Independent Articles & Videos About:

1. Weight Lifting for Women
2. 10 Websites for Women
3. Health, Fitness & Weight Loss

Dispelling the Myths

Attention women: Do you not lift weights because you think it will make you become muscle-bound? Do you only do a couple sets of 15 reps on exercise machines because you only want to "tone"? If so, this article will show you that these and other myths aren't true and also explain why lifting weights using barbells and dumbbells is the best workout possible. As an added bonus, this article also has a workout to help you begin building the body you desire.

Dispelling the Myths
1. Lifting Weights Makes You Muscle-Bound
While strength training will help you build muscle, women simply don't have enough testosterone, a key hormone for building muscle, to become muscle-bound and appear masculine. The muscle you are able to build lifting weights will only improve your appearance and femininity.

2. If You Lift Weights, Do High Reps to "Tone" Your Muscles
Most strength training workouts for women prescribe 2-3 sets of 12 or more repetitions. While higher repetitions have their place in your workout, they do little to improve your appearance. If looking and feeling your best is your goal, most of your workouts should utilize sets of low to moderate repetitions (5-8) for multiple sets. Performing 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps is especially beneficial when dieting, as it is the best rep range to use to ensure you hold onto your muscle. The more muscle you can hold onto when dieting helps you burn fat faster and keep it off once you achieve your weight loss goals. Sets of 12-15 reps will only make you look and feel worse during your diet.

3. You Should Use Machines Instead of Dumbbells and Barbells
While training with machines has its place, such as helping you learn the basics of strength training, workouts using free weights (barbells and dumbbell) are the way to go. Free weight training produces greater benefits than machine only workouts for many reasons with the most important being the fact that it enables you to perform exercises that train many large muscle groups at once. This means you burn more calories for every set you perform and will get better results faster. The following example illustrates this, doing a set of barbell or dumbbell squats trains your calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and abs. Compare this to a popular machine exercise for legs such as leg extensions which targets only your quadriceps. Other benefits of barbell and dumbbell based workouts is that they are superior to machines for improving your strength, balance, and bone density. These benefits become especially important as you get older, since being stronger and maintaining balance will help you better perform daily tasks and decrease the risk of injury from falls. Increasing bone density will help decrease your risk of osteoperosis and its related complications.

4. You Must Lose Weight First Before You Lift Weights
Last but not least is the myth that you should lose weight before you start lifting weights. This myth exists because women often become discouraged when they diet and lift weights since the weight loss that occurs isn't reflected on the scale. This is because the weight lost is body fat, not the muscle you need to stay healthy. Lifting weights while dieting will help you keep the muscle you have ensuring the weight you lose is body fat. Studies confirm this showing that combining aerobic exercise, dieting, and strength training leads to greater losses of body fat and weight than when you only diet or diet and do aerobic exercise.

Getting Started
Below is a workout that will help you build the body you desire. It's a 3-day a week workout that should be performed on alternating days, Monday, Wednesday, Friday for example. Each workout includes exercises for the entire body, and uses sets of 8 reps to help you burn as many calories as possible at each workout while building, or at a minimum, holding onto your hard earned muscle when dieting. Combine this workout with 2-3 days of aerobic exercise and a proper diet and you will get the best results of your life.

Guidelines
1. Always use correct technique. If you need any of the exercises explained to you, consult with a qualified personal trainer. If one isn't available there are many web sites that give animated demonstrations of correct exercise technique. One good source is http://www.exrx.net.

2. Use a weight that you can perform for 2-3 more reps than what is prescribed. There is no need use a weight that causes you to 'fail' at the end of each set. You should leave the gym feeling energized, not exhausted.

3. Increase the weight used when you can do 2-3 more repetitions than the 8 prescribed on the last set of a given exercise. Only increase the weight used if you can do so without sacrificing proper technique.

4. Start a new routine after doing this one for 4-6 weeks. This will help keep your progress on track and keep your workouts enjoyable.

5. Lift weights before aerobics. If you want to do an aerobic workout on the same day you lift weights, that's fine. Just make sure to do it after you lift. This ensures you have ample energy to perform all of your exercises with correct form.

6. The exercises in the workout below are divided into groups (A1/A2, B1/B2, etc.). Each group is to be performed one after the other with about a minutes rest between sets for the total number of sets given. Once you have completed all of the prescribed sets for each exercise in a group, move on to the next group of exercises after 1-2 minutes rest. Doing the workout this way burns more calories, and you'll accomplish more in less time. Also, if you are just getting into shape you may need more than a minutes rest between sets and groups of exercise. If this is the case, rest for as long as you need in order to perform the exercises with proper form, decreasing the amount of rest as your conditioning improves until you reach 1 minute.

Below is an example of how this workout is to be performed.

* A1 Lunges: Set 1
* Rest 60 seconds
* A2 Dumbbell Bench Press: Set 1
* A1 Lunges: Set 2
* Rest 60 seconds
* A2 Dumbbell Bench Press: Set 2
* Rest 60 seconds
* A1 Lunges: Set 3
* Rest 60 seconds
* A2 Dumbbell Bench Press: Set 3
* Rest 60 seconds and move onto the next group of exercises.

The Workout
Monday
Exercise Sets Reps Rest Between Sets
A1 Lunges 3 8 60 sec
A2 DB Bench 2 8 60 sec
B1 Leg Curl 3 8 60 sec
B2 DB Row 2 8 60 sec
C1 Crunches 3 8 60 sec

Wednesday
Exercise Sets Reps Rest Between Sets
Seated Row 3 8 60 sec
Stiff Leg DL 2 8 60 sec
Inc DB Fly 3 8 60 sec
Dumbbell Squat 2 8 60 sec
Back Extension 3 8 60 sec

Friday
Exercise Sets Reps Rest Between Sets
DB Shldr Press 2 8 60 sec
DB Step-Ups 3 8 60 sec
Reverse Fly 2 8 60 sec
Calf Raise 3 8 60 sec
Reverse Crunch 3 8 60 sec

Physicallyelite.com

Strength Training and Weight Loss

So you've started out on your weight loss journey. Congratulations on making the first steps. By now, you will have looked at your nutritional needs and added some sort of cardio such as walking, swimming or a fitness class to become more active. It's time now to make that daunting step into weight (or resistance) training.

There is a common fear among some people, especially women, that if they were to start weight training they will start to look like the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. Truth of the matter is, those kind of results only happen when you specifically train for them.

5 good reasons to add a weight training program to your exercise program:

* It strengthens weakened joints, making them more stable and less injury-prone

* It not only works the muscles - it also strengthens bones

* Results are fast - regardless of age & sex. Your strength can increase by up to 72% in the first 4 weeks

* It not only improves the overall tone of your body, it will also improve your posture - which will help in making you look slimmer

* It helps to burn kJ faster. Lean muscle tissue is 17-25 times more active than fat. This means you will burn more kJ even at rest! By adding 1-2kg of muscle to your body - you'll burn an extra 290-418kJ a day

When you first start a weight program, don't be disheartened if you gain a couple of kilos. It is often said that Lean Muscle Tissue weighs more than fat. Do not listen to this hype. 1kg of fat weighs the same as 1kg of muscle - muscle tissue is more toned and compact than fat so you will start to look much slimmer.

If the scales are not moving, don't despair. Weighing yourself is not your only means of tracking you progress. Several other ways exist to help keep track of your progress and find out if your gain is muscle or fat.

* Measure yourself. Get out a tape measure and measure various parts of your body - common areas to include are hips, waist, thighs [mid and top], bust/chest, arms, calves & stomach. You won't need to measure yourself every week - once every 4 weeks is usually best, as you won't see much of a difference on a week-to-week basis.

* Use an article of clothing to help measure your progress. That pair of jeans or skirt that is a little tight is perfect.

If you know absolutely nothing about weights and their proper use it is best to visit your local gym and see the staff there. They will show you exactly what to do and even draw up a program for you if you wish. If you are at school, visit your PE department and ask one of your teachers to help you out. Most high schools have their own weights area for student use. They can show you what you need to do, how to do it and help you keep track of your progress.

If seeing someone or exercising with someone is intimidating for you (or you don't have the money for the gym) you could try an 'at home' video or DVD. You will need to buy some free weights (dumbbells or barbells) check out the program before you buy any equipment. A couple of things to remember if you go this option:

* Watch the video before you actually start participating. This way you can see what you will be doing and the equipment needed to participate.

* Make sure the instructors give a "beginners option". This means there should be someone in the group using no weights - follow them until you are comfortable and confident with the program to add weights. In addition, there should be a section at the beginning of the video (or DVD menu) the focus on showing you the proper form and technique of the lifts required.

* When you first start using the weights, if at anytime, the weights become too heavy for you, STOP. Change to a smaller weight or revert to the beginners' option. The old saying "No pain, no gain" is completely outdated - you can do more damage then good. Listen to your body, it'll tell you if it isn't coping.

* Another point to keep in mind - the video/DVD should have a cardio/warm-up section at the start - this is important because you shouldn't start a weights session with cold muscles. A warm-up should last between 5-15mins and include gentle aerobic activity. Some programs alternate between cardio and weights workouts but it is important that the starting warm-up gets the heart beating. If you don't feel that it is good enough or you want to make sure you warming up properly - go for a walk [15mins minimum] before you start the session.

* On that same note, make sure that the video/DVD has a "cool down" at the end of the session. This can include a number of things, most usually include mini Pilates/Yoga like sessions at the end to stretch out the muscle groups.

* Aim for good technique when every time. Don't try to keep up with the instructors. If you need to take a break or slow a section down then do it. You want to get healthy not injured!

Weights not your thing? Going on holiday?

Try using resistance bands. These bands are usually used by people in rehab or older people who can't lift weights. They give the same kind of workout as actual weights but they tend to be a little easier on you.

The added bonus with resistance bands is that if you go away for a holiday or for the weekend to visit family, etc they are easy to pack into your bag so you don't have to miss out on your workouts. They also weigh less and don't take up much space in the suitcase. Add in a daily walk or swim and you've got your cardio covered as well, so there's no need to 'slack off' while abroad.

Chyna Dolores is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers.

Cholesterol and Women

Cholesterol and Women

Cholesterol is becoming a serial killer and targeting women too. With the recent survey it was confirmed that every year almost 500,000 American women dies due to high cholesterol and its related disease. Nowadays men and women are going head to head in terms of cholesterol level and giving each other a tough fight. Earlier times it was only men who were at the risk of high cholesterol but now with changing lifestyle and eating habits women are too catching up. Approximately there are 56 million American women who are at the stage of having high cholesterol. This sudden increase has created a rage among women as it is going at very high speed.

American Health Association has confirmed these statistics and also stated that with these changing trends now women are under more threat in comparison to the men. Women usually have higher High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) in their body in comparison to men. This HDL is said to be good cholesterol but ones this cholesterol starts falling Low Density Lipoproteins is on raise. This usually happens at the time when women start consuming unhygienic and fatty diet. So they are always advised to do constant exercises and body movements in order to be fit and in shape. Cholesterol generally rises in the women body during and after the pregnancy. In pregnancy women are advised to go in for healthy and rich diet but they take it as misconception and starts consuming fatty and oily diet. However it is good to intake them but they should be accompanied with exercises.

This consumed fat gradually settles at the arteries and its surrounding walls resulting in cardiovascular disease. After pregnancy in order to gain health and fitness women are advised to consume more food. This again uncontrolled and unhygienic diet is the road towards heart disease. Experts always advise women to do constant exercises and body movements so that the extra fat settled around arteries gets burned. It has been noticed that waist, thighs and biceps are the major areas where the fat settles. So it is wise for women to do exercises targeting these areas.

So if you're pregnant women or recently gave a birth to a baby then this is the time to pull up your socks and gear up for some body exercises. Hard work and exercise at this time is the road to healthy life and happy living.

Author is experienced health expert.

10 Great Websites for Women

The web is now full of websites that are targeted for women. What is a girl to do, so many websites, so little time? Here are great ten sites that you should be sure to check out:

1) www.4woman.gov/- A health website for women. Start to pay attention to what you are eating and your exercise habits, feel the difference in your natural energy.

2) www.Womenandco.com- A great website for women to get a financial life. It is never too soon or too late to take control of your financial future. Turn the cha-ching into bling bling.

3) www.Womensenews.org- A wonderful resource on finding out what is going on for women in the news. Their tagline is "bridging the gender gap every day" that says it all.

4) www.Barbarak.com- Barbara K. has designed high quality tools specifically for women. The tools are less intimidating and the website answers some of the "everything you wanted to know, but where afraid to ask" questions.

5) www.RedDressInk.com- Fun, urban, and hip books full of guilty pleasures for today's single woman. The books are perfect to snuggle in with a glass of wine. Cheers! 6) www.LadiesWhoLaunch.com- If you are a woman in business or thinking of starting a business, this is a great resource. Find other women to connect with and get the weekly profiles of other business women.

7) www.Whitehouseproject.com- A site for women who are interested in getting into politics. The elections provided how vital the voices of women are in the political arena.

8) www.Woodhull.com-The Woodhull Institute was founded by feminists as the first is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization that provides ethical leadership and professional training for women. The institute retreat center is located in Ancramdale, NY.

9) www.Modernmom.com- Created for the modern mom. The site is packed with topics such as health and wellness, tips, advice and so much more. There are Modern Mom clubs around the county so that moms can unite.

10) www.BudgetFashionista.com- For the woman who has high-end taste but a low-end budget. It does not have to cost a full pay check to look good, it is all about the right choices and how you work it.

Yolanda Shoshana (Shoshi) is a life strategist, consultant, speaker, and artist. Shoshi is an expert woman booster and founder of, Center of Female Empowerment(sm), a learning center launching in 2005 that uses multidisciplinary avenues to help master their lives.

Weight Lifting - What Every Beginner Should Know!

Here are a few things that beginners should know about weight lifting.

First you put good strain on your joints as well as your bones when you lift weights. This strengthens your bones. Strong bones protect our bodies against breakage and osteoporosis.

Another important point about weight lifting is that as your muscles increase in size your body becomes more shapely and firm - more attractive.

Weight lifting also helps you more vigorously perform your aerobic exercise, which in turn will increase your cardiovascular endurance and help your heart. The reason you are able to perform at a higher level is the weight lifting has increased your muscular strength, and therefore your ability to tolerate more intense exercise.

Weight lifting also gives you nice after effects to your metabolism. By adding muscle to your body through weight lifting, you likely will increase your metabolic rate. If you increase your metabolism you increase the amount of fat burning enzymes in your body. This means you'll burn more body fat even at rest! What a great bonus!

When you lift weights you should find the right weight that allows you to do 8-12 repetitions of the same movement with the same weight. If you are able to repeat it more than 12 times the weight is too light for you. If you can't do at least 8 reps the weight is too heavy.

This 8-12 repetition practice is called a set. A beginning weight lifter should only be doing one or two sets of any weight lifting movement at one time.

Beginners often forget to breathe when they lift weights, which is dangerous because it can elevate your blood pressure. You should concentrate on inhaling on the eccentric or lowering phase of the lift and exhale on the concentric or lifting phase of the lift.

When weight lifting, you should always work your largest muscles first. Smaller muscles get tired faster. If they tire too quickly they can't help you work your large muscles. The first things you are going to work are your chest, back, shoulders and thighs. Then you do weight lifting exercises for your arms, abdominals and calves last. If you're new to weight lifting, I would suggest picking 6-8 exercises that covers all the major body parts above. Perform these exercises 2-3 times per week making sure you allow at least 48 hours between workout sessions, so your body has time to recover.

Good Luck!

Weighting it Out - Your Guide to Using Weight Lifting to Lose Weight

Weight lifting helps achieve weight loss goals because it helps boost your metabolism, which generates additional fat burning enzymes, and your body subsequently burns more fat.

There is some conflicting information on weight lifting and weight loss goals, however.

One expert has stated that if a person is more than 25 pounds overweight that they should set the weight training aside or make it very minimal until aerobic and other forms of exercise have gotten them within 25 pounds of their ideal weight.

The reason that extreme obesity and weight lifting don't work well for weight loss is because obese people often tend to add muscle easily while they in turn resist losing weight.

What some weight loss and weight lifting gurus tell these obese folks is to concentrate their exercise and weight loss efforts in the realm of aerobic exercise until they have gotten their weight down to less than 25 pounds over their ideal body weight.

At this point they can then add the weight lifting to their weight loss and exercise regimen. A person, for example, who is 40 pounds overweight, is recommended to do 30-45 minutes of aerobic activity six days each week. It is further suggested that their weight loss exercise regiment be two different forms of aerobic exercise practiced on alternate days.

Once they get to within 24 pounds of their ideal weight then they can cut their aerobic exercise back to four days a week and use the other two days for weight lifting. This is considered the ideal weight training and weight loss method.

Health & Exercise

The most important thing you need to know is that exercise is a natural activity that is required in order to stay healthy. The human body was not made for a sedentary lifestyle. Think about this. Most of us, as we age and become absorbed in our careers, simply ignore the physical needs of our bodies.

Research is providing some interesting results with respect to fat loss, muscle mass and general health. For example, did you know that high intensity cardio can burn more calories in the long term than long bouts of low intensity exercise? Do you realize that each pound of muscle you carry burns approximately 50 calories per day whether or not you exercise?

As always, before you start any new exercise program, please check with your doctor first. If you are currently sedentary, overweight or simply out of shape, jumping into a demanding exercise program may not be a good idea. Once you are declared good to go then read on to get started.

New Cardio Ideas
Cardio isn't just about slogging away on the treadmill, stairmaster or exercise bicycle anymore. While low level cardio can certainly play a role in your exercise routine, it is probably not optimal in terms of achieving your goals in a timely manner. A new style of cardio, called high intensity interval training (HIIT), is king.

HIIT involves performing regular cardio activities at extremely high intensities for short periods of time. HIIT can be performed using activities such as rowing, cycling, sprinting and stair climbing. For example, after warming up on your exercise of choice go as fast as you can for 30 seconds. When 30 seconds have past, then go slow and recover for 2 minutes. Repeat these fast and slow intervals from 5 to 7 times.

Although this sounds easy, you will find this is a very advanced training technique. You may need to work up to this over several weeks by performing standard cardio training with brief intervals of intensity. You will certainly stress your heart and your respiratory system with HIIT training. In fact, this new style of cardio, while short, maximizes your cardiovascular fitness adaptations.

Resistance Training
While a complete encyclopedia of weight lifting exercises is too comprehensive to include here, you should know that resistance training is one of the best ways to gain or retain both muscle mass and bone density. Why is this important? Muscle mass is responsible for most of your resting metabolic activity. It is also what makes you look fit, shapely or sexy.

A common concern for women is that they don't want to look too bulky. This is generally not something you have to worry about. You will find that even men, if they are not using steroids or other illicit methods, have a hard time putting on an appreciable amount of muscle mass. Another concern for women is that if they put on muscle the scale weight may rise!

It is very important that you learn the difference between total weight and how lean you are. Putting on muscles will almost never make you look bad, but covering your muscles with fat will. What you want to do is lose the fat while retaining the muscle -- something which is not easy to do. In general, if you diet to lose weight, you lose both fat and muscle, which reduces your metabolism and makes it increasingly difficult to achieve the body you desire.

Although adding muscles is somewhat easy in the very beginning, it takes a lot of time and effort to build up muscles. However, just remember that for every pound of muscle you put on and maintain, you will be able to safely eat another 50 calories per day without gaining weight. Of course, you will likely want to adhere to appropriate nutritional guidelines.

To summarize, add resistance training to your exercise regimen. It is okay if you use machines, especially at first, but if possible learn to use free weights. Make sure that you know the proper form for the exercises you do and focus on compound movements where possible. For example, squats, chin ups, bench presses, rows and deadlifts are all great exercises that will work multiple large muscle groups at one time. If you follow this advice you will find it easy to put on and maintain reasonable amounts of muscle in a relatively short period of time.

Rest & Recovery
If you are working hard to put on muscle mass, which most men and some women are, then you need to realize that you gain muscle only when you aren't in the gym. Muscles grow in response to work, but only if you feed them the appropriate nutrients and give them time to recover appropriately. Working out every day or performing long bouts of cardio will probably not help you achieve your goals!

Max Haaksman works for a small private think tank organization. In his spare time he writes on a variety of topics for his public hobby site www.topicguru.net.

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