Effective Weight Lifting Programs for Men

One of the common and popular types of fitness training programs that are proven to be effective in improving the muscles in the body and provide a toned and well-trimmed overall body structure is the weight lifting programs. There are various weight lifting programs that are developed and designed by fitness professionals and trainers to provide men with the well-planned workouts and exercises to ensure maximum effectiveness and good results.

If you want to try weight lifting programs, you can go to gyms for specific programs suitable for the body type you have and your age. You can also consult a fitness professional or trainer to help you develop a specific weight lifting program you can do at home without the necessity of buying bulky and expensive exercises equipments. Simple equipments like barbells and dumbbells, mat and resistance equipments are effective enough to do workouts properly and effectively. Aside from having a more convenient time schedule, it that can be done at home will also save you a lot of money from expensive equipment, gym membership fees, trainer fees and travel expenses.

Weight lifting programs are known to provide a lot of benefits for the individuals doing this type of workouts. This type of workout includes extensive and rigorous training workouts that increase the metabolism of the body and burns a lot of fat therefore improving the cardiovascular system of the body. Through this type of training program, heart problems and diseases can be prevented like heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. Workouts and exercises included not only tones and strengthens body muscles but it also help develop proper body posture and balance therefore preventing bone-related problems like osteoporosis.

There are programs designed to improve a specific part of the body but they can also be integrated together to form an effective and unique training program to develop the entire body.

Everyone have different body structures and needs so to ensure safety and avoid injuries, the best way to do before choosing a program is to consult a professional to help you develop and design a specific weight lifting program that is suitable and appropriate for your capacity and body needs.

Here is a sample weight lifting program I found online that anyone can do at home and uses only simple weight lifting equipment like the dumbbells and are scheduled on weekly intervals.

* Mondays - Dedicated to strengthening and improving muscles in the chest and toning abdomen area. Weight lifting workouts include incline dumbbell presses and incline dumbbell flys for the chest and crunches for the abdomen.

* Wednesdays - Focus on the strengthening and toning of the shoulders and back muscles. Pull-ups and one-arm dumbbell rows for the back muscles and lateral dumbbell raises for the shoulders.

* Fridays - Dedicate this day for improving and strengthening biceps and triceps. For the biceps, standing barbell curls and seated dumbbell curls. For the triceps, overhead triceps extensions.

* Sundays - Dedicated to properly develop and strengthen leg muscles such as squats, leg presses and dumbbell lunges.

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Blank Weight Lifting Chart - A Blank Weight Lifting Progress Chart is the Key to Building Muscles

Are you looking to achieve some great gains in weight training or building muscle? Are you looking for developing your muscle mass faster? Then you have to use a blank weight lifting chart to assess the progress of your weight training.

What are all things you need to fill in the chart? Assume that your aim is to reduce the body fat and build strong muscles within a short period, say three months. You can start filling the blank weight lifting chart as the program progresses. This will help you to assess your progress in regular intervals and also will help you to assess the effectiveness of your workouts you are carrying out.

Before start using the blank weight lifting chart, you make sure that you are setting your goals accurately. This is highly essential to design the perfect training programs. You can even make the sketch of your body in what way you should be after the workouts. This needs to be the first item to be filled in the weight chart. You can see your own dream each and every day in the chart and get motivated to undergo the necessary exercises.

You can include many items when you're keeping records of your training. It can be used to record all your successes in the weight lifting process. You can be proud of these records and it will give you more and more energy in achieving you goal of building muscle mass.

Getting a way to record your training is very easy now. But while selecting your recording method, you have to make sure that it contains all essential information regarding the training process. It should contain all results you expect periodically to have proper comparisons as well.

Start with recording the daily workout activities, then when you've got a whole bunch of progress reports, make up a big chart to display your overall progress.

You can get the blank weight lifting charts from this weight lifting website.

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Benefits of Weight Lifting For Women

I wanted to share the wonderful benefits of weight lifting for women. It's the type of exercises most women avoid and they really shouldn't. These types of exercises can help you drop fat faster, tone up and feel stronger, all while having a feminine body.

Benefit One: You'll burn calories after you workout. When you do cardio activities, once you stop, you stop burning calories. When you're using weights, you'll be burning calories when you're sitting in front of a computer, when you're on the couch watching a movie and even when you're sleeping. Can't say that about cardio.

Benefit Two: The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. I'm not suggesting that you bulk up if you don't want to, but putting on muscle is unnoticeable and the more you have the more calories you'll burn everyday. Your body will burn an extra 60 calories a day. If you put on 5lbs of muscle that means you get to eat a tuna fish sandwich and an apple extra everyday without ever putting any fat on your body.

If you're still scared of putting on muscle, just look at what celebrities do. Before a big role, they pay an expensive trainer to get them to hit weights because it works and it works fast.

Benefit Three: The added strength is a gift you'll never want to give up. No longer will it be a chore to pick up your children or carry in heavy groceries from the car. When you're doing gardening in the summer, it's not a sweaty task to drag around bags of soil. It's easy because you're strong.

These are the main benefits of weight lifting for women. If you were shy about the idea before reading this, you should hopefully be open to it now. Get into the gym and start lifting those weights.

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Bodyweight Exercises Gets the Job Done Faster and Safer Than Weight Lifting

Did you know that most if not all, bodybuilders hate bodyweight exercises? It's true. For some reason, bodybuilders have their own set of rules and procedures that must be followed or else you are not a serious fan of weightlifting...

And the other thing is a great workout with bodyweight exercises is OVER before forty-five minutes. When compared to weightlifting that primarily uses iso exercises, usually takes 45 minutes or more...

And quite frankly, most of us don't have the time or energy to keep up with this inefficient form of exercises anyway...

Let me explain...

I recall when I first started doing bodyweight exercises to lose the fat on my body, it was in an old gym in a depilated building in Seattle -- perhaps you are familiar with these "old" type of workout places before the yuppies moved in.

Anywho, the workout place was packed with serious bodybuilders. And believe me, they didn't like me or approved of my fitness regimen. And they hated the fact that I went in the gym, did my complete bodyweight workout and was out BEFORE they even finished their triceps supersets!

Maybe you have seen those incredibly long and boring sets those bodybuilders do. In fact, next time you go to your gym, take a look at what these guys are doing and notice how long they do it. And sure, some of them have good bodies but I bet you that most don't. They are just big, blessed with genetics but flabby. And quite frankly, nobody has the time for those inefficient bodybuilding workouts anymore. They are for the dinosaurs so to speak.

And there they go, working out their biceps and talking among themselves between sets like some sort of clique. Someone should remind them that they aren't in high school anymore huh? And if they aren't talking, they are just staring at others.

Personally? I think they are bored out of their minds...

And here you are, giving your entire body a complete workout with bodyweight exercises. No exercise belts, no shifting weights, no talking and no creepy guy stares either.

And don't even get me started with the "bodybuilder" look. They have to wear those belts, gloves, proper sweatshirt or baggy pants that went out of style twenty years ago.

And bodyweight exercises are fun! You challenge ONLY yourself to do one more set. It isn't dangerous. You won't get hurt doing pushups, pull-ups or lunges. You get arm pumps, abs workouts, blood moving around and giving your heart and lungs a great workout. Plus, you are giving your body a metabolic boost, which will burn away your fat.

And don't even believe for a minute the tripe the bodybuilders say. You DON'T have to do isolation exercises to get muscles. In fact, I believe and I bet you can ask any fitness expert, isolation exercises that are favored by bodybuilders cause injury.

So if you want to get a complete body workout and get in and out of the gym because you are a busy professional, learn out to create a bodyweight exercise program that will do the job for you. It is way better for your body and can be done is much less time than the weight lifting method favored by bodybuilders...

Discover how you will: Never be confused about effective fat loss again. Get rid of orange peel thighs. Wave goodbye to those cottage cheese arms. . Once and for all, fit back into your old "thin" clothes... AND spend more time with the family because you are not wasting it on useless and boring cardio exercises...

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Different Types of Weight Lifting Workouts - Beginners to Advanced

There are numerous weight lifting workouts available and before you settle in on a specific workout, you must exhaust all your resources and make sure that you have everything considered.

One factor to consider is the difficulty of the workout. If you are just a beginner, you can't expect to simply jump into an advanced workout as you will surely have a hard time. Not to mention that there might be minimal benefits to your body. However if you have been lifting weight for years now, sticking with beginner workouts will just waste your time. Be very honest about what your level is as this is the first step into building muscles.

For beginners, I would recommend doing around four to five exercises that target your whole body, this is probably the simplest to learn and could provide newcomers with some visible benefits. For advanced workouts, weight lifting workouts that involve that target different body parts per day might come in useful. These people have probably about 6 months of experience and their body can take isolation exercises.

Ideally you can divide your workout into three days, first day focusing on chest and triceps, second will be on shoulders and legs and on the third you could probably go abs and ankles.

There is also the kind of workout called pyramids in which you start with a heavy weight and do about 5 reps then slowly make the weight lighter but at the same time increasing your number of reps. It is up to you to decide when you want to stop. Some hardcore weight lifters go to the extent of slowly removing 10 pounds per set until they are left with just the bar.

What I've mentioned above are the just some of the basic weight lifting workouts one can follow. It is important to stick to a certain workout and do it for about 3-4 months before changing. You wouldn't want your body to get used to your workouts that's why you want to rotate it form time to time.

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Common Beginner Weight Lifting Questions

Weight lifting is something that is great for your body. You will gain strength, improve your bone density, and build muscle which will help burn fat off your body. When starting out there are many questions about the process that beginners need answered. Find out the answers to these very common questions.

What does someone need to start a weight lifting routine?

First you should see your doctor. It's important that you are in good health else there might be some complications. You also need some resistance. This can come from your own body weight, dumbbells, bands, machine weights, or free weights. It doesn't matter what it is but you just need something to resist.

How often should you go as a beginner?

This depends on your routine. Start off by just exercising each body part once a week. If you do chest exercises, try to wait about a week before you are doing chest exercises again. This gives you plenty of time to recover.

Should you lift free weights or machine weights?

Free weights tend to be better for you since you will have negative resistance. As a beginner it's best to use machine weights. Most of these force you to use correct form. As you build your strength, you can do either one. You can eventually do both.

What should you eat on a weight lifting routine?

Be sure you cut out junk food and excess calories if you are trying to lose weight. Be sure that you add additional protein as this is needed to gain muscle.

How many repetitions and sets should you do?

Really you should do about 2 or three sets. Don't do more than 10 repetitions. If you can do more than that, increase the weight. You can also add another set to make it a bit harder on you.

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Best Weight Lifting Programs

The best weight lifting starts well before you get to the gym. It starts with choosing a weight-training program that will allow you the best opportunity to gain weight and build muscle mass. Everyone's body is different and therefore a different routine will work best for each individual. Just because a routine works well for someone that doesn't mean it will work well for everyone.

There are some exercises that should be a part of every workout routine. The bench press is one of the most popular weight lifting exercises, and for good reason. The bench press is an amazing chest exercise.

The first part you need to know before you choose a workout routine is to figure out what body type you have. If you struggle to gain weight and build muscle, you probably fit into the category of a hardgainer. Hardgainers work out just as hard and as long as everyone else does. The reason they don't gain weight like everyone else is because they are using the wrong training program.

Their muscles take longer to recover and fully heal in between workouts and they need to choose a training program that allows for this. Most hardgainers are completely unaware that their muscles are slow healers so they just pick any routine. Most routines force them to overtrain and their muscles never fully heal.

A great routine for a hardgainer consists of 3 to 4 hours in the weight room each week. Each one of these workouts should not last any longer than 1 hour. This gives the muscles enough time to rest in between lifts but also triggers significant muscle growth.

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Elbow Pain Weight Lifting - Best Weight Lifting and Bodybuilding Tips to Avoid Injuries & Pain

Most people suffer from elbow pain due to weight lifting. It usually occurs due to over use of tendons during weight training workouts. There are various stretching exercises for cure this pain. It is always advisable to rest between your workout that consequently helps in steady recovery. Healthy nutrition, proper workouts, rest and supplements can easily help you increase muscle mass with ease. Some people succeed to combine all this elements while others fail to execute them and suffer from injuries and pains.

Cardio workouts are considered to be the most beneficial workout for maintaining the fitness levels in your body. There are various types of exercises such as running, swimming, hiking, brisk walking and kick boxing which can be performed regularly for gaining muscle mass. You should always do 10 minutes of cardio before taking up body weight and weight training workouts. After your cardio, you should take up body weight exercises such as push-ups, press-ups, pull-ups, squats, dips etc. You can easily perform these workouts from the comforts of your home. Most people suffer from elbow pain due to weight training exercises. These workouts should be performed after a rigorous warm up session. Lack of heat in your body may lead to joint pains and injuries. It is always advisable to take rest between your workouts.

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Elbow Pain When Weight Lifting

Feeling elbow pain in your weight lifting endeavors can be very annoying and frustrating, let alone maybe downright excruciating. Usually the pain becomes chronic, that is, it seems to never go away. You may be given the advice by a health care professional to rest completely by not lifting weights at all for awhile. Then, you start lifting again and the pain is back. Sometimes just turning a door handle or picking up a small object is painful. First of all, take the mystery out of your ailment; see a doctor for the proper diagnosis. If it is something as serious as a tear, you may only be making it worse by working out.

Typical Causes of Elbow Pain

Typically, elbow pain is caused by injured tendons and is either called tennis elbow or golfer's elbow. Tendons are connective tissue made out of collagen (a type of protein). Tendons usually attach muscle to bone. Tennis or golfer's elbow are generally caused by unnatural torque forces on the elbow and forearm. This means that there is no one single cause. It is not usually the result of a direct weightlifting accident but can be. It is rather usually caused by bad or improper lifting form. Obviously you don't have to play either tennis or golf to be afflicted. Golfer's elbow is sometimes called thrower's elbow. Usually, both are caused by some kind of power overload in the forearm attached to the affected elbow. To know which is which, you need to know where on your elbow the pain is located.

Tennis Elbow

The medical term for tennis elbow is Lateral Epicondylitis. Lateral is a term for anatomical position and means the tendonitis is on the outside of the elbow away from your body. Epicondyle is Latin and refers to the end part of the humerus or upper arm bone. Epi means "upon" and condyle means "knuckle." It hurts where the tendons and muscles attach to the bone area called the epicondyle. There may be a tear or only a strain. Those who suffer from tennis elbow represent about 3% of the population and usually they are between 30 to 50 years of age. The common symptom is pain on the outside of the elbow when having to forcefully grip anything. Sometimes it hurts just to shake hands or use a knife and fork. There may or may not be visible inflammation.

Golfer's Elbow

The medical term for golfer's elbow is Medial Epicondylitis. Medial is a term for the anatomical position and means the tendonitis is on the part inside the elbow closest to your body. Medial Epicondylitis is the inside knuckle of the elbow. Pain can be felt when doing such exercises as chins, curls, rowing, dumbbell flyes and the like. It is usually felt when the wrist is turned inward with an axial motion. There may be no visible swelling.

Personal Anecdote

I once had a job bending over and lifting many 150 lb. monitors from off a pallet then up, over and down into a large box. My back could handle this well enough. It was like doing a combination row-and-deadlift with a twist to the side. My hands and forearms were about 4 feet from each other to grip and press the side handles of the monitors in a very unnatural fashion. The pressure it put on my elbows, however, was enough to give me golfer's (thrower's) elbow. This was very painful and I consequently could not do weighted chins without pain, especially on the inside of my right elbow. It got better only after not lifting anything heavy for awhile and abstaining from weighted chins.

Immediate Treatment

Initial treatment should be first aid known as R.I.C.E.

• Rest - Stop using the afflicted part.

• Ice - 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off for an hour (or whatever feels comfortable).

• Compress - Wrap a compression bandage around the injury. This may keep down the swelling.

• Elevate - Keep the injured part propped up and elevated above the level of your heart. This may help keep down the swelling.

Clinical Treatment

Most people will get better with rest and using Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Your doctor may inject Corticosteroids in the tender area where the tendon attaches to the humeral epicondyle (elbow knuckle bone). You may have a couple follow up injections along with 2 or three months of prescribed rest. Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. The problem is that they sometimes work so well that the athlete thinks he is already healed and then goes out stressing the injured part to the max only to make the injury worse than before. The possible side effects indicate they are only to be used short term. There are studies that show long term use may cause symptoms to re-occur to where you're back at the beginning again. A conservative rehabilitation program is usually the best. If your doctor says you need surgery, research this well and perhaps get a second opinion.

Prevention and Care

• Always keep at least a slight bend in your arm when lifting-especially with heavy weights.

• Lighten up on the weights.

• Perform exercises with strict form. If a lift doesn't feel natural then don't do it.

• After healing, avoid those exercises completely that give you pain or at least do them only partially in a safe way with a lighter weight.

• Do gripping exercises on a regular basis.

• Stretch your forearm extensors. This is a passive stretch: Extend your right arm straight out with palm down. With your left hand, pull your right hand down and back so your right palm faces you. This will stretch your right forearm extensors. Hold for 7 to 10 seconds. Repeat.

• Ask your doctor if an elbow compression strap will work for you. This is a strap that wraps around your forearm about 2 to 3 centimeters down from your elbow. It puts pressure on the tendons at the compression point thus somewhat relieving the pressure on tendons at the elbow joint. It works on the same principle as that of putting finger pressure on a guitar string. The pressure on the string is relieved above the fret point.

We can avoid weight training injuries with simple common sense. Unfortunately, elbow injuries last for a long time and may never completely go away. Prevention is the most important thing.

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Fitness and Exercise for Weight Loss

In order to get optimum results from your diet efforts, you must exercise on a regular basis. That being said, it's prudent to get your doctor's approval prior to starting any exercise program. There are two types of exercise, aerobic (often referred to as "cardio" or cardiovascular) and weight lifting. The best time for you to do either an aerobic or a weight lifting exercise is first thing in the morning before your first meal. When you get up in the morning your sugar levels aren't elevated from a prior meal so instead of your body burning off your meal as a source of energy, it will burn fat. If you can't get your cardio or weightlifting exercises done in the morning, then exercising sometime later in the day is certainly much better than not doing it at all. Incidentally, taking a protein supplement (ideally with Branch Chain Amino Acids) prior to and immediately following your workouts is ideal for healthy muscle repair. Then eat. One of my favorite benefits of exercising is that you can eat satisfying portions of healthy meals and it's good for your figure.

If you haven't been doing some form of cardiovascular exercise up until now, then it may seem difficult at first. For your first week, I'm more interested in you getting into a comfortable routine than breaking a sweat. So make sure your first week of exercise is easy. Maybe start out with a 15 minute walk. Just get into a routine. If you're on a stationary bike, use very little resistance. If you're on a treadmill, walk briskly instead of jogging. While you're on a stationary bike or treadmill, use the time to read a book, watch the news (or a movie), or listen to music. I find an efficient use of this time is to listen to educational seminars while jogging. This way I simultaneously "strength train" my mind. It's surprising how quickly the time passes.

After your first week, start increasing the duration and intensity of your cardio workout session. For instance, if you're on a stationary bike, then increase the resistance to where it's challenging but not impossible to last for 30 minutes. Likewise, if you're walking briskly, start to jog. You want to break a sweat. If you miss a day for whatever reason, don't be hard on yourself. Just pick up where you left off the next day.

Weight lifting is a good way to stimulate your muscles to firm up. Is it necessary, no! Will it make you look and feel better? Absolutely! By lifting weights, or using exercise bands, you are breaking down muscle tissue. As your muscles heal, they get stronger. Keep this in mind; stronger means firmer and firmer is much better than flabby. Plus, the firmer your muscles, the greater your RMR (resting metabolic rate) and the more fat you burn as you sleep. Imagine that!

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Free Weight Lifting Program

Here is a free weight lifting program that you can do at home. It is small and can help you build strength and some muscle. Nothing fancy, nothing scientific, but this program is effective. But before you start, always do your warm-up and proper stretching first. This is very essential to improve your range of motion and to avoid injury.

Use dumbbells so you can turn your hands inwards; your thumbs facing each other. This little trick will be more natural for your rotator cuffs and would put little strain in your exercise. But do dumbbells in a way that you are most comfortable. And do it at a pace that you can keep; you do not want to pass out in the middle this weight lifting program.

Do a 20-minute stretching and warm-up before you start:

The Program: Upper Body - Rest - Legs - Rest - Upper Body - Rest - Legs - and so on. This means that you have to do upper body workout the first day and then the second day, you rest. The third day you focus on your leg workout and then the fourth day, again you rest. This goes one for about 3 weeks.

Upper Body: Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press; Bent Over Barbell Rows; Incline Dumbbell Press; Shrugs; Standing Barbell Curls; Ab Crunches; Lying Triceps Extensions.

Legs: Leg Extensions; Lunges; Front Squats; Lying Leg Curls; Donkey Calf Raise; Stiff Leg Dead lifts.

This free weight lifting program is nothing special. It is just a simple routine to help you build muscles. The important thing is that you progress in each day and see how effective it is after a few routine lifting. When you get use to the routine, the tendency is that your body adjusts to the rigid program and the routine is no longer a challenge. To avoid that, use a heavier set of dumbbells at the last set of the same exercise and for the same amount of repetitions.

Adding more weights and doing more repetition each day you progress can help you keep interested and challenged and help work those muscle. This free weight lifting program will make you stronger and healthier. If ever you hit a plateau, reflect on you intake of food, if you are eating enough vitamins and nutrients. Enough rest can help in your progress; or a stress-free life can be very good for your progress. Know when you need to stop your weight lifting routine and when you should change it up.

Always challenge yourself to new and harder routines. If you stop improving, find out why so you correct it and get on with this free weight lifting program.

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How to Maximize Weight Lifting Effectiveness

Weight lifting is extremely important. Having good muscle mass increases your metabolism and makes you strong. It also changes the appearance of your body. Most women do not want to get large muscles but instead want to get firm and toned. That can be achieved by weight lifting.

There is some conflicting information about the proper way to lift. There also are some truths that most trainers agree about.

Starting with your largest muscle groups is one rule that most trainers use. It really is common sense when you stop to think about it. If you start lifting with your smaller muscles those muscles will not be able to support the weight the larger muscles need to be challenged.

Starting with the larger muscles in the buttock and chest is the most effective way to lift weights. If you workout your biceps first they will not be able to assist the other muscles in your arms when you lift the heavier weights needed to work your chest.

I start my clients with buttock exercises. That is really the best muscle group to start with, especially for women. Then I use a couple of different methods. I may workout the large muscles in the thighs next, to the lower legs and then begin working the upper body beginning with the chest and working down to the smaller muscles in the arms. The other method is rotate between the upper and lower body starting with the largest muscles and working down to the smaller muscles. Either of those methods are very effective.

As far as the order goes I am a very firm believer in saving the abdominal muscles and lower back for the end of your routine. Your core body needs to support all the action taking place while the other parts of your body are being challenged. If you start with the abs or lower back they will not be able to do their job of supporting your action as well and may get over stressed resulting in injury.

How often you lift weights is an area of conflict. The courses I have taken suggest lifting 2 to 3 days a week on non-consecutive days. There are some trainers that believe in working a different body part each day.

Your body uses a fuel called glycogen when you lift weights. You do not have a large supply of that fuel. Your body lets you know when you are running a bit low by causing you to breath hard and creating a burning sensation in the muscle group you are working.

The burn that you feel is lactic acid. That is the by-product of burning glycogen as a fuel. The heavy breathing is your body's way of trying to get more fuel. It is trying to get to your fat storage which requires oxygen to burn. Your body takes about 48 hours to restore its supply of glycogen after lifting weights.

Working different parts of your body is not the best idea. Your body does not take glycogen from some parts and not other parts of your body. It just uses what it can get to. If you do not wait for it to replace that fuel it can lead to problems.

Also, your body builds muscle on your rest day not when you are lifting. If you do not have a rest day your results may not be as good. Even though you are letting the upper body rest and just working the lower body your body is still being challenged.

It is best to drink water and eat a small amount of food about half an hour before you lift. Fruit digests quickly and has the carbohydrates your body needs so that is a good choice. Drinking water and eating some protein within an hour after your workout adds to the effectiveness of your session as well.

So to recap, if you start with your largest muscles, train every other day and feed your body you will maximize your weight lifting.

By Lynn Hahn

My name is Lynn Hahn. I'm certified by the American Council on Exercise as a fitness instructor and a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. I'm also a certified Third Degree Black Belt in American Kenpo.

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Get Skinny Fast - To Lose Weight Quickly, Follow These Weight-Lifting Secrets for Women

Lifting weights is often thought to increase bulk, and for men it does. But to get skinny fast, women must also lift weights. Building muscle is critical to reach your weight loss goals. But women should approach weight lifting a little differently than men.

Here are some important guidelines for women to follow when lifting weights:

1. Train your upper body and lower body on different days. For example, train your upper body on Monday and Friday and your lower body on Wednesday for one week, then reverse the next week.

2. Your upper body consists of chest, shoulders, back, triceps and biceps. Your lower body consists of quads, hamstrings and calves. Include your abs on lower body days.

3. Include one or two exercises for each muscle group.

4. Do three to six sets of each exercise, decreasing your reps and increasing the weight within each set. There are many variations of this method; find what works for you. Your final rep within each set should be your hardest and require maximum intensity.

5. Be sure to increase your weights as the sets become easy. You need to stress your muscles if you want to get stronger, fitter and thinner!

6. Keep track of what you do!! This is VERY important. You need to know the exercises you have done, the number of reps for each, and the weights used so you can slowly increase the intensity of your workouts. Keep a special notebook for your workouts. Planning ahead can really help so that you don't waste precious workout time trying to decide what to do next.

7. Change it up. This is especially important when you reach a plateau. Vary your routine with new exercises and workouts. Plan for this in advance because IT WILL HAPPEN!

There are so many advantages to building muscle to get skinny fast, it is simply not optional. If you have never lifted weights before, start very slowly. Do just one rep in each set if necessary. If you are able, a visit with a personal trainer can get you started. But just start - and you will be on your way to lose weight fast!

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