Please help me welcome Claire, one of our guest bloggers this week. She is going to spend two days teaching us about resistance training.
Resistance Training for Women
Okay girls we all know that exercise is good for us! But most of us have very busy lives so we have to find really clever ways to fit physical exercise into our daily routine to lose weight fast and easy.
Most of you have probably been told that cardio workouts are the way forward to help you lose weight and although this is true you have to balance it with a good amount of strength training as well. Now, I know some of you might be reading this thinking, “Do you mean lifting weights? Surely that is what guys do!”
Well while we are on the subject of guys, please don’t think that if you do strength training you will end up looking manly! This is impossible as women don’t have as much testosterone in their bodies naturally compared to men so you can still look feminine and have a hot toned figure to boot!
If you want to know how to lose weight fast and you’re not doing any strength training at the moment, then you are missing out on a key element which will reduce your body fat, make you more lean and help you to burn more calories. Sounds good doesn’t it!
Before we get into the ‘Nitty Gritty’ let me just tell you some of the many benefits that strength (resistance) training can give you:
Stronger Bones – This is very important for women and especially for anyone over 40, as resistance training does not only just strengthen your muscles but it also increases your bone density and can reduce the risk of osteoporosis significantly.
Weight Control – As you gain more muscle your metabolism will also increase throughout the day, so this makes your body more efficient at burning calories. This is because muscle needs a lot of energy, which causes your body to burn more fat to supply this.
Less Injury – By building more muscle around your joints, they will be better protected from injury and your overall balance will also improve.
Hopefully you are now realizing that strength training has to be a part of your exercise program, but I know that some of you are members of a gym and others choose to work-out at home.
That is why resistance training is great as there are so many different options and they all have the same great benefits:
Body weight – There are lots of exercises you can do using your own body weight as resistance. Such as abdominal crunches, leg squats and push-ups. All of these exercises need no equipment as they all use your own body weight as resistance. Perfect for home workouts!
Resistance Bands – Available in a range of colors each providing a different level of resistance, they are not expensive and are widely available. There are lots of different exercises for the whole body as resistance is created from stretching the band.
Free Weights – Whether you are using weights in the gym or at home they are a classic strength training tool.
Weight Machines – Most fitness centers offer a range of resistance machines and some of you may also have them in your home gym.
Keep your eyes open for Part 2: Resistance Training Exercises
Bio
Claire Hampson is the co-founder of the Active Health Academy, a website designed to give its members all the information needed to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. This includes a wide range of information in articles, blogs and free resources to help members find and achieve their weight loss target.
Claire is a fully qualified physiotherapist and together with her fellow co-founder Ben Lewis a personal trainer, weight loss coach and lifestyle consultant, she now dedicates her time to the Active Health Academy. Her passion is to help people both online and offline through weight loss seminars in the UK with her partner Ben.
The Active Healthy Academy is constantly developing new essential resources and products for their members to lose weight in the fastest time possible.
Thank you Claire for a great lesson in resistance training for women!
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