Weight Lifting Programs for Women

In years gone by, women were told never to lift weights, because it would give them a big, muscle packed body that was anything but feminine. Well, we now know that that is just not true. Women can follow a weight lifting program that will leave them with a fantastic figure, well toned muscles, and superior athletic performance.

In fact, a strong case can be made that women wanting to lose weight or get fit(ter) should not try to do so without a weight lifting program. Weights will do more to sculpt well defined muscle and speed up the metabolism than just about anything else. For that reason, it is just as attractive for women to incorporate weights into their fitness program as it is for men. If something works, there is no reason to avoid it, and weight training flat works.

Here is a great little weight lifting program for women that will get you started on sculpting that body you've always wanted. In addition, it will give you a real head start in burning off extra fat you've been trying to get rid of. Lifting weights speeds up your body's metabolism, allowing you to burn more fat, even when you're not training. In fact, the effect is so strong, you can burn more calories, even when you are sleeping!

Weight Lifting Program for Women - Beginners

Use weight that you can easily lift for all repetitions in the first 2 sets of each exercise, then increase the weight until you can just barely complete the last 3 sets. Wait approximately 90 seconds between the completion of one set and the start of another.

Day 1
Squat (Go down until your upper leg is parallel to the floor, no lower or higher. Keep your head from dropping, and your eyes pointed forward)
1 set x 20 reps
1 set x 16 reps
2 sets x 12 reps
1 set x 10 reps (after 4 weeks, add another set of 10 repetitions)

Captain's Chair Abdominals (knee raises)
3 sets x 25 reps (or as many as you can comfortably perform. After about 3 weeks, do these until you can't do any more)

Day 2 - rest

Day 3
Dumbbell bench press
1 set x 20 reps
1 set x 16 reps
2 sets x 12 reps
1 set x 10 reps

Dumbbell overhead press
1 set x 16 reps
3 sets x 12 reps

Dumbbell Lateral raises
1 set x 16 reps
3 sets x 12 reps

Day 4
Wide Grip Pulldowns (in front of chest)
1 set x 20 reps
1 set x 16 reps
2 sets x 12 reps
1 set x 10 reps

Seated Rows
1 set x 16 reps
3 sets x 12 reps

Captain's Chair Abdominals (knee raises)
3 sets x 25 reps (or as many as you can comfortably perform. After about 3 weeks, do these until you can't do any more)

Day 5 - rest

Day 6 Begin the training routine again


This 5 day program wil be tough at first, but will have you in the best shape of your life in fewer months than you can imagine. Combine this routine with a good diet, and the fat will melt away and you'll look better than ever.

Women should lift weights. Try it and you'll agree too.

Weight Lifting Programs for Beginners

If you are a beginning weight lifter or body builder, you are lucky. There is so much information available about different programs you can follow, depending upon your individual goals. Do you want to pack on pounds of lean muscle, so you look great on the beach and perform well on the field?

You may want to start lifting weights to compete in Olympic or power lifting competitions, or you may want to improve your performance for your favorite sport, weather it is a team sport like football, basketball or hockey, or you are into more extreme sports such as skiing, motocross, or rock climbing.

What ever your reasons for beginning your weight lifting program, stay tuned here to get the best programs for both beginning and advanced athletes from some of the most competitive athletes in sports. You will get the inside information you need to grow a body you can be proud of and get that extra edge in your sport as well.

If you are a beginning lifter, you need to know only two things; muscles grow as an adaptive response to stimulus, and they need adaquate nutrition and recovery time on order to grow. You can provide the stimulus in the form of lifting heavy weights, and you can also give them the proper nutrients and enough rest (sleep) and recovery time (between training sessions). If you get the perfect combination of these things, your muscles have no choice but to get bigger and stronger!

It is up to you to choose the right lifting program, and learn what to eat and when. You also need to commit to getting enough shut eye every night.

Beginner's Lifting Mistakes -
The most common mistake made by people when they first start lifting weights is to over do it and commit the sin of overtraining. Your muscles are roughly defined into functional groups by what they do. Most lifters classify these as chest, shoulders, legs, back, triceps, biceps and abdominals. You want to train a certain group hard, then wait 4-7 days until training it again. It is during the recovery period between training sessions that your muscles adapt and get stronger in order to be better prepared to face the stress of training again.

Beginner's Weight Training Program:
This will serve you well if you have never lifted weights before. It is based upon heavy, compound exercises. Compound exercises are those which work more than one joint at a time. For example, biceps curls work only the biceps muscle to bend the elbow joint, so it is not a compound exercise.

On the other hand, the bench press works several joints and primarily involves muscles of the chest (pectorals), shoulders (deltiods), and back of the upper arm (triceps). In addition, it provides secondary stresses to several other muscle groups.

Here is a great, beginning program for you to start with. Later it can evolve into much more intense and sophisticated training sessions. Ride a bike or walk on the treadmill for about 10 minutes prior to beginning the weight training sessions.

Wait approximately 90 seconds between each set. For each set, choose a weight that you can lift the required number of times with some difficulty. The exception to this is the first set two sets of each day. Make these weights light enough so that you can lift them fairly easily. This will help warm up your muscles and connective tissues and get your blood flowing.

Day 1
Bench press - 1 set of 15 repetitions (reps), 1 set of 12 reps, 3 sets of 8 reps
Seated, Wide grip pull downs - 1 set of 15 repetitions (reps), 1 set of 12 reps, 3 sets of 8 reps

Day 2
Hanging knee raises - 3 sets 10 reps

Day 3 rest

Day 4
Squats - 1 set of 15 repetitions (reps), 1 set of 12 reps, 3 sets of 10 reps
Overhead dumbbell press - 1 set of 15 repetitions (reps), 1 set of 12 reps, 3 sets of 8 reps

Day 5
Hanging knee raises - 3 sets 10 reps

Day 6 rest
Day 7 rest