Beginning Weight Training Routine for Women

Many women want to lose weight and have a toned body, but too many are pursuing cardiovascular activities without engaging in muscle stimulating activities. It's muscle that causes a body's metabolism to rise--the more muscle, the higher the metabolism.

Warming Up and Flexibility

An inner adductor stretch will stretch the inner thigh.

Properly warming up and performing flexibility exercises are necessary to prepare your body for the oncoming stress you will be placing on it. The following stretches are performed on the areas where the majority of muscles become tight: calf stretch, piriformis stretch, pec minor stretch (doorway stretch), hamstring stretch (toe touches), inner adductor stretch (inner thigh), and hip flexor stretch (kneeling hip flexor). Your warm-up should be simple--Y and T movements, heel raises, jumping jacks, and lateral jumps to get the blood flowing and muscles stretched.

Core Training

Training of the core should be performed at the beginning of the workout after warm-up and stretches. Every free-weight training exercise engages the core, so training that area beforehand will warm and prep you for the remainder of your exercises. A basic core routine would be a circuit set of 30 second planks, 20 second side planks for each side of the body for two circuit rounds. Keep your abdominal muscles strong and tight when performing the exercises.

Complete Body Training

Weight training should be in a total body circuit fashion with no days of training happening in back-to-back days. For each push exercise, you should perform an opposite pull to maintain equilibrium within the body. A beginning weight training routine for women should be as follows, with 15 reps per station, two sets of one circuit: push-ups from the bar, split-stance single arm rows, squats against the wall. The second circuit with the same repetition and set system can be scaptions, kneeling close-grip pulldown, and reverse lunges.

Cardiovascular Routine

The treadmill will provide a greater benefit if you add weight training.

A cardiovascular routine is required for heart health and shedding extra calories. A medium to high intensity cardio-circuit is advised after a total-body training routine so you can hit that pesky fat storage that would not have been used unless you had burned your body's glucose through weight training. Spend only about 10 to 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise after your total-body weight-training session to speed up calorie loss and rev up your metabolism.