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Strength Training Tips For Women: Part Two

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:15:00 -0800

I am always looking for weight-lifting tips for women. I was really excited to see strength-training tips for women in US News and World Report's interview with Alwyn Cosgrove, one of the authors of The New Rules of Lifting For Women ($17.13). Here are highlights:

Don't waste your time doing exercises that only work your smaller muscles. Machines that isolate the calf, biceps, and triceps muscles aren't doing much good. Doing exercises like presses, rows, and pulldowns lets those little muscles work the way they're supposed to: in concert with the bigger ones.
Toss the standard back-on-the-floor crunches. Straining against the hard ground isn't doing your spine any favors, and you aren't working the full range of your abdominal muscles. Instead, Cosgrove recommends other ab exercises, including crunches on an inflatable ball (which are cushier on your back and let you reach the full range of motion) and a deceptively innocent-sounding move called a plank, where you hold your body straight in a modified push-up position, propping yourself on toes and forearms.
One-size "proper form" does not always fit all. You don't want to be so caught up with the so-called rules of an exercise ("Don't lock your elbows!" "Don't let your knee move past your toes!") that you are petrified to even start. Everyone's body is different. So if your basic technique is correct, and you aren't experiencing pain during or after a workout, you're probably OK, he says.
Don't worry - you aren't going to get huge. It's not easy even for men to get so they look like those folks on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. For women, because of our lower levels of testosterone, it's definitely not going to happen, unless you have some off-the-charts genetic propensity to pile on muscle and are spending your entire day working out.

Be sure to check out the first four strength-training tips if you missed them earlier this week.

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Strength Training Tips For Women: Part One

FitSugar — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:45:00 -0800

I am always looking for weightlifting tips for women because it can all be so bland in the fitness world. I was really excited to see strength training tips for women in U.S. News and World Report's interview with Alwyn Cosgrove, one of the authors of The New Rules of Lifting For Women ($18). Here are highlights:

A weights-and-intervals program gives you the best bang for the buck. A weightlifting program coupled with intervals - alternating high-intensity bursts of riding a stationary bike or running with a recovery period - is preferable to plodding along at the same slow pace.
Lift three times a week. Two will offer some benefits, and one is better than nothing but isn't going to do much good. By contrast, more than three is not likely to give you enough time to recover in between workouts, which is when the strengthening of your muscles is happening.

There are two more excellent tips, so read more.

You need to lift enough weight to make it worthwhile. "Women often choose light weights that they think will magically shape and tone the muscles, whereas men will go right for the big bang kind of exercises," says Cosgrove. "You can sit on a machine and do a leg extension, or you can spend a minute doing squats, working many more muscles and being much more time effective," he says. Sold, to the woman in the pink running shorts!
You need to increase the weight over time. Pick a weight that you can definitely lift eight, maybe 10, but definitely not 12 times. Ideally, you'd increase that weight a smidgen every time you do the routine, but since most weights come in 5-pound increments, he suggests this instead: Do 10 reps in a set the first time, then 11, then 12, and once you're doing sets of 12, increase the weight and go back to 10 reps per set.

Be sure to look out for more of these strength training tips for women later this week.

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Venus and Mars: We Even Diet Differently

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:45:00 -0700

I don't need to tell you that men and women do things differently in almost everything they do, even dieting. It's the age old tale: You say, "Tomato." He says, "Does that come fried?"

Funny but true (at least in my house), so here are the differences in more detail:

Inspiration-
Women: Swimsuit season, weddings, family and class reunions, holiday parties and other events that put them in the spotlight.
Men: Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated blood lipids, sleep apnea and back or joint pain
Estimating weight status-
Women: Quick to realize she's overweight
Men: Usually underestimate amount of weight he needs to lose
Weight-loss vernacular-
Women: "Diet"
Men: "Get in shape"
History of dieting-
Women: Lots, a variety of approaches and failures
Men: Not much, so more confident of success
Knowledge about dieting-
Women: Knowledgeable about nutrition, diet and weight-loss news
Men: Lacks basic knowledge about science of food and weight loss
Exercise-
Women: Beneficial to weight loss, but avoidable
Men: Expected component of weight-loss success
Overall approach to weight loss-
Women: Quick to initiate, but prone to stop and start
Men: Serious, disciplined, structured

Noticed anymore differences between men and women and the way we approach dieting and exercise? Share them below.

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Women and Running

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:00:00 -0700

In 1988, the San Francisco Marathon was canceled due to lack of interest. This year things were decidedly different. On the 29th of July, 6,500 people ran 26.2 miles around SF and 8,500 ran half marathons, with a portion of both races crossing the Golden Gate bridge. I would say interest is not lacking. Running is back, and one of the main reasons is that more and more women are running and running in races. In fact, in the SF marathon 50% of the runners were women. I am woman, watch me run!

Running has bounced back, and one reason is that training for marathons is no longer considered a full time job. Most marathoners only run about 40 miles per week, which sounds like a lot to me, but in the 80s the average marathoner put in 80 plus miles. Women often belong to running groups, so training time doubles as social time and running in races doubles as girls' weekend away time. We are the more social sex they say. Running officials think that Oprah's participation in a marathon in the mid 90s was a pivotal moment for the average woman's attitude on endurance races. Non-athletes could participate, and finish times didn't need to be under 4 hours.

How about you? Planning a marathon weekend away with your BFF?

Alcohol: Women vs. Men

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:30:00 -0700

We all know that men and women are biologically very different, but do you know if the following statement is true or false? Quiz yourself and see.

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Men vs. Women: Heart Disease

FitSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:00:00 -0700

It is never too early to understand the ways of the heart and I am not talking about love. Here's a question for you to see how much you know about the implications of heart disease for women.

True or False: More women than men die of heart disease each year in the United States.

To see the answer read more

The answer is: TRUE

Despite many women's fear of breast cancer, heart disease is actually the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. In 2002, heart disease claimed the lives of 358,014 women, compared with 340,933 men. Each year about 88,000 women ages 45 to 64 have a heart attack, and about 372,000 women age 65 and older have one. Women are more likely than men to die within a few weeks of a heart attack. Leading a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of heart disease, whether you're male or female. You are never too young to start taking care of your heart!!!

Get Your Butt in Gear: we pilates clothing

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 14:30:00 -0700

I love supporting companies with the for women by women mentality -- There needs to be more companies like that if you ask me.

This is why I want to tell you about we pilates clothing, a cute, simple and comfortable (that's important) line of gear. The company got started rather simply as well: After a Pilates workout, two women were inspired to create the perfect life style line that could take them from their devoted practice to also running around town. Who is the woman that wears we pilates clothing? She is a businesswoman, a mom, and a professional. I can definitely relate, can't you?

To see more pics of the line and to find out where you can buy it, read more

Besides the fact that we pilates is run by women, I also like this line because while there are lots of fancy-schmancy clothing lines out there, sometimes you just want to throw on a soft cotton tee and go about your day. The stuff really is soft (I am feeling it right now) and it's priced right ($24-$36). Look for we pilates clothing in Pilates studios near you or you can buy online at wepilates.com.

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Trans Fat Keeps Getting Worse and Worse...

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:00:00 -0700

As if trans fat are not bad enough for you, new research out of the Harvard School of Public Health has upped the stakes at how bad it really is.

Women who eat diets rich in trans fats (3.6 grams or more per day) have three times the risk of heart disease as those who don't (2.5 grams or less per day). While research had already proven trans fat is a major contributor to heart disease, the Harvard study includes an objective measure of trans fat intake (trans fat levels in red blood cells) rather than just relying on dietary information reported from participants.

As a reference point, a small order of McDonald's fries has 3.5 grams of trans fat, as does a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell.

To ensure you're not getting a load of trans fat in your diet, check labels and look for 0 grams of trans fat AND make sure there is no hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredients.

Are You a "Fat Talker?"

FitSugar — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 17:35:00 -0800

Do you constantly talk about how bad you feel about your body? Then you may be a fat talker...

New research is coming out that when put in a group with other women, women will almost always revert to talking negatively about their own body image. This is being called fat talking. In turn, fat talking leaves women, who actually feel positively about their bodies, silent or they will engage in fat talk for fear of social rejection. This constant bombardment of negative body issues is just not healthy for a society trying to battle many health issues like eating disorders and obesity.

“In general, we find that women in the United States, particularly Caucasian women, feel poorly about their bodies. Women also believe there is pressure to fat talk, and that other women do it because they feel poorly about their bodies. We never break out of that cycle. If there are women who have a positive body image, they never step up and vocalize that, so the norm never changes.”

Are you a fat talker? If so, really think about what you are doing to the dynamics of the group. Think about reflecting on the positive things to your girlfriends, rather than the negative and see where that takes you.

Preventing Heart Disease: New Recommendations for Women

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:00:00 -0800

February is Heart Health month and coincidentally new guidelines have just been released for preventing heart disease in women. Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or stroke and there are some significant things we can all do to prevent the onset of problems, starting many when you are young is the best prevention.

This is the first time that guidelines have encouraged women to take aspirin for daily preventing stroke. Sounds familiar but this is a new recommendation for women. However this is not recommended for young women and the American Heart Association strongly suggests speaking with a physician before heading to your local drugstore for a bottle of aspirin. Although men are advised to start taking aspirin daily, it is not recommended for women until age 65.

It is not surprising that the guidelines advise daily exercise and eating less fat. They also declare vitamins C and E, beta carotene and folic acid supplements worthless for preventing heart disease. This doesn't mean that those vitamins, minerals and antioxidants have no other benefits. Folic acid is especially important if you are considering getting pregnant or already are.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, since the suggestions sound very familiar, here is the list of new recommendations.

Exercise is so important. Get at least 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise on most and preferably all days, 60 to 90 minutes if you need to lose weight.
Watch what you eat. Eat mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grain and high-fiber foods, fish at least twice a week, and little salt. Limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of calories, 7 percent if possible, and trans fats to less than 1 percent. Limit alcohol to one drink or less a day.

There's more, so read more

Don't smoke. Use nicotine replacement products if needed to stop.
In terms of weight, keep your body-mass index under 25. To find out your BMI check out Fit's calculator.
Consider omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) if you already have heart disease.
Blood pressure and cholesterol - you need to keep them under control, with medicine if needed. Keep LDL or bad cholesterol under 100 if at high risk of heart disease and under 70 if at very high risk.

Just a friendly reminder, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.