Is weight training worth it? Can’t I just jog on the treadmill? Is this what you are thinking? The answer is no. Its time you should discover the benefits of weight training, which is one of the most effective methods of losing weight. Majority of those who have been successful at weight loss do weight training. It is beneficiary in not just one but lot of ways. It enhances your entire weight loss program and increases your stamina level to pursue the regime on a regular basis without tiring out. Following are some of the benefits of weight training. Read on to get convinced.Weight training helps you to tone down your muscles. It elevates you basal metabolic rate (BMR) and you burn calories 24 hours a day. Even when you are sleeping, you burn calories. Weight training can counter the natural decline of rate of metabolism which occurs after 30 years of age. It energizes your body and increases your stamina. It has a positive effect on almost all the 650 odd muscles of your body and increases muscular endurance. It not only works on the muscles but also on the bones and strengthens your bones thus reducing the risk of facing osteoporosis. It is a misconception that weight training develops big muscles on women the truth is that it only helps in the toning of muscles and makes you stronger and sturdy. You will be less prone to low back injuries. You will also be able to keep a check on your blood pressure besides decreasing the risk on diabetes onset in adults. Also the gastrointestinal transit time is reduced, and hence reduces the risk of colon cancer. Weight training increases the HDL cholesterol level (the good type) in your blood. Weight training also has a positive effect on your posture, functioning of the immune system, and working of the heart. This is done by reducing the resting rate of heart. Your balance and coordination becomes stronger. Weight training makes you fresh and enthusiastic. These are some of the positive effects that can be achieved by doing weight training. With a good guidance you can end up use this technique to its best in order to gain the maximum out of it. Initially it might seem a little tough for people who are not used to lifting weights. But once you are used to it, you will definitely benefit. Start with small weights and move on to the bigger ones. Setting targets will also be beneficial for you. Take the guidance of experienced trainers or professionals. These professionals will guide you in the right direction and will be able to tell you what type of exercises are good for you and which ones you should avoid. You must keep in mind that not all types of exercises are meant for everyone and thus you must choose wisely when it comes to weight training. Half an hour of weight training a day will make a lot of changes to your weight loss regime and you will see a dramatic change.
There's a story that the first person who trained with weights was a Greek named Milo, way back when the original Olympic games flourished. He acquired a small calf, and each day he would walk around an amphitheater, carrying it on his shoulders. Each day the calf grew a bit larger, so Milo had to work harder to carry it around. But because it grew only gradually, he was able to do it. Finally, he was carrying a full-grown bull around the amphitheater, and had the musculature to show for it.
Well, anyone with common sense knows that women were the original weight trainers! Substitute a new born baby for a small calf, and there ya go.
Unfortunately, once the babe has grown enough to be able to walk on his or her own two feet and not want to be carried whenever their little legs get tired, some moms never lift weights again, and the muscles that were used to perform these feats become little used, and therefore weaken. When they get on in years, the dowager humps and the flabby underarms and the general loss of bone mass happen just the same.
Which is why weight training is important, and training the upper body is more important for women than it is for men.
So, what type of upper body exercises are there?
Shoulders
Strong arms don't do you much good if your shoulders can't support them properly.
The exercises that target the trapezius muscles only is the shoulder shrug.
The shoulder shrug can be done with either a barbell or dumbbells. For a woman, it's probably easier just to use dumbbells, of appropriate weights. Stand up straight, holding the weights at your sides - 15-pound weights are best. Then, simply make a motion as if you were shrugging your shoulders, ten to fifteen times. You'll be able to feel the muscles being worked after you finish the set.
Exercises that target both the trapezius muscles and the deltoid muscles are "presses," "raises," and "fly"s.
When you press a dumbbell or barbell, it means that you're pushing it over your head. Again, dumbbells are easier to use than barbells (indeed, if you don't want to go to the expense of a barbell and the weights that fit onto it, a selection of dumbbells of appropriate weights will suit the purpose also.) .
Simply stand with your hands holding the dumbbells at shoulder-high level. Then lift them alternately over your head, until you've done a total of ten with each arm.
To do a dumbbell raise, on the other hand, you stand with your arms at your sides, holding 10 pound dumbbells in this case. (Or five-pound dumbbells, depending on your strength level.) Simply raise your arms straight outward from your sides, until your arms are parallel to the ground. Lower and repeat ten times. Again, you'll be able to feel your shoulders after repeating this set.
To do a back fly, stand up, but bend over, so that your chest is parallel to the ground. Let your arms hang straight down. Then, simply raise your arms straight up. This really works your pectorals as well as your shoulder muscles, and is harder to do than the other exercises, just because of the body angle.
But you really want to work your pecs, because this will help prevent sagging breasts in old age!
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