

QUADRICEPS-Squats/Lunges/Step ups

SHOULDERS (front)- Shoulder press/Dumbbell front raise

SHOULDERS (side)-Lateral Raise/Upright row

BICEPS - Bicep curls/Preacher bicep curls

TRICEPS - Tricep kickbacks/Tricep Exptensions/Dips

CALVES - Single leg calf raise/Seated calf raise

ABDOMINALS - Crunch/Leg Lifts/Oblique Crunch

When you lift weights always remember:

* Breath. Inhale when you on the eccentric part (when muscle relaxes) and exhale on the concentric part (when muscle contracts).

* Keep your body aligned. When you do exercises standing up, your hips should always be tilted slightly forward and your abs firmly contracted to support your spine.

* Only when you have mastered the movement with the current weight, go ahead and increase it. Never increase more than 5-10% at a time.

* You should do this full body format 2-3 days a week for at least 12 weeks. Then you can start thinking about splitting it. These means working only 2-3 muscle groups per training session but at a greater intensity

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