Women's Strength Training: Common Mistakes

When it comes to Women's Strength Training I observed during my several years of Personal Training a few mistakes, or should I say rather ineffective Strength Training tactics without noticeable results of losing body fat, building muscle, and gaining strength.

And they are still carried out like yesteryear. Now, the mistakes I am about to reveal are not done by the Women's Strength Training subculture only, men do them too. But with all honesty and from my inside-gym and outside-gym observations, Women's Strength Training Programs involve more mistakes than Men's Strength Training Programs! So, let's get to it and list those not so effective Strength Training tactics and break the tradition once and for all...Uhm. Well maybe.

Common Mistakes-One

Stop exercising by using machines only. I mean what is this romantic relationship between women and weight machines, especially the adductor and abductor machines! First of all, you are isolating many muscles by going from one station to the other until you reach Station 101!

What is even worse is becoming too selective by training certain muscles or group of muscles and neglecting the others. This is a big mistake, because most likely you will develop an imbalance of muscle development which does not look good and can lead to injuries and pain.

Weight machines usually don't expend as much energy (calories) as other training methods like Free Weights and Bodyweight Training.

Some weight machines have a decent design to fit the body contour, but many do not. So you are in a constant battle trying to fit in to execute the exercise which is not very healthy. Besides, many of those weight machines require you to sit, and I think most of us have done enough sitting during the day to last us all week long.

Common Mistakes-Two

Women's Strength Training is partly done through excessive aerobic exercises like running or jogging. There is nothing wrong with running, except if you do it everyday, for 45-60 minutes each day, and neglect the Strength Training factor.

I enjoy jogging and I do it every other day or sometimes 3 days consecutively then take a rest for a day. However, I perform Strength Training Exercises everyday, and don't jog for an hour. Jogging or running in the long run performed by itself and neglecting Strength Training can "eat away" your muscles, and muscles are efficient in burning calories. And forget toning the arms and thighs if that is what you only do which is most of the time.

You should divide your workout between aerobic, strength training, and anaerobic training like sprinting or running fast like the pace of 400 meter running. Anaerobic Training can be building or maintaining muscle tissue and has a long-term effect on burning calories during and after the anaerobic workout.

Common Mistakes-Three

Enough of performing high-repetition sets--it is time, really. First of all, your body, as you may know, starts to adapt, and after a certain period of time it will stop building muscle tissue. In other words, minimal or no more body toning. It is called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), and that was defined by the Canadian endrocrinologist, Hans Selye.

There are other training protocols when it comes to toning your body, and gaining strength to be able to perform push-ups and pull-ups. Many women lack this sufficient strength. There are different training parameters for gaining strength and building muscles other than the using high-repetition weight training. Performing 5-7 repetitions can yield strength results and between 8-12 repetitions can provide muscle gain which leads to muscle toning or firming your body. Just remember one thing and that is--don't stick with one style of training forever. In future articles I will discuss some of the training protocols in detail.

Common Mistakes- Four

This one has to do with foods. To make it brief and to the point, let me give a scenario:

Me: Hi Lucy, what are you having for lunch?

Lucy: Oh hi, I'm having a salad.

Me again: Good evening Lucy. What are you munching on for dinner?

Lucy: Take a wild guess, I'm munching on salad again, but this time I have a sliver of chicken breast-meat and a hint of low fat salad dressing.

Do you get the point now? To maximize the effectiveness of your workouts, you need to consume quality proteins and healthful fat. You should try to include fat and protein (a sufficient amount) for every meal you eat. You might ask, what is a sufficient amount? Good question and very lengthy to answer. But let me say this, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 0.8g per kilogram of body weight (180 Ibs / 2.2 = 82 kilogram, then 82 X .8 = about 66 grams of protein/day) which probably is low for people who work out on a daily basis. Also, depending on the intensity and volume of your workouts, you might need to increase the protein intake a little higher.

This is bottom line. If you believe you are doing everything right in terms of working out hard enough and you are doing aerobic sessions, but maybe you are not sure of your nutrition intake. However, when it comes to having sufficient protein intake, then may be you should try to increase it just a bit more than the "sliver of breast meat" on your salad, for goodness sake. Plus, you should include protein and fat in every meal and snack during the day.