Beyond aesthetics, sculpting your muscles with weights helps you perform daily tasks — such as squatting down to lift grocery bags (or even a small child) — with ease and without pain. Start with our guide to women's strength training...
Posted on fitness And tagged fitness, workout, strength training, women's strength training
When we talk to new members about weight training, we often hear “I don't know where to start.” And we love seeing their faces as they realize how easy (and effective) it can be once they get over their insecurities. Despite the growing popularity, it is more the ladies who are put off by the power sector. If you're one of them, this weight-training guide for beginners should shed some light on the matter and get you started...
Not just reserved for Schwarzenegger anymore, weight training is becoming increasingly popular in the fitness scene. The benefits go far beyond pure starches:
● Weightlifting boosts your metabolism and burns more fat. More muscles = more calories are burned.
● Weight training can help reduce stress. This can result in better sleep, less nervousness, better mood, and a hefty boost of self-confidence. Yes please, gladly!
● They strengthen your core and relieve back pain.
● Staying strong can help you stay young Heart health, blood pressure, cholesterol, and bone density improve with weight training.
● This type of workout also prevents injuries, as strong muscles, bones, and connective tissue can withstand more stress.
At Holmes Place, we like to keep things simple. With these techniques to jump-start your weight training, the weight bench will soon be your new BFF.
Five minutes of cardio warm up your muscles and leave you with less risk of injury during weight training. Try this:
- jumping jacks (1 minute)
- Climbers (30 seconds)
- Large overhead arm circles (15 seconds, repeat another 15 seconds in the opposite direction)
- Crossover touch and range (15 seconds on each side)
- Alternate side failure steps (15 seconds on each side)
- hip circles (30 seconds)
- Squat kickback (30 seconds)
- Shuttle runs (1 minute)
1. Learn these two basic (but important) exercises
Two compound movements that you've undoubtedly heard of but aren't entirely sure how to do them: squats and deadlifts (not just for men - they are brilliant butt tighteners for women). The beauty of these moves is that you can stimulate multiple muscles in one go, using your own body weight as a force. Practicing these compound moves first will help you nail your shape to avoid injuries when you start bringing in weights and other weight-training equipment.
2. Use the dumbbells
Pair these sophisticated weights with basic body weight moves to add an extra layer of resistance to your workout. They're perfect for beginners as you can level up easily as you progress. Start with a weight that feels manageable to you—the key is to challenge yourself but not overwhelm yourself. Numbers aren't important, the form is.
BEGINNER TIP: To choose the right weight for weight training, start with a light weight (such as 2 kg) and then keep going up until you can do 12 reps, but make sure the last few are challenging. For example, if you can switch to 5 kg dumbbells and do 12 shoulder presses (but want to give up on about the eighth repetition), then you've hit the mark.
Then try the following dumbbell exercise for your first workout. Do one set of 12 repetitions at a time, pausing briefly between each exercise to recover:
1. Standing shoulder press
2. Bent rowing
3rd dumbbell squat
4. Side lifting
5th Bauernweg
6. dumbbell deadlifts
7. Squat to head press
Like everything in fitness (and in life), you can achieve your goals faster with a little teamwork. Team up with one of our personal trainers who make weight training less intimidating by creating custom workouts that suit your needs and keep you motivated all the time (meaning you won't be using the weight bench as a seat to scroll through Instagram). Find out here how you can benefit from our personal training offer.
Posted on fitness And tagged fitness, workout, strength training, women's strength training.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Nisi odio purus pellentesque risus suspendisse donec.
.avif)
