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There are plenty of health benefits for women who regularly lift weights as part of a consistent exercise regimen. The most profound would be that weight lifting strengthens your bones by increasing their density, and therefore reduces the possibility of osteoporosis. This by itself is more than enough of a reason for women to engage in a weight lifting regimen, but there are others as well.

Just as your bones get stronger through weight training, the effects on your overall body and physical health are enormous. Weight training strengthens muscles and tendons, and can even improve cardiovascular conditioning if done in a circuit training method where you complete a number of exercises in successive order with little rest in between. This is a very popular method of training, especially for women, as you can finish your workout in the minimum amount of time. And we all know that time is the one thing that most women complain they never get enough of, and which most say prevents them from regularly exercising.

Once you have taken that initial first step and committed yourself to a workout plan, it is important to know what to do, and how to do it. There are two exercise regimens for your individual preference, and which are designed to suit your time availability.

The first regimen is a total body workout that you would do 2 to 3 times a week, with a rest day in between workouts. If you are new to weight training and don't know what these exercises are, simply go online to www.myfit.ca and hit the EXERCISES heading and you will find every exercise and a short video representation of the movement involved.

I have only included exercises that can be done at home, as well as at a gym, so that you have the flexibility of working out in the comfort of home with your own set of dumbbells. Always remember to use a weight that enables you to complete the desired amount of repetitions, but just barely. If the weight is too light, the results will be negligible. Weights that are too heavy could lead to injury.

Workout 1-Total Body Workout
All exercises are done with dumbbells
Perform 2 to 3 sets of 12 repetitions (reps) per exercise
Sets are to be done one after another (or with little rest) for maximum cardio benefit
Remember to include rest day after every workout day

Squat
Bicep Curls
Straight Leg Deadlift
Bent Over Rows
Calf Raises
Chest Press
Crunches or Leg Lifts
Shoulder Press

Workout 2 is the same as this, but you would train 5 times a week and alternate each day between upper and lower body exercises. For example, your first day would include squats, deadlifts, and calf raises, while the next day would include bicep curls, bent over rows, chest and shoulder presses. Abdominal work (crunches/leg lifts) can be done every other day.

Learn more about this author, Shane Christensen.
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