Are you taking an active role in your health? Eating right? Daily aerobics? Drinking plenty of water and getting your required amount of vitamins and nutrients? Yes?

So, you’re lifting weights too then, right?

Why not? Weight lifting can be just as important to your health as aerobics! But most women shy away from weight lifting because they are afraid they will bulk up too much and appear too masculine. This is simply not the case. Weight lifting can help you tone and can only add to your appearance and femininity. There’s no danger of becoming too muscle bound unless you are injecting yourself with testosterone.

So, assuming that you’re not taking testosterone, adding weight lifting into your exercise routine can help dramatically increase your metabolism, tone and sculpt your body, and strengthen your bones. It can also help you lose weight faster than just exercise alone.

Studies show that the average woman who does weight training two to three times a week, for two months will lose 31/2 pounds of fat… all without cutting a single calorie. That’s because the more muscle you build the more calories you lose throughout the day even when you are resting. Women who lift weights burn 100 more calories throughout the day than women who don’t lift weights.

Weight lifting can also help prevent osteoporosis. Just weight lifting alone can improve your bone mineral density by 13 percent in only 6 months! High blood pressure and high cholesterol can also be combated by weight lifting thereby decreasing your risks of heart disease.

Some things to consider before you begin a weight lifting routine. Make sure you are using the right lifting technique. If you are using a machine at a gym, see if a professional trainer can help show you the right way to lift. If you are using free weights, make sure you use weights that are appropriate for you. Too light, and you won’t get a great workout. Too heavy, and you could injure yourself. How can you tell? A good rule of thumb is to assess how you feel the following day after a workout. Your muscles may feel tight and a little bit sore but your bones and joints should not ache.

By adding weight lifting into your exercise routine, you’ll be able to feel and see the benefits quickly, by losing weight, gaining muscle, and toning and sculpting until you get the body you’ve always wanted.

Start a discussion in the comment space below:

Some women don’t exercise at all because they think that a fitness program means they must spend hours in a gym, when actually as little as thirty minutes of moderate exercise each day is enough to improve or maintain your physical health? Look, with 1440 minutes given to you each day, surely you can spare 30 minutes for a life changing investment. By making the choice to include daily exercise as a part of your life, you begin your journey to a thinner you.

If you are like me, your time is limited. With family obligations, a full work schedule, errands to run and meals to prepare, I sometimes wonder how I get it all done. Before I began working out, I couldn’t imagine how I was going to find even five minutes a day to exercise. But once I started making physical fitness part of my routine, I can’t imagine life without it.

It’s true, with as little as 30 minutes of physical activity a day, your body will begin to change. For starters, exercise helps to change your metabolism. Once you start working out, your body will begin to use the food you eat to refuel itself.

Never worry about counting calories again with a sensible diet that’s rich in nutritious foods, coupled with 30 minutes of exercise each day. After a short time, you will begin to lose weight without giving it a whole lot of thought. Now what can be simpler than that? You’ll end up burning more fat as you build the muscles that are necessary for exercise.

As your muscles develop, you can alternate between aerobic and strength training exercises. I strongly urge you to incorporate Pilates into your workout as well. That’s because Pilates helps to strengthen your core muscles which in turn will help to keep you safe from injury. The added bonus with Pilates is that you can look 5 to 10 pounds thinner with a toned torso that is sure to turn heads.

You’ll notice mental and emotional benefits from exercising all throughout your day, too. Exercise helps your body to deal with stress, promotes better sleep, and aids in the prevention of many illnesses.

It’s a small amount of time to devote to such a beneficial way of losing weight. Won’t you start today? Just 30 minutes of exercise is all it takes. Once you get started, you won’t want to turn back.

Share your exercising experiences by leaving a comment.

Swimming is a fun fitness activity for women that burns a magnitude of calories, is easy on the joints, supports your weight, builds muscular strength and endurance, and improves cardiovascular fitness.

In the summer nothing cools you off and gives you that refreshing feeling like a dip in the pool, lake, pond, river or ocean. Best of all, swimming is an activity that you can learn at a young age and continue through your golden years.

Swimming will build your strength and endurance. The longer you swim the stronger and faster you will become. You’ll not only swim faster but you’ll perform other activities more effectively, too.

• Swimming stimulates circulation
• Swimming promotes proper breathing
• Swimming helps to combat the aging process

People have been swimming for thousands of years. It has been reported that the Romans built bathhouses and pools in the lands that they conquered to serve as social and exercise clubs.

Today swimming has become the second most popular exercise activity in the United States. Millions of Americans swim for exercise. Swim clubs, recreation centers, Y’s, and many other facilities feature swimming pools and now many high schools and colleges have competitive swim teams. One of my favorite Olympic sports is swimming, especially when America wins the “Gold.”

For weight loss and fitness, swimming really kicks up a big splash. I’ve charted the calorie burning benefits for the different swimming strokes so you can get the most out of your water sport. All of these calorie counts are based on continuous swimming for one hour.

Swimming laps, freestyle, fast, vigorous effort burns 590-863 calories
Swimming laps, freestyle, light/moderate effort burns 472-690 calories
Swimming, backstroke, general burns 472-690 calories
Swimming, breaststroke, general burns 590-863 calories
Swimming, butterfly, general burns 649-963 calories
Swimming, leisurely, general burns 354-518 calories
Swimming, sidestroke, general burns 472-690 calories
Swimming, synchronized burns 472-690 calories
Swimming, treading water, fast/vigorous burns 590-863 calories
Swimming, treading water, moderate effort burns 236-345 calories

So what are you waiting for? Pull on your swimsuit, grab a towel, and head to the nearest swimming hole.

Start a discussion by adding a comment below:

You could live a long healthy life if you started playing tennis at least 3 hours a week, as a matter of fact, you could cut your chance of a premature death in half! It’s a great cardiovascular activity that can burn up to 750 calories per hour.

Most importantly, you will feel better. It has been discovered that tennis players measure lower levels of anxiety, tension and depression than other athletes. They tend to be more optimistic and have a higher self-esteem.

The social aspect of tennis has a positive effect on your mind and spirit. A chance to get together with friends and team members, it helps to build self-esteem and optimism. But don’t let the cute tennis dresses fool you about this competitive sport. It has the capacity to burn more calories than inline skating, golf, or cycling.

If you’ve never played tennis before, you might want to seek out lessons from a tennis professional. You’ll need a tennis racket, tennis balls, tennis shoes, attire that’s easy to move around in and of course, a tennis court to play on.

When purchasing a tennis racket, make sure the grip fits your hand correctly. Hold out the hand that you will use to hold the racket, palm side up. Measure from the crease to the tip of the ring finger to get the measurement around the handle.

Scoring works a bit differently in tennis than other sports. The scoring starts at 15, the next point is 30, then 40. The next point is called game point or set point and it’s the winning point.

You may have heard tennis players talking about 30-love or love-30 that translates to 30-0, or 0-30, depending on which player is serving. The server’s score is announced first followed by the opponent’s.
If a game reaches a tie at 40 it is called deuce. The next person to score has server advantage and only needs one more point to win. If they don’t make this point the game goes back to deuce.

So, there you go, a brief lesson in tennis and some great reasons to take up the sport. And it hasn’t been completely proven, but tennis could make you smarter. Since tennis requires alertness and tactical thinking, it may generate new connections between nerves in the brain and thus promote a lifetime of continuing development of the brain, reported scientists at the University of Illinois.

Has this blog been helpful to you?  Tell us why in the comment space below:

If you are searching for a sensible women’s fitness plan, then look no further than Fitness4Her.com, your online diet and exercise program that’s dedicated to women. A certified personal trainer and fitness consultant, I created Fitness4Her.com as a way to reach out to women who are interested in fitness and healthy living.

Members of Fitness4Her.com have instant access to exercise routines, healthy cooking recipes, articles, tips and tools for all aspects of women’s fitness. Whether you need to gain weight or lose weight, boost body strength or stamina, find diet tips or inspiration … you’ll find it at Fitness4Her.com. You’ll always get honest down to earth answers to your questions or concerns about diet and exercise.

I personally answer every email that requires a response. Although it may take a few days to reply, please know that your input is very important to the success of Fitness4Her.com. I’m serious about healthy eating and I’m passionate about women’s fitness, and I know that regular exercise accompanied by a nutrient dense diet that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar, is the secret to losing weight.

You might be thinking that you already knew that secret; that you were already aware of the proper foods to eat and the amount of exercise needed. Well, if that is the case, then you probably follow that sensible diet and are pretty active and probably don’t have a weight problem—right? If your answer is not yes, then what’s wrong? Could it be that you need inspiration, motivation or new affirmations to get your women’s fitness program off the ground?

At Fitness4Her.com, you’ll find plenty of motivating articles in my daily blog, articles that will inspire you to take your fitness workout to the next level. Exclusive to Members Only, you’ll find recipes, exercise routines, engaging stories and tips to help you stay healthy while losing weight and getting in shape.

Anyone interested in a beautiful body knows that as an adult it takes hard work to maintain a fabulous figure. Diet is a big part of reducing body fat, but exercise is equally as important for staying healthy. At least 30 minutes of exercise each day for 6 days of the week, will keep your heart healthy and help to control your weight. It’s the formula that I suggest for my women’s fitness and exercise program.

As a member of Fitness4Her.com, you’ll be able to follow my step-by-step exercise routines, designed to accentuate the natural curves of the female body. Not only will these exercises help to shape your body, they will strengthen your muscles, increase your flexibility and improve your overall endurance level.

Have friends who are also searching for a fitness program that is friendly, sincere and developed with the female body in mind? Tell them join Fitness4Her.com also. Becoming a member is always easy and it’s free. F4H01045867