Ladies....Let's Talk Lifting

Ladies.....Let's talk about lifting. I know that when I first picked up a set of hand weights to add to my Jillian Michaels workout videos after I had my kids I only picked up 1 lbs and 3 lbs weights. I was really afraid to use them too much because I didn't want to end up looking like a man or a woman on steroids. But that is just a myth and everyone especially women over 30 should be lifting weights at least 3 times a week. Yep you heard right!

Throughout the years I have read this in my health books, blogs and even in podcast from top professional personal trainers and they all say the same thing. Lifting weights is the best workout you could add to your daily routine. You don't have to be lifting 100 lbs to make a difference. Start with 1 lb weights and keep increasing when you feel like is it getting too easy for you and you will see changes if you stick with it.

Here are the top reasons to pick up those weights:

1) You will lose body fat. Muscles burn more calories, which then speeds up metabolism and in turn you will lose fat.
2) You will gain strength without bulking up. You get toned and lean.
3) You decrease your risk of osteoporosis (biggy for those entering pre-menopause or menopause) Weight lifting helps maintain strong/dense bones.
4) You will improve your athletic performance/abilities.
5) You will be physically stronger.
6) Reduces risk of injury, back pain and arthritis. If your used to lifting things all the time, tasks like cleaning out the garage or moving boxes around will not cause injuries because your body is already used to it.
7) Reduces risk of diabetes because it improves the way you process sugar.
8) Reduces risk of heart disease because you will lower cholesterol, blood pressure etc...
9) It's never too late to start. You can begin at any age, there is no age limit to this!
10) Improves attitude and fights depression. You ever notice that after a workout even though you may feel tired, there is this high. Lifting weights will do the same and help regulate your hormones and how your body deals with stress and life's little bumps in the road.

You don't necessarily need to have weights to work your muscles either. Using your own body weight to train is cheap and easy. Your legs contain your biggest muscles in your body and best exercise for them is squats. That's one way to train them and it involves nothing but actually doing the work and sticking with it. But I have come up with a list below to show some of the best lifting and resistance exercises to help your body's main groups. Arms, abs and legs:

• squats
• lunges
• overhead press
• bent over row
• superman
• chest fly
• dumbell pullover
• bicep hammer curl
• basic ab crunch
• dead lift
• push up
• planks

You will see that most of these exercises involve using your body weight to strengthen and tone. The only thing you really need beyond that is hand weights. You could add a resistance band and a yoga ball if you find it uncomfortable sitting or laying on the floor for some moves. I did some web surfing to found some visual aids for some of the exercises you could do. You will see then you can do one move at a time or combine moves to workout out different muscle groups.

Always remember that eating healthy, getting enough sleep and drinking plenty of water are important as well. You will not get the results you want by just exercising. It all goes hand in hand. You can incorporate some cardio in between these workouts and remember to rotate muscle groups to give them a rest. You hear it all the time...."Today is leg day"  When is yours? :)