One of the most effective activities for getting your bodyinto shape and losing weight is something that many women are scared to try.Weightlifting can be a daunting activity for a beginner especially in a crowdedgym environment. Seeing the scores of overly muscled men as they throw aboutridiculously heavy amounts of weight can scare many from the weight room andkeep them happy and comfortable hovering over their exercise bikes ortreadmills. This is not always the best place for someone who is trying to loseweight and get in shape however and building true muscle should be part ofanyone's exercise and fat loss regimen. Muscle helps to burn fat and musclealso helps shape the body? so choosing a weightlifting program for women can beextremely helpful for them in achieving their goals.

But how does one go about choosing such a program if theyare a beginner? Well, as is the case with beginning any new activities thewisest advice is to simply take it slow. You don't have to rush in and pick upthe heaviest weight or advanced program you find out about to start makingprogress. In fact, this is probably the easiest way to impede your progress.Your goal is to get in shape, not hurt yourself. In addition, you don't evenhave to lift free weights to build significant amounts of muscle.

In any gym environment there are usually a number ofmachines that you can use in your weightlifting program. One of the trainerson-site or members of the gym can surely help you get acclimated if this isyour first time. Your goal as a beginner should be to incorporate as manymuscles as possible into each movement you make. For instance, first-timeweightlifters are probably wasting their time by doing sets of bicep curls. Instead,choose a compound movement like dips or pull ups using a machine that recruitsmany muscle groups at the same time. Performing these exercises will allow youto work your biceps, triceps, delts (shoulders), upper back, trapezius, and themuscles of your entire forearm. In the same amount of time it would take you todo a few sets of curls to just hit your biceps or push downs you've worked agood portion of your entire upper body.

The same is true for your lower body. Many women assume thata weightlifting program must include such singular exercises as leg extensionsor leg curls. Instead, a few sets of high rep body weight squats will provideyou with much bigger bang for the buck. Body weight squats are simply performedby standing straight up and squatting down until your thighs are about parallelwith the ground making sure to keep your knees behind your toes. This oneexercise can work your glutes (butt), leg biceps (hamstrings), quadriceps,calves and believe it or not, even your abdominals. Add a couple of sets ofpush ups to these exercises already mentioned and you have worked your entirebody.

As you can see, developing a weightlifting program for womento help them build muscle and burn fat is not as difficult as once perceived.Taking it slow and simple can be your key to a healthy and effectiveweight-loss program.