Weight Lifting For Women!

 Just earlier this week I will admit I was having kind of a down day where I just wasn't feel like the greatest person out there or like I could conquer the world. In fact, I felt more like just being lazy and doing absolutely nothing for the first half of the day. I hadn't slept well, a lot had been going on in my personal life, I was behind on work that honestly the last thing I really REALLY felt like doing was going to the gym and putting in a good workout. Yes, I am admitting that I have days where I just really do not feel like working out and would rather go sulk in my self-pity!

However, 1:00 was starting to roll around which is the time I normally head to the gym and I forced myself to go telling myself that "I'll just go stretch and do some sprints for 20 minutes and call it a day". Once I got there, I knew that I would get much more out of lifting weights then just sprinting on the treadmill (not that there is anything wrong with that). So I put in my headphones, grabbed a set of dumbbells and just started slowly. The more I started to lift, the stronger I felt and I wanted to just keep going! Then it turned into lifting more than I usually do which resulted in pushing myself harder than I normally do. I say all of this because lifting weights is my absolute favorite way to workout, but there are plenty of days where I just don't feel like doing it! Every time I finish though, I am soooo glad I did!

There is a common misconception among women that weight lifting will make females look bulky and big. Ladies, that could not be further from the truth! A Big Mac will make you look bulky and big, but weight lifting will do the exact opposite.

Do you want to lose inches? D you want your body to burn more calories while at rest then it does now? Do you want to feel strong, confident and sexy with a toned body? Then it is time to get going and start lifting! Every time I walk away from a lifting session I ALWAYS feel stronger, tighter and light I just accomplished a goal! Why wouldn't I feel that way knowing I am doing something to increase my metabolism, help with bone density loss, makes my clothes fit better, burns fat, & empowers me!?

The fun part is there are so many different ways to train on weights. To decide which format is best for you, you first need to determine how many days per week you will be strength training (I recommend at least 3x for the best results).

For those who train 3x a week the best options might look something like this:

Day 1: Arms/Shoulders/Abs
Day 2: Back/Chest/Abs
Day 3: Legs/Butt

OR

Day 1: Total Body with emphasize on legs
Day 2: Total Body with emphasize on shoulders
Day 3: Total Body with emphasize on Back

For those who are interested in training 5x a week, you would benefit more from a Split Routine which simply means you split up the muscle groups into different training days of the week. I use this style of training for my own workouts. Your days might look something like this:

Day 1: Legs (Quads & Butt)
Day 2: Shoulders and Triceps (Heavy)
Day 3: Back and Biceps + Abs
Day 4: Shoulders (Light)
Day 5: Legs (Hamstrings & Calves)

I prefer legs broken up and a heavy day on shoulders then a light day since those tend to be the areas on females that kind of define your shape. Another way to break up a split routine looks like this:

Day 1: Back and Abs
Day 2: Legs (heavy)
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Arms and Plyo-metrics for Legs
Day 5 Chest and Abs

You know the sense of pride and accomplishment you feel when you graduated high school or college, finished that big project, landed that first job,got your first place, won an award, etc.? Why not do something every week that gives you that same feeling?! Give it a try and I promise it will be worth it! Happy Lifting :)