Women tend to forget about their muscle strength but every activity we do depends on them, from our everyday household tasks to our leisure or sporting activities. We need that strength even more if we wish have abundant energy to exercise on a regular basis and live an active lifestyle.

When Fitness Professionals ask women about their fitness goals, many mention personal goals such as decreasing body fat, having a firmer body, feeling better, and improving energy levels. Often, women try to achieve these goals by focusing mainly on aerobic exercise such as walking or jogging because either they do not understand what strength training can do for them or they fear that strength training exercise will give them larger muscles. Thanks to female hormones it is highly unlikely lean muscle tissue will increase very much. In fact only a small amount of extra muscle maybe a kilo or two is needed to help achieve a loss of excess body fat. If one of your health and fitness goals is weight loss, strength training exercise may be the answer to achieving the strong, fit, firm and youthful body you long for.

Many women miss out on the incredible benefits that strength training has to offer because of myths and false beliefs regarding this very important element of fitness. Done properly a strength training program that focus’s on major muscle groups of the body such as the back and legs increases the amount of toned lean muscle tissue. This will require more calories to be burned both during exercise and throughout the rest of your day. This is how excess body fat with be reduced. Many women incorrectly think they need to spend their exercise time walking on the treadmill or other similar aerobic activities . This will not produce the body fat reduction as muscle tissue cannot be maintained or increased with aerobic (heart/lung) training alone. And an increased metabolism is the key to weight loss.

Without strength training, an adult will lose approximately 1% of their muscle tissue per year after 30 years if age. For example:. If you are 55 years old and you’ve lost 25% of your muscle mass, you might be expending 250 calories less per day. You now have two options either you will always have to restrict what you eat so that you do not gain extra body fat, or you can begin a strength training program to raise your metabolism.

Strength training works because toning up muscle ignites your metabolism and keeps your body running like a zippy sports car. Every 500 grams of muscle on your body burns between 30 and 50 calories a day even when you’re watching TV or sleeping. Women often blame excess body fat on a sluggish metabolism when what’s really to blame is dwindling muscle mass. This loss of muscle is so slow and happens over such a long period of time that it goes unnoticed. This reduces the metabolic rate which allows sneaky body fat to start to accumulate.

If you’re not strength training already, don’t delay any longer, get started right away. No matter what your age you can become a strong, fit and more youthful woman. Make sure you see a Fitness Professional so you can learn the correct technique of the exercises and to ensure you get your results quickly and safely.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults do moderate to intense aerobic activities for at least 150 minutes a week. That translates into 30 minutes for five days a week, or just over 21 minutes for seven days a week.

But the warm weather means busier schedules, so you need to find a way to fit short workouts into your hectic days.

Here are some ideas to take advantage of spring and summer weather and fit the recommended exercise you need to maintain your health into your schedule.

1. Arrive at work early and park your car at the farthest spot away from the door. Then walk briskly around the parking lot once or twice before heading inside (depending on how large your parking lot is). The fresh air and blood pumping will help you to wake up and get ready for the work day. If you’re a little more ambitious, carry small hand weights or use weighted bands around your ankles and wrists to build and tone your muscles.

2. Turn your errands into a workout. Create your weekly shopping list and head out to the grocery or department stores. But don’t just concentrate on the items on your list. Take you cart and walk up and down each aisle. Or if the weather is bad, head over to the mall and get a few laps in while window shopping.

3. Try something fun from your childhood. Remember how much exercise you used to get when swinging a plastic ring around your hips, arms and neck? Sports hula hooping takes the fun one step further, helping you to burn 110 calories with just 10 minutes of activity.

Try a weighted hula hoop like the Acu Hoop from California Sports Hoop, Inc., which helps to build cardiovascular fitness and muscles in addition to burning calories. The circular motion promotes correct body alignment and proper posture in the upper body. Plastic sculpted bands prevent the hoop from sliding down your body so you can quickly get into the rhythm of your workout.

“The best thing about hula-hooping,” says personal trainer Rosemary Torres, “is it can be done anytime, anywhere.”

4. Turn housecleaning into a workout. With a little bit of music, a broom, dustrag or vacuum cleaner, you can make housecleaning more enjoyable, tone your muscles and accomplish one of those dreaded chores. Cleaning windows is great for the arm muscles, while vacuuming gets the entire body burning calories. Once again, if you’re feeling ambitious, add the weighted bands around your ankles and wrists for a more challenging workout.

For more information on the weighted hoops offered by California Sports Hoop, Inc., or to place an order, visit www.sports-hoop.com or call (866) 700-5668.

Courtesy of ARAcontent