One of the most persistent
myths you ladies have about
strength training is that working
out with weights will turn you
into female hulks.
Ladies unless you plan to hit
the gym with a vengeance, determined
to look like the cover girl
of a muscle magazine, it just
won't happen. What can happen,
though, is that you will end
up with a firmer looking body.

The reasons are physiological
and hormonal. The average man
is taller and stronger than
the average woman and, thus,
generates more force. Men also
produce about 10 times the testosterone
of a woman. Testosterone affects
the ability to increase muscle
size (muscle hypertrophy).
Ladies you just don't have
the ability to have an increase
in muscle size that men do,
so chill out. OK!
If you want to lose fat or
change your body, one of the
most important things you can
do is lift weights. Diet and
cardio are equally important,
but when it comes to changing
how your body looks, weight
training wins hands down. If
you've hesitated to start a
strength training program, it
may motivate you to know that
lifting weights can:
- Help raise your metabolism.
Muscle burns more calories
than fat, so the more muscle
you have, the more calories
you'll burn all day long.
- Strengthen bones, especially
important for women
- Make you stronger and increase
muscular endurance
- Help you avoid injuries
- Increase your confidence
and self-esteem
- Improve coordination and
balance
BOX-2B-FIT
BOXING CLUBS knows
that getting started with strength
training can be confusing--what
exercises should you do? How
many sets and reps? How much
weight?
The routines
that
BOX-2B-FIT BOXING CLUBS will
help you
choose will be based on your
fitness goals as well as the
equipment we have available.
The Basics
At
BOX-2B-FIT
BOXING CLUBS
we will show you some basic
strength training principles.
These principles will teach
you how to make sure you're
using enough weight, determine
your sets and reps and insure
you're always progressing in
your workouts.
1: Overload. To build
muscle, you need to use more
resistance than your muscles
are used to. This is important
because the more you do, the
more your body is capable of
doing, so you should increase
your workload to avoid plateaus.
In plain language, this means
you should be lifting enough
weight that you can ONLY complete
the desired number of reps.
You should be able to finish
your last rep with difficulty
but also with good form.
2: Progression. To avoid
plateaus (or adaptation), you
need to increase your intensity
regularly. You can do this by
increasing the amount of weight
lifted, changing your sets/reps,
changing the exercises and changing
the type of resistance. You
can make these changes on a
weekly or monthly basis.
3: Specificity. This
principle means you should train
for your goal. That means, if
you want to increase your strength,
your program should be designed
around that goal (e.g., train
with heavier weights closer
to your 1 RM (1 rep max)). To
lose weight, choose a variety
of rep ranges to target different
muscle fibers.
4: Rest and Recovery.
Rest days are just as important
as workout days. It is during
these rest periods that your
muscles grow and change, so
make sure you're not working
the same muscle groups 2 days
in a row.