There are many advantages to lifting weights for women. Weight lifting, a form resistance training, helps to increase bone density. It also builds stabilizer muscles that help to prevent future injuries. You can also increase metabolism and burn body fat. It can also increase well-being and overall happiness.
It is important to decide that weightlifting should be part of your daily routine. It is time to educate yourself about how to properly form, train and maintain your muscle mass. You will not see the results that you want if you just lift weights at the gym.
Begin by familiarizing yourself with major muscle groups, such as the pectorals, chest, shoulder and deltoids, trapezus, lattimus Dorsi, trapezus, core, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles.
Compound movements are those that involve two or more of the major muscle groups. These will help you introduce muscles to your weightlifting routine. They will also strengthen stabilizing muscles. This will enable you to work more muscles in a shorter time.
Start with an all-body routine. This will allow you to exercise all major muscles groups in one workout. You can choose one or two exercises for each large muscle group, and then do 3-4 sets with 8-12 repetitions. This workout will be done three to four times per week. Between workouts, you should rest at least one full day. This is an example for a complete body workout:
Chest – Incline Bench Press
Military Shoulder Press, Side Lateral Raises by Deltoids
Biceps: Bicep Curls and Concentration Curls
Tricep Pressdowns
Back – Seated Cable Row, Lat Pulldowns, Bent Over Rows
Legs – Squats, Lunges
Hamstrings – Hamstring Curls
Calves – Calf Raises
Abs – Crunches, Reverse Crunches
You will begin to notice a gradual increase in strength after 4-6 weeks. The six-week mark is when you are able to do an upper body/lower back split workout. In this case, the upper part of your body gets worked on one day and the lower portion on another. This will allow you to use more muscles, perform isolation moves or exercises that only utilize one muscle group.
Perform each upper- and lower-body workout two times per week. Below is an example.
Upper Body
Chest – Bench Press, Cable Flye
Deltoids- Shoulder Press, Upright Rows
Back – Bent Over Rows, Lat Pulldowns
Triceps, Skullcrushers and Tricep Pressdowns
Biceps — Concentration Curls and Preacher Curls
Lower Body
Quads – Squats, Walking Lunges, Seated Leg Extension
Hamstrings – hamstring Curls, Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Calves – Calf Raise, Donkey Calf Raise
Abs Crunches on Stability Ball Oblique Crunches
On Monday and Thursday, you can do an upper-body workout and a lower-body workout.
After several months of alternating an upper/lower weight lifting regimen, you will be able to further segment your workout into different muscle groups.