One does not have to look far to find countless weight lifting tips. Even before the Digital Age, magazine racks were brimming with muscle mags, and videos could be purchased for strength training at any level. Nowadays, all it takes is a smartphone or a search engine to find more articles, blogs and guides for lifting than any dedicated enthusiast could hope to read in an entire lifetime.
Unfortunately, you may find that it is slightly more difficult to find weight lifting tips that are designed specifically for women. In the minds of most of the general public– including many who write the various guides and blogs on lifting– the world of weightlifting is still very much a man’s world. Since the majority of weightlifters, bodybuilders, and serious strength training enthusiasts are men, most of the information available on these subjects is geared specifically for them and their needs.
While it is still not a time-consuming challenge to find tips for women, they are generally more scattered and covering a wide variety of topics– with an even wider variety of viewpoints and methodologies. Whether you are a woman who is just beginning in the world of strength training or you are an experienced hardcore lifter, the following tips are designed with you in mind.
1. Set realistic goals
You should not expect to begin weight training today and be able to deadlift twice your bodyweight next week. One of the main reasons why women give up on lifting prematurely is because they fail to achieve unrealistic goals quickly. This is not only discouraging when you ultimately fail, but you also put unnecessary expectations on yourself that can lead to improper or even dangerous strategies.
While goals are important– and necessary– to beginning and maintaining any successful training regimen, you should start conservatively with what you hope to achieve. Although these aspirations may be smaller, they will also be achieved more frequently, leading to higher motivation and increasingly ambitious goals.
2. Set performance-based goals
In addition to being realistic, it is important that your goals be specific and based on performance. While you may have the overall hopes of reducing body fat and improving lean muscle, it is difficult to determine exactly when (or if) these goals have been reached.
Instead of vague aspirations based on factors which are hard to measure, set goals that are easy to define and can clearly be reached.
Instead of saying: I want to become more toned.
Say: I want to deadlift 1.5 times my bodyweight.
Or: I want to do 25 push-ups and 10 chin-ups.
3. Use the right equipment
One of the many excuses that most women have for not following through on their strength training goals is a lack of convenient access to proper equipment. However, this is usually just that: an excuse. If you live in Jacksonville, Florida, you can use your smartphone to find a gym in the Northeast Florida. If you live on the outskirts of Brisbane and can afford your own gym equipment, go ahead and search for weight lifting equipment Brisbane based.
Even if a gym is not within a close distance and you cannot buy your own equipment, there are always alternatives to traditional techniques. Watch some of the countless YouTube videos with alternative strength training or get creative and devise your own custom strategies.
4. Do not be intimidated
It is not always easy for a woman to walk into a gym and begin lifting weights since almost all of her counterparts in that section will likely be of the male variety. While this can be intimidating at first, just look at this as another obstacle and make it your first realistic goal to achieve. It is almost never as bad as you initially imagine, and soon you will be as comfortable and experienced as any of the boys.
In addition to the strategies listed above, the most important tip is to start today. There will always be an excuse to postpone and a reason to procrastinate, but there is no time like the present. Get excited about your goals and get in there and start lifting!
