Importance of Resistance Training For Women

Many women nowadays are into resistance training. Many get into resistance training programs engaging into sports. Resistance training is important for women. It allows you to be active and have a healthy body. You may also gain the needed strength and physically built muscles.

Before you start lifting weights, you should know the proper ways on how to execute the exercise. Many women seriously encounter injuries when they incorrectly lift weights. It is important that you get rid first of the excess weight that you have by walking or jogging. You may also purchase weight loss equipment such as treadmills, cross bar platinum, and nutrition boo guides for a better health.

Women usually do not have the natural muscle structure that most men have. They may not also have the same strength to carry heavy loads or the same resistance that men have. What more if you get older? Your body may no longer have the same strength when you were still young. This happens because of the lifestyle you have or just because of aging process. Your resistance may have just decreased and your body tends to weaken.

You can benefit many things when you get into resistance training. Even if you are not an athlete or a body-building enthusiasts, you can get into resistance training programs. Having an active body and well-toned muscles can provide you the more strength and good resistance. You can do some workout outdoors like walking or jogging to get a better blood circulation. 

You may also do some stretching and warm up exercises to allow the blood nutrients go to the muscles and joints of your body. Muscle stretching also helps in lessening the risks of injuries and muscle pains after the work out. Muscles tend to sore and get strained if you are not well warmed-up and do the proper stretching techniques before the work out.

In addition, muscle stretching also gives you more flexibility. You will be able to execute exercises comfortably and effectively. It is advisable that you do repetitive stretching and warm ups. Repetition of exercises makes your muscles and joints more enhanced and more adapted to the motion you are executing.

When you are ready to lift weights, you should first work on your larger muscles then the smaller ones. You may then finally go to the muscles that are isolated. You may execute push-ups that can enhance the upper muscles of the body. Before doing triceps extension exercises, you should first focus on the larger muscle groups such as the muscle found in your butt. You may execute exercises like repetitive squatting, box step-ups, and lunges.

You may also work on your quads which is the muscle found on the front thigh. You may perform repetitive squatting and lunges as well. You may also use the leg extension machine and the leg press machine for a well-executed exercise.

You should always remember that you work on the opposite muscles. Muscles tend to get imbalanced especially if the amounts of exercises you do are not equally distributed. When performing triceps extension, it is advised that you also do bicep exercises. If you work out on the chest and the stomach area like crunches, it is important that you do back extension exercises to get a balanced upper muscle toning.

Always take a rest after your resistance training work out. Allow your muscles to cool gradually so that you will not feel any sore or strained muscles. After the resistance training, you will see that you are more ready and physically fit for many kinds of sports.

Importance Of Warming Up Before Exercise

Since a lot of people are involved in physical exercises, it is imperative that the importance of warming up before any strenuous activity should be discussed. Many have repeatedly ignored going through the warm up stage before working out, not knowing the consequences in doing so.

Why warm up? Several changes takes place in the body once physical activity is initiated. A person's respiratory rate, blood flow, and oxygen and nutrient levels delivered to the cells increases.

 The rate of increase should be regulated in a steady pace to prepare the body for the physical stress that exercise will demand. If one foregoes this priming procedure, the body will function less efficiently and the workout will produce less quality results.

Warming up preps up the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and alertness, and loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump starts the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the risk for wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the heart a suitable period to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles.

This is vital for older people, since they have tissues that are less supple; they have joints with less fluid, and weaker hearts. Sudden exercise can produce heart attacks to older people.

How does a person warm up properly? Initially, it can be done in any procedure that enables the heart to beat faster. One can simply walk and jog, or if a cardiovascular equipment is available, such as rowing machine or a bicycle, it can be utilized.


Start at a gentle pace, and then slowly increase the pace until heart beat rate increases and the body temperature rises. It important to note that the pace should be in accordance to one's current fitness level, where the activity will leave the person energized and not exhausted.

After working up a light sweat (suggested time is 3-5 minutes, longer if the person is working out in a cold environment) one should do dynamic stretching. Stretching helps in developing overall flexibility, particularly in the spine, shoulder, and hip areas. The kind of stretching depends on the type of activity a person plans to engage to.

For instance, if one is about to play sports, the recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that mimics the movements that will be done in the court or field. If one is about to do martial arts, light sparring can be done in the quarter of the normal speed, or just simply do the movements in slow motion.

Be certain that the major muscles groups are stretched for 8 seconds minimum. It is necessary to remember to keep feet moving or do leg exercises whenever the upper body is stretched to keep prevent blood from pooling in the legs.

 Remember, one should only do stretching if the muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull.

For weight-lifters, this is what should be done after the initial warm up. Load the bar with about 50-60% of the heaviest weight to be done for the session and perform the number of repetitions that will be done for the heavy sets. For the second set, the weight will be increased to 80%, then eventually to 90%, decreasing to 2-3 repetitions.

 Afterwards, rest for about 30 seconds, then repeat the steps. After this warm up, one can now proceed to the heavy lifting for the day. The advantage of doing the procedure is that the heavy sets will feel less daunting and can now be performed with considerably less stress.

After warming up and proceeding to the main workout, it is equally important to cool down. When a person suddenly stops exercising or lifting weights, blood gathers in the muscle and oxygen is blocked. When this happens, a person runs the risk of having a heart attack. So cooling down should have the same importance as warming up.

Exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, just remember to remember all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the workout, but also to stay safe and healthy.   

How to Read Food Labels

You cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure most foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes.

It is a supersized world out there, and most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving is actually two or three.

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are preprogrammed with nutritional information, as well as scales that will keep a running total of your daily food and nutrient intake for you. The only tools you really need, however, are a simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups, and idea on reading food labels.

Among all of the mentioned tools, reading food labels seem to be the most effective way of determining the right kind of food to be bought in the supermarket. It lets you make sensible food selections. Through the “Nutrition Facts” section in a particular item in the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes provided in that product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients that are provided in the item. Usually, it contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount “per serving.”

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A typical consumer would definitely ask what those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever she will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the food label.

To further have a clear and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated in the food label, here is a list of things that you need to know:

1. Serving size

This is the primary item you will see in a food label.

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily mean that it reflects your very own amount of food intake.

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enters the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size that was given in the label.

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that you have just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of calories you have taken.

2. Nutrients

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also where the nutritional claims of the product based on the recommended daily dietary allowance are stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie diets and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you should know that the “% daily value” that the food label indicates is actually based on how a particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you just have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be able to identify the “%daily value” for the nutrients.

3. Ingredients

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have the greater amount by weight up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient.

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less.

Indeed, reading food labels can be very tedious and confusing. Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it would be easier for you to watch your diet because you can already control the amount of food that you take.