Exercise For Women Is An Important Foundation In Your Life

How Important is Exercise for Women?

The importance is undeniable as the shiny attributes of exercise are aplenty.

I just name a few here - help you fight off premature aging; battle more effectively those extra pounds that creep up with age; nurture stronger & healthier bones; hike up your slowing metabolism and strengthen your heart and lungs.

If you don't exercise, you could be impacted in a bad way:

• Your body may age prematurely;
• Your bones become brittle, putting you at risk of debilitating fractures ;
• You're likely to feel stiff when getting up out of any seated position;
• You're likely to experience soreness in your hips, knees and joints;
• Worse still, if you're overweight or obese, you tend to feel depressed and anxious.
• You build up body fat fast and have a tougher time losing it!

Besides this, exercise for women is seen the most effective way to battle those extra pounds that sneak up as you get older.

You can try dieting to ward off those pounds but it doesn't seem to work.

This is because by dieting alone you turn off your metabolism which causes you not able to blast away your excess calories and body fat.

To lose those extra pounds, you need to exercise to kick start your metabolism into higher gear (not turn it off) plus you need to eat a healthy diet .

I think exercise for women should consist of 4 components:

• Cardio exercise
• Toning exercise
• Strength training
• Stretch Exercise

Wait! Another important exercise component for us ladies.....

Kegel exercise for your "inside"!

Cardio is one exercise for women that does a lot for my health and appearance, strengthens my heart muscle and helps lower my blood pressure and cholesterol level.

It also helps me to burn off excess calories and lift the layer of fat covering my muscles so I can see the newly defined and toned muscles (from doing toning exercise).

To achieve a reasonably good level of fitness, you should cardio at least 3 to 4 times per week for 20-30 minute per session to help you improve stamina, decrease blood pressure and ease your stress level .

My favorite cardio exercise is walking as it burns up my body fat steadily.

This is the meaty part of exercise for women because it brings about real changes in the tone and strength of my muscles by strengthening and toning them and by increasing the amount of lean muscles in my body.

The results are rewarding - I've a fit, trim and shapely body!

Actually, strength training is synonymous to toning exercise as it builds strength in my muscles and bones plus beautiful lean muscle mass by either using my own body weight or weights like dumbbells.

It's an important exercise for women as it comes in handy for us ladies as we get older because of the risk of osteoporosis after menopause and our increased fragility as we age. The stronger muscle and bones we build through the exercise make a lot of differences to the quality of our lives in our later years.

The older we ladies (or for that matter, men) get, the less flexible we become.

That's because we become less active, our circulation slows down and the collagen fiber in our body breaks down.

The effects of all these can be slowed down if we include some stretching in our exercise program.

And the only way to increase our flexibility is to regularly stretch our muscles and tendons that control joint movement.

So remember, stretching is an important exercise for women.

Big time question - Do you or don't you do exercise now that you're pregnant?

You should because exercise during your pregnancy certainly does you and and your baby lots of good.

Chief reason being this:

The exercises you do during this period will prepare you for childbirth by strengthening your muscles and building endurance and once your baby's born, they help you get back in shape that much quicker and easier.

That's double bonuses for you!

From my experience, you need to put things into perspective when you start an exercise program:

• The reason why you want to start an exercise program

-Suggested by doctor?

-Plan to participate in sports event such as a marathon, running or walking?

-Just want to keep fit and in good health in general?

• Make sure the exercise program you choose meets your own personal needs

Most of us ladies fail in our exercise programs because:

-We don't follow through

-The exercise program doesn't fit into our life style

-We aren't mentally prepared

-We don't know the proper way to exercise

-We don't have faith in the end result - a healthier, fitter and toned body and cannot envision it or use it as daily motivation

Despite the above setbacks, when you see your body changes, adapts and benefits from the exercise, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to carry on and that will be the greatest source of motivation.

Explore the options available to you thoroughly before deciding to start an exercise program.

You can choose to start off by:

• Hiring a personal trainer

I've found Chad , who's qualified, motivated and most important of all, he's a trainer I can relate to.

The idea is that I'm able to learn sufficient skills from Chad that will enable me to continue the program on my own, if I want to.

And he really trains me to do that.....

• Teaming up with an exercise partner

I tend to skip an exercise session when I work out alone but when I've a partner, I'm more likely not to cop out.

The right partner - one who's serious about her exercise, consistent, dependable, on-time and working close to your level of fitness, can provide you enough motivation to get you and keep you on an exercise program.

• Committing to a monetary payment program such as paying an hourly rate to a personal trainer or signing up a monthly program at a gym

The gym program might be the best way to jump-start you if you've had a tough time getting started.

Personally, I think the best program of exercise for women is one that you can do at home .

I've pursued the home exercise program for many years and find it to be as satisfying as training with a personal trainer or working out in a gym.

But first, trained with a personal trainer.

Then when you've learnt sufficient skills from the trainer, you carry on the program at home on your own, supplemented by a collection of good exercise videos and books.

If you opt for a home exercise program , you need to:

• Approach it systematically and just as seriously as if you were training with a personal trainer or working out in a gym
• Schedule a certain time of the day for your exercise
• Establish a certain place in your home for the exercise; try to find a place which is quiet and clutter-free so that you're not distracted and have enough space to move about while exercising
• Socialise with those who understand your exercise need and those who have interest in exercise

  You can exchange a lot of practical knowledge and useful information by sharing experience with each other.

Ah....That reminds me....

Since you're exercising at home, why not rope in your child to exercise too?

Through my years' of exercising at home, I've some valuable insights to share with you on how to execute the program in a correct and proper manner:

• If you've never exercised before; you're overweight; you're a smoker; you're over age 60 or you've a chronic health condition (cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, kidney disease, liver disease or arthritis),please consult your doctor before you start
• If you've never exercised before or it's been more than 3 months since you last exercised, it's best for you to start slowly
• The first 4 weeks is the crucial period for your body to get use to the exercise routine, so take it easy and start off slowly
• If you start off vigorously without giving your body time to adjust to the stress you're putting on it, you're likely to end up with sored and injured muscles that'll put you off exercising
• Before you start the exercise, it's a must that you do a warm-up (3 to 5 minutes) to get your muscles ready for exercise
• Wear exercise clothing that's comfortable, fitting and made of breathable material
• Invest in a good quality exercise mat. I recommend mat which is thick and of good quality
• After you choose the types of exercise you want to do, look for shoes that're designed specifically for that exercise

  When choosing your shoes, look for these qualities in them:

  -Shock absorption because without it, your feet will take most of the impact during exercise and you increase the risk of injury to your feet, legs, knees and lower back

  -Right fit for your shoes

  -Good flexibility at the ball of the foot to give your foot freedom to move

  -Sole wide enough to provide stability

  A pair of cross trainers is worth investing in as they're made with good ankle support, good lateral movement stability and enhanced shock absorption.

  They're suitable for walking, aerobic dance, strength training and step aerobics.

• During exercise, your body will need more water to replace water that's lost through sweating. So drink a big glass of water before and after each exercise session
• Just as your body needs a warm-up to prepare for exercise, it also needs a cool down after a hard exercise workout

Whoa! It's a whole lot of things you need to do putting together a program of exercise for women, whether with the help of a personal trainer, a gym sign up or you do it on your own.....

However, the most important thing is you do it the correct and proper way, so that you enjoy your exercise and avoid injury.

By the way, I've culled out a list of top 10 reasons why women exercise .

It might interest you and spur you on to exercise!

To make your life sweeter, there's a cheap and effective way to exercise anytime, anywhere.....And still get results!

And if you've fibromyalgia, exercise! It helps heaps!

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