Why Women Can and Should Lift Heavy – Part II in Blog.
Training In the first part of this series we looked at different types of multi-joint lifts and why they’re important. We also covered what is considered a heavy lift and why women should have them in their training programs.
This time we’ll look at the importance of using barbells, proper tempo and interval training. Using barbells in your workouts will allow you to train using a full range of motion. It will also allow you to use heavier weights. Most women will struggle to hold a dumbbell that weighs more than 25-30 pounds.
By using a barbell, the weight is evenly distributed across your back and grip strength will not be a limiting factor. Tempo refers to the time spent controlling the weight being moved instead of letting gravity take over. So, let’s use the squat as an example. If your tempo was 4011, you would take 4 seconds to lower the weight, with no pause at the bottom, then come back up to the starting position in 1 second, then pause 1 second before initiating the next repetition.
We’ve all tried long, sustained cardio for fat loss. Well, how did that work for you? I bet it didn’t work to well for very long. The best type of cardio for long lasting results is interval training. Interval training is defined as short periods of high intensity work followed by periods of rest.
There are several benefits to interval training. Interval training raises your metabolic rate Makes your muscles more sensitive to insulin Improves metabolism of estrogen Decreases disease risk and improves your mental disposition Ladies, you are missing out on a key piece to your training if you skip the intervals.
Call Body By Choice Training today for a Free Fitness Evaluation and learn how interval training can benefit you!
