Toning and weight loss using weights – also for women

Most people will recognize themselves in their struggle toward weight loss; everyone wants to be in good shape, slim and firm in body, but not necessarily built like a bodybuilder. This is a very common perception among women. It is a pity because most would be able to achieve results they dream of if they only trained hard with the right mix of techniques and equipment. This article will try and kill the macho myth about weight loss and toning through weight lifting for women.

Maybe you are going to the gym right now, but don not feel the results are coming fast enough. Exercising with weights is an excellent form of training for both men and women to develop that strong feminine or masculine body, the thing is to do it the right way.

Women have a lot to learn from the men here, you are supposed to sweat and tire yourself for real for the weight loss and toning to take place. Most women are afraid to grab for the heavier weight and often train to lightly. Anatomically there are obviously great differences between men and women, but that does not mean our muscles should be trained in the same manner. You do not have to worry about looking like a bodybuilder with large bulging muscles. It is all due to the hormones; men have twenty to thirty times more testosterone than women, and will hence build muscles a lot quicker. In addition, women have genetically more fatty tissue than men and their bodies have a lower percentage of muscle tissue.

Therefore there is no reason why women should hold back in the gym and not push it to the max. On the contrary, it is very important for women wanting greater toning and weight loss to use weights to stimulate muscle growth. This is in essence what drives your body to burn fat and get more shaped. Women can and should also build their bodies and there is a natural physical limit to it, so go for it.

Three great principles developed in America are important for you to remember when it comes to weight lifting. The first is Use IT or Loose It: If you do not keep your muscle power constant it will vanish over time. In other words you have to maintain it. The second is The Specificity Principle: You only get good at the exercises that you actually do. If you train a lot, but very one sided, you may have many weak areas in your body. The third principle is called We Are All Different because your genetical composition plays a part. Even though everyone can build muscles the results and time frame until results show themselves will vary greatly. You might feel stressed if your training partner develops a lot faster than you do, but do not fret; keep it up and the results will come eventually.

As always, you have to make sure your diet is healthy and nutritional as well. Building muscles in combination with a lot of cardio training to loose weight is very tolling on the body. Important also is to get a good night sleep every night, these things are intertwined and none can be negotiated.

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