Workout for Women

In a society where we want everything quickly, fitness programs and workout routines attempt to give you exactly what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, changing your body is a journey. It is a process that takes both time and energy.

The good news is that the changes you make today will have a significant impact on all your tomorrows. This means that even small additions to your daily routine can improve your overall health, improve your cardiovascular fitness and reduce your potential for diseases.

Women have slightly different needs for fitness programs and workouts than do men. Women more often are searching for workouts that will increase their lean muscle mass, change some of their bodily contours that they aren’t so in love with and that will improve their energy levels and help them to lose weight.

Each of these goals can be accomplished, and more often with the same workout programs without doing something different for each of your different goals. Women should incorporate two different factors into their workout programs to achieve any goal they may have.

The first factor is weight lifting. Before you start running away, screaming you don’t want to spend hours at the gym lifting heavy weights and looking like Mrs. Universe, let me assure you that you don’t need hours, heavy weights or will ever look like Mrs. Universe unless you have every intention of doing so.

Did you know that you don’t need many extra weights to do the kind of workout that will improve your balance, coordination, reduce your potential for osteoporosis and build lean muscle where you didn’t even know you had muscle? You are carrying around most of the weight you already need to workout.

Think about this . . . your legs do most of the work of carrying your body weight every day. You can use that weight to your advantage to sculpt your upper body without ever going to the gym.

Toning your muscles will help to increase your calorie burn during the day, help you to lose weight, improve your balance and help you move with more self-confidence.

When you start any strength training you’ll find that your muscles get tired and sore. But push past this initial challenge and you’ll reap rewards you thought were only for those 20 year olds. You should also remember to change the strength training movements you do every couple of weeks to work other muscles in your body.

The second factor in a workout program is cardiovascular fitness, or training your heart and burning a few calories. To accomplish this aspect of your workout program you’ll want to do anything that increases your heart rate that you enjoy, with a few rules.

Do the workout so your heart rate does increase. You want to work with some intensity and not a strolling pace.

Stretch afterward to cool down and improve your flexibility to reduce the potential for injury.

Do more than one cardiovascular exercise through the week. Pick out 2 or 3 things that you enjoy doing – like the elliptical trainer, walking and biking. This will keep your body from becoming accustom to the workout and keep you mentally engaged and interested because you aren’t doing the same thing all week long.

When you incorporate both of these factors in your workout programs you’ll find that you are losing fat, moving easier, have more energy every day and even sleep better at night!

Resources:

Women’s Health: The Best New Exercises for Every Part of a Woman’s Body

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/best-workout-for-women#.

Women’s Health: Best Workout for Your Body Type

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/best-workout-for-your-body-type

Shape: The 10 Best Exercises for Women

http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/10-best-exercises-women

Men’s Health: 6 Workouts that Really Work for Women

http://www.menshealth.com/fit-for-summer-challenge/exclusive-content/6-workouts-really-work-women

Woman’s Day: Workout Routines

http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/workout-routines/

Women’s Health: The Best Strength Training for Women