When it comes to exercise routines, it seems that people are either very excited about lifting weights or avoid them completely. Strength training is a very important part of your exercise routine, helping to protect your body as well as reshape your figure. Since your goals maybe different than someone else’s goals when it comes to fitness, personalising your strength training workout will be essential to your success – and to your health goals.

Why Strength Training Matters

Strength training is associated with big men with big muscles, but this is not the only result you can expect. In fact, more people are turning to strength training to help in other fitness goals. Lifting weights will help you build muscle, but this muscle is then able to burn more calories as a result, helping you slim down. Strength training will also help those who want to become stronger for everyday activities while also helping to improve balance to prevent injuries. Those who want to change the shape of their body (and not necessarily their weight) will find that weight training is a great way to challenge themselves and get the results they really want.


Women and Weights

Women seem to be a group of exercisers who avoid strength training, but this sort of exercise is crucial for female bodies. When you lift weights, you will be able to create more strength in the muscles which support the bones of the body. For women who might be prone to bone weakness, this will help protect their bodies. In addition, women who strength train have been studied and it seems the training with weights actually increases their bone strength – especially important for those with a family history of osteoporosis.

Strength training also helps women become stronger which will help to prevent injury, help with pregnancy and childbirth, and to help keep muscles sleek. Just because you lift weights doesn’t mean you will bulk up. More muscle will help women burn fat like men do.

Defining Your Goals

To begin, you will want to look at your health goals. Here are a few common goals:

• Bulk up
• Lose weight
• Reshape your body

Bulking up with strength training will take some work and some heavy weights. For this goal, you will want to focus on fewer repetitions per exercise, but heavier weights. Your goal should be to increase your weight each and every time you work out. While you might start out small, you should be increasing weight nearly every workout and working out until your muscles can not do anymore.

When you want to lose weight, you will want to focus on heavy weights, but you will want to use more repetitions for each exercise. This will help you keep your muscles from getting too bulky in the process. Think about doing at least twelve repetitions per exercise.

And for reshaping your body, the amount of weight is not nearly as important when you are strength training. You might want to use the lightest weight you can as you want to challenge your muscles, but not to the point of fatigue or muscle breakdown. Of course, if you find that the weights don’t seem to be making you tired at all, you may want to increase your weights after a while.

What Weights Help Shape Your Body?

There are a number of different products available for strength training, so here are the main items used today in workouts as well as a brief description of their uses.

• Free weights – These weights work well for any workout and can be replaced with heavier versions when you get stronger.
• Dumbbells – By adding weight plates to these bars, you will change the intensity of your workout. Can be more convenient and cheaper than free weights.
• Kettle balls – With a handle on a heavy ball, these kettle balls work well for lower body work, but have a small range of motion for exercises.
• Resistance bands – When you want a portable strength training solution, resistance bands are an ideal fit. These bands can be adjusted for your strength training needs.
• Medicine balls – Weighted balls are great for working with a partner during a strength training workout.
• Body weight – In the beginning, until you learn the exercises, you may want to use just your body weight. This will allow you to still have resistance, but to focus on your form first before your weight.

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