Fitness For Women - How Exercises Benefit You

We all know that regular exercise in important for fitness but very few of us do it. Even when we begin an exercise program it is all to often neglected after a few weeks.

Women are especially vulnerable to this syndrome. We start a fitness program in the New Year when we have put on the pounds over the holiday season then by the time we come to our summer holidays it is long forgotten. When we come to put on our swimming costumes again we are overcome with shame at the sight of our bodies.

That is part of the problem. So many women have a poor self image. They feel bad about their bodies. The fact that there are beautiful movie and pop stars who have lovely svelte bodies just makes us feel worse. How can we ever keep up with them?

Well let's face it we can't and don't want to. Real women have lives that do not revolve around their looks. We have jobs, family responsibilities, active social lives and all kinds of commitments and interests. Real women are not babes.

So we have to start from a realistic perspective about our own bodies and what we expect from an exercise program. That does not mean being timid about exercise. Lot's of women avoid weight training and resistance work because they think it will give them bulging muscles.

This is not the case. Women do not develop huge muscle mass even when they work out with weights. But weights and resistance work will help to hone a woman's body and make it look more trim and toned.

Cardiovascular work is also important for women. It helps to maintain a healthy heart and circulation. That will enable you to cope better with all the demands that everyday life places on you as a woman.

Interval training in which you increase your heart rate to 75-80% of its maximum and then let it drop down to 50-60% is a good way of increasing your cardiovascular capacity. Heart disease is not just a problem for men it is an under recognized issue in women.

Long term exercise can help you to avoid a whole number of health issues. It has been shown that exercise can reduce the risk of suffering from senile dementia. More women suffer from dementia than men because they tend to live longer. The risk of osteoporosis is also reduced by exercise. Really working the muscles as in weight training puts demands on the bones that keeps them strong.

If weight loss is your aim then remember that we burn at lot of calories by maintaining a comparatively low level of activity over a long period. Walking briskly is often better than running for weight loss.

An exercise program alone will seldom produce much weight loss. About 4 ounces a week is the average. To achieve a higher level it is necessary to combine exercise with a weight loss diet. But exercise will boost your metabolic rate.

As your produce more lean muscle in relation to fat so you will burn more calories. A pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. So a lean woman burns more calories when they are just sitting on the sofa than a woman who is carrying a lot of fat.

Perhaps the most important benefit of exercise for women is that it improves mood and self confidence. Many women suffer from depression and anxiety. Exercise has been shown to boost serotonin the brain chemical that lifts our mood and makes us feel good.

Knowing that we can lift weights or run for miles contributes to a sense of self esteem. Regular exercise puts women in control of their own bodies which is an important factor in boosting confidence. So put aside your fears about exercise and get to work on planning our a daily exercise program.

Abhishek is a Health And Fitness expert and he has got some great Fitness Secrets up his sleeve! Download his FREE 111 Pages Ebook, "Complete Body Fitness" from his website http://www.Fitness-Magic.com/71/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.