Lift Weights to Lose Weight, Ladies!

Ladies, I want to address a question that I know some of you are struggling with.  "Why am I having trouble losing weight?"  Sadly there is no "one size fits all" answer to this question.  However I have an answer that I think can work for most of you.

Weight Training!! 

"But I don't want to be big and bulky," you say.  You won't!!  Really, you won't look like the man-ladies you see on the covers of Muscle&Fitness and other body building magazines.  First thing, you do not have sufficient levels of testosterone in your bodies, like men do in theirs, to develop large muscle mass.  Second, if you were to have a slightly elevated level of testosterone, for a woman, it would still take years of training to see the results that you are afraid of seeing.  

Weight training is beneficial to sustained weight loss because muscle is energy dependent.  The cellular energy our muscles require is called glucose, which is a simple form of sugar that serves as fuel for the body.  Everything we eat is converted to glucose by our digestive system and after our digestive system has converted our food to glucose, our body will either use it as cellular energy or store it as body fat.  One way to keep the body from storing glucose as body fat is to have enough lean body mass, or muscle, to efficiently use all the glucose produced.  

Another benefit of weight training in regards to weight loss is an increase in your metabolism.  A pound of lean muscle burns about 4 times as many calories per day as a pound of body fat.  So promote and build lean muscle mass and you will burn more calories per day.

Your Weight Training Workout

Weight training doesn't have to be scary.  Weight training doesn't have to be fancy.  If you have never weight trained before, I would start you off with something like this...

Weight Training Program for Beginners

weight day, cardio day, rest day and repeat

Warm-up | 10 minutes

get your blood flowing and feel your body temp rising with full-body movements

- body weight squats, jump rope, arm circles, lunges, etc.

Balance Work | 2-3 minutes

balance is important to keep your body in natural alignment

Working Super Sets | 2 sets / 8-12 reps each

- the weight should challenge you for all reps

- if 12 reps can be performed without challenge, increase weight

- perform one set of ea. exercise (a, b, then c) before repeating one more time

- 45 second rest between sets

**please ask someone to show you proper form if you have never performed these exercises**

1a. Bench Push Ups

1b. Leg Press 

1c. Plank

2a. Cable Seated Rows

2b. Good Mornings -or- Dead Lifts

2c. Side Plank

3a. Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press

3b. Assisted Pull Ups -or- Cable Lat Pull Downs

3c. Leg Raises

Stretching and Foam Rolling | 15 minutes

keep your new muscles long and looking sexy!

This workout should get you in and out of the gym in no more then 60 minutes.  Weight training doesn't mean  hours spent at the gym and as you become more efficient, you may be able to finish in 45 minutes.  However, efficient DOES NOT mean skipping your stretching and foam rolling!! 

If you live in or near Overland Park, Kansas, I would be happy to have you as my guest, at the gym where I train, to show you how to properly perform these exercises.  You may contact me through private message on my facebook page (Trainer Jason).  I would love to help you "work toward something greater." -jason b.