Best Strength-Training Exercises for Women How to Get Started With a Strength Workout

Strength-training exercises are a must for any workout program – they increase fitness, decrease body fat and offer important health benefits. Yet the treadmill or stationary bike remain a favorite for women. If you’re finally ready for sleeker muscles and better health, here's how to get started... Many women still think that lifting weights is just for muscle-bound gym rats. In fact, only 17% of women strength trains two or more times a week, according to a 2005-2006 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics. That’s unfortunate: On average, a woman over 25 years old who doesn’t do strength-training exercises loses about one-half pound of muscle each year, or roughly 5 pounds in a decade, research has found. That makes you feel weaker and look flabbier, and results in about a 3% decrease in resting metabolic rate (RMR). Over time, this slowing metabolism can lead to an increase in body fat. But muscles don’t have to grow weaker as you age. With appropriate training, they can actually grow and become stronger, helping you lead a more active, healthy lifestyle for many years to come. Why Do Strength-Training Exercises? Regular resistance exercise has many benefits, including: Increased muscle fiber size and strength. Resistance training causes various degrees of microtrauma, or minor damage, to muscle tissue. As you rest between exercise sessions, the muscles repair themselves, growing back slightly stronger than before. Those changes become more noticeable over time. What you won’t get are bulky “bodybuilder” muscles – many women’s workout fear. Genetic factors and hormones are largely responsible for muscular responses to resistance training. This is especially true for women, who typically are smaller in size, have less muscle tissue and produce lower testosterone levels than men. Only a tiny percentage of women has the genetic potential to “bulk up” very much from a strength workout, even after months or years of training. You’re more likely to develop a more firm, “toned” physique with a greater proportion of lean muscle to fat. Increased tensile strength in tendons and ligaments. This is another way in which your body adapts to the greater level of stress you’re putting on it. The result is reduced risk of injury and better “functional fitness” (the ability to perform everyday activities). Increased or preserved bone mineral density, which may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. When postmenopausal women did moderate-intensity strength-training exercises three times a week for 24 weeks, they retained their current bone mineral density. Those who didn’t exercise lost bone mass, according to a 2010 study in the Journal of Aging Research. Slight increase in resting metabolic rate, meaning you burn more calories even after you’re finished. Women’s metabolic rates averaged 13% higher following a strength workout, and remained 4.2% higher 16 hours later, according to a 2000 study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Improved body composition. Among overweight women aged 25-44, most who did strength-training exercises regularly over a two-year period lost body fat, while most who didn’t train gained body fat, according to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Lifting weights just twice a week can prevent you from gaining intra-abdominal fat, the kind that constricts blood vessels, according to a 2006 study by the National Institutes of Health. Get Started Before you begin lifting weights, talk to your doctor about your strength workout plans – especially if you have a health condition that could make exercising difficult, painful or unsafe. Then, keep these tips in mind: If you’ve never done strength-training exercises before, schedule at least two sessions with a qualified personal trainer. (Some gyms offer them with a membership.) If you choose to attend group fitness classes, be sure to find an experienced instructor. If you have some experience with exercise, consider following the instructions in a workout DVD, the American Council on Exercise's workout library or one of Lifescript’s step-by-step workout plans. As a general rule, don’t work the same body part two days in a row. Your muscles need time to rebuild between workouts, and training too frequently reduces the benefits while increasing the risk of a strain or other injury. If you do full-body workouts, leave at least 48 hours between strength-training sessions. You can exercise with greater frequency if you do a split routine, in which you work different parts or muscle groups in each workout - but you should still allow any particular muscle at least 48 hours of rest. Warm up for at least 5-10 minutes before your strength workout to raise your body temperature, lubricate the joints and increase blood flow. This can involve light full-body cardio activity, such as walking briskly while swinging your arms. The adage “no pain, no gain” is a myth. You may feel a little sore a day or two after your workout, due to what's called “delayed-onset muscle soreness.” This is a sign that your body is still recovering from the exercise. But severe, sharp or lasting pain indicates that something is wrong. (For more information, read Get Fit With Less Pain.) Get Equipped Many strength-training exercises use free weights (such as dumbbells) or weight machines. Here are pros and cons of each option: Weight Machines Pros: They’re easier and safer to use. Weight machines work on a fixed path, making it simpler to learn and execute the movement with correct form, even when fatigue sets in. This can be a big safety plus, especially if you’re new to strength training. They’re less intimidating. Instructions and illustrations are often posted on the equipment, so you know how to do the exercise and what muscles it’s designed to work. They save time. Weight machines are usually set up in a circuit, so you can move from one exercise to the next quickly and easily. It's also simple to set the amount of weight you'll use. They work one body part at a time. Compared with free weights, certain machines can be more efficient at isolating a specific muscle or muscle group. This is especially important when you’re undergoing rehab from an injury or want to strengthen a particular body part. Cons: They’re limited. Many machines are designed for a single exercise, so you’ll need to use multiple machines to get a total-body workout. Size matters. If you’re shorter or taller than average, certain equipment may not be as accommodating to your size needs. And when you use the equipment the first time, you may need to experiment to figure out the appropriate settings for your height. They provide less range of motion. The fixed movement makes them less effective at working stabilizer muscles and building functional strength. Free weights Pros: They’re more functional. Free weights allow you to work in different planes of motion, which more closely mimics movements you perform in your daily life. That can help you do everyday activities more efficiently, and may also improve your athletic performance. They’re versatile. Free weights let you perform a variety of exercises targeting various muscle groups, so you get a full-body strength workout without much equipment. They’re convenient. Free weights are inexpensive, portable and don’t take up much space, which makes them great for at-home exercise. (Home exercisers can also substitute resistance bands or tubing, which stretch to approximate the resistance you get lifting free weights.) Cons: Lack of support. They don’t provide the structure that machines do. So learning how to perform an exercise properly takes more time and effort, and often requires some personal instruction. Risk of injury. It’s easier to get hurt if you’re not using proper technique. As you get tired, you might be tempted to start swinging the weight and using momentum rather than muscle strength to lift it – and this risks your using other body parts improperly (such as using the back when performing a bicep curl). They’re difficult to isolate. Free weights require precise technique when performing an exercise, which can make targeting a particular muscle difficult. The best option is to use a combination of free weights and machine-based exercises, as well as some body-weight exercises (such as push-ups and pull-ups). Together, they can add variety to your program and result in greater training benefits. Know Your Sets and Reps A strength workout includes several variables: repetitions (the number of times you lift and lower a weight in one exercise), sets (the number of times you do that series of reps) and resistance (the amount of weight you lift). You build strength by fatiguing your muscles, which means the last repetition you perform should be difficult to complete (And if you tried to do another, you wouldn't be able to with proper form). For example, start by choosing a weight that you can lift 8 times. As you build strength over successive sessions, you’ll gradually be able to do more reps with that weight before failure. When you reach the point where you can do 12 reps, you’ll increase the resistance by 5%, then aim for 8 reps of the exercise using the new amount of weight. These numbers will vary according to the type of strength-training exercises you’re doing, as well as your fitness goals. Here are suggestions for getting started, depending on what it is that you want to accomplish: For general fitness, muscle toning and improved health: Begin with lighter resistance and aim for 1-2 sets of 8-15 repetitions of each exercise, with rest periods of 30-90 seconds between sets. That means you’ll do 8 dumbbell curls, rest, then do 8 again. Each time you do this, you’ll build a little more strength, and eventually you’ll be able to complete 15 curls using the same weight. The next time you work out, use the a 5% heavier dumbbell, and start at 8 repetitions again. For increased muscular endurance: Using somewhat lighter resistance, aim to complete 2-3 sets of 12-16 repetitions of each exercise, with minimal rest (30 seconds or less) between sets. For increased strength: Use heavier resistance and strive to complete 2-6 sets of 4-8 repetitions of each exercise with a longer rest period (2-5 minutes) between sets. Do this only after you have some training experience, and be extra-careful with heavier weights. If your form isn’t right, you’re at a greater risk of injury. For larger muscles: Use somewhat heavier resistance, complete 3-6 sets of 6-12 repetitions of each exercise, with a moderate (30-90 seconds) rest interval between sets. Avoid Strength-Training Plateaus If you’ve been doing strength-training exercises for six months, you may see fewer gains than you did in the beginning. Such “plateaus” are more likely to happen when you aren’t updating your program frequently enough. To keep building strength and muscle tone, remember these tips: Increase the number of repetitions you complete. For example, if you’re currently completing 10 repetitions with proper form before moving on to the next heavier weight, increase that number to 12 and then 15. Once you can complete 15 reps with ease and proper form, increase the resistance by 5%. This “double progressive training protocol” is effective for strength development and helps reduce the risk of increasing the amount of weight before you’re ready. Change up your workouts. Making even small changes to your strength workout can go a long way. Try altering the order of your exercises, or incorporate new pieces of equipment for the exercises you’re already doing, such as using free weights instead of a machine. You can also replace some or all of the exercises you’re doing with moves that work the same muscle groups. For example, instead of the chest press on a weight machine, switch to push-ups. Get enough rest. Recovery and proper nutrition are a huge part of building strength. Make sure you leave at least 48 hours between exercises for any particular body part. Your muscles actually grow in that recovery phase. And get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night to help your body produce hormones that promote muscle growth. Keep your body fueled. Proper nutrition is also critical to lean muscle development, and fueling before and after a workout helps maximize the benefits of strength-training exercises, research has found. Before your strength workout, a light snack with carbohydrates and protein in a 4:1 ratio has been shown to be most beneficial. Examples include low-fat yogurt and a banana, or low-fat string cheese with whole-grain crackers. Within 45 minutes after a workout, eat some carbs and protein in a 3:1 ratio – such as stir-fried chicken and vegetables over brown rice. Jessica Matthews is an exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. She answers fitness questions at the ACE website.