Virtually everyone, young or old, male or female, can experience improvements in muscular fitness.  If you want to have stronger, more durable muscles and bones, improve your physical appearance, and enhance your self-image, then strength training is for you.

Everyone has different reasons for committing to a strength training program.  Some women want to improve their abilities to perform specific tasks, others want to improve their physical and mental health, and still others simply desire a more toned and shapely appearance.  Whatever your fitness goals, might be, always remember hard work and perseverance will see you through every workout session you do. 

Confusion and myths surround strength training for women, here are some common reasons women give for not strength training:

Myth 1: You must take protein supplements to get a fit physique.

Muscular fitness is not enhanced by using protein supplements because your body can’t store extra protein.  Excess protein is not used to build muscle tissue.  It is converted to fat and stored.

Myth 2: Lifting weight causes bulky muscles.

Women don’t have the genetic potential to develop large muscles because they don’t have enough of the hormone, testosterone, needed for the development of muscle bulk.  While steroids and other artificial means may cause you to bulk up, lifting weights will not

Myth 3: Muscles turn to fat when you stop training.

Muscles cannot turn to fat.  They don’t have the physiological ability to change from one type of tissue to another.  Muscles do have the property of use it or lose it.  If you don’t use a muscle, it will literally waste (atrophy) away.  When someone has a cast removed from a leg that had been broken, the unused leg muscles look smaller than they were before the injury.  If muscle turned to fat, you would see a “fat-ball” when the cast was removed, not atrophied leg muscles.  Now that we have covered a few myths surrounding weight training where do you go from here? 

Start with taking stock of your personal needs.  Why do I want to strength train?  The answer can help you decide how to train and what program to follow.  You may want to strengthen your body for a specific sport, or supplement a weight loss program by using strength training to firm up.  I recommend that one of your primary goals should be to handle your body weight when doing push-ups, chin-ups, and dips.  This is a good indicator that you can use the musculature of your upper body in activities of daily living.  The final question you will be asking yourself is where do I go to get proper instruction on how to do chin-ups, dips and lift weights?  CSUSB Recreational Center has a plethora of personal trainers that are skilled in designing strength training programs. 

During your journey to better health and physical fitness keep in mind that the quality of your training, not the type of equipment, is the critical factor in developing your muscular fitness.  The best equipment in the world will do little for your muscular fitness if it is not used properly. 

If you like the beach, chances are your getting ready for it. You’re most likely watching what you eat and hitting the gym as often as you can. If that’s still not working for you then you need to do two things, safely restrict your calories or modify your exercise routine.  While most exercise programs provide a solid foundation, these tips may help you get more out of your gym session.

Tip Number 1

Do more multi-joint resistance exercises. Exercises that utilize more than one joint such as the bench press, which works the shoulder joint, elbow joint, and wrist, will increase the amount of muscle activity. Utilizing more muscles means that your body has to work harder to metabolize food and get energy to those working muscles. This will in turn increase the amount of calories your body has to burn. I suggest adding exercises that work your back, legs and chest. This way you hit every major muscle group in your body. Some exercises for your legs include squats, the angled leg press and machine leg press. Doing a machine chest press, dumbbell bench press or barbell bench press can work out your chest. And, exercises like the cable row, lat pull down or single arm bent over row will be performed by your back.

Tip Number 2

Stand instead of sit. Do more exercise standing and you will notice the added difficulty in the exercise. Standing utilizes your core and other muscles to keep you up right and balanced. For instance, a standing shoulder press requires your abs, lower back, obliques, not to mention your legs, to keep you upright. This is different from a sitting shoulder press which requires less effort from those muscles since your body is in a more stable position.

Tip Number 3

Shorten your rest period between sets. Decreasing the amount for rest time between sets will keep your heart rate up. For instance, instead of resting for three minutes after doing a leg press, rest for 1 minute. You will notice that you will be breathing a little harder and become more exhausted. Shortening the rest time in between sets helps you utilize the benefits of a cardio work out. That’s because your body is constantly pumping blood to your muscles since you’re limiting the time it takes for your body to rest. As your body works to keep your heart rate up, it is pumping oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This takes energy in the form of calories. To utilize this tip, start from 3 minutes and keep an eye on the clock and make sure to decrease your rest periods every week.

Tip Number 4

Switch from machines to free weights. There is a reason why you can lift more weights doing a machine chest press as opposed to a barbell bench press. It takes more coordination and stabilization for the latter. Machines usually work in only one direction making the exercise easier because you do not have to worry about the weight shifting to a different direction.  Although it may seem like a good idea to use machines as a beginner, sticking to it will limit the amount of calories you can be burning.  This is because other muscles come in to play when you use free weights. These muscles help stabilize the direction in which your muscles are lifting and will require your body to be burning more calories.

Next time you go to the gym, try one of these tips out. You will either be glad that you did or cursing this article because your workout is harder. 

Throughout time there have been several examples of athleticism. Whether it is on the field, or running next to Ryan Larson, there has always been an elite athlete out there that could do it better than the rest. In this case, I will be talking about the Navy’s finest, the SEAL, and what they call just another day.  I will take you through a routine that is frequented daily by our hard working brethren in uniform just to show a glimpse into the life of a SEAL recruit.

Many individuals that I know perceive SEAL’s to be these endurance monsters with an endless supply of strength and conditioning… and they’re right. With the training taking more than a year to complete, a recruit will come out of training in the best shape one could ever imagine. With fourteen mile timed runs, 2 mile ocean fin swims, and several hundred push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups, you would be too.  If you are determined and have good conditioning, the next series of exercises should be a breeze.  Enjoy the “burn”!  Also, remember to warm-up five to ten minutes, not stretch, prior to doing these exercises. Finally, always stretch after your workout… always!