by Erica Green

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

Women are bombarded with headlines that read, "3-minutes to rock had abs" or "A faster way to blast fat." Cutting through these attention grabbers and finding out the truth for real women is the hard job. From cardiovascular exercise to weight training, the options for exercise are numerous, but many women have avoided weight training for years. Weight training provides women with several health benefits, and it's easy to get started.

Benefits
1. Physically Stronger: Starting and maintaining a weight training program can make a woman physically stronger and less dependent on others. Individuals who weight train are less likely to sustain an injury from routine exercise. Weight training builds stronger connective tissues and joint stability. These help prevent injuries.
2. Loss of body fat: Many women worry about bulking up and gaining weight. Actually, weight training will help you lose fat. In a study by the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts women that trained two to three times a week for two months gained nearly two pounds of muscle, but lost 3.5 pounds of fat. Metabolism will increase helping women burn calories all day long.
3. Reduced risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and diabetes: Research has shown that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density by 13 percent in six months. This may help in the fight against osteoporosis. Weight training can help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. It may also help lower blood pressure. Weight training can improve the way a woman's body processes sugar, which could help reduce the risk of diabetes.

Getting Started
Here are a few tips to get started on your weight training journey. For general fitness, concentrate on one or two exercises that focus on each of the seven major muscle groups. Start at a weight that feels comfortable. Repetition is key when toning muscles and should range between 10 and 15 per exercise.

Before you start weight training, warm up with a brisk walk or jog. It is important for your muscles to be warm before you start lifting to prevent damage. As a beginner, you may want to consult a personal trainer who can design a weight training program specifically for you, and show you how to properly use all weight machines. It's also important to allow your muscles to rest and recover. Weight training two to three times a week is a good routine. Below are a few suggested exercises for the various muscles groups:

-Chest: bench press, chest press, pushups
-Back: seated row machine, back extensions, lateral pull downs
-Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
-Biceps: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
-Triceps: tricep extensions, dips, kickbacks
-Lower Body: squats, lunges, leg press calf raises
-Abdominals: crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists

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