A new concept of weight training called Body Pump is quickly catching up in the West. Body Pump is a form of exercising with weights where weights are kept constant but the exercise is repeated several times. This way muscles are shaped to define the figure and keep you fit. And it works, the lady whose classes I attended was twice my age but looked much better and more fit than I ever have.In India as well, more and more women are rushing to gymns to look fit and stay young. Weight training becomes more and more important for women with age. After 22, muscles begin to sag. But with weight training, this process slows down and can even reverse the effects of age and gravity.Balpreet Kaur, a youngster who uses weights to train regularly, says, ``a regular workout keeps me fit and feeling strong. I use weights as it is better than jogging or cycling. I feel that for people who do not play other sports, such a workout can become a part of their lives.''Men lift weights to develop more muscles and maintain a fit body, whereas women use them to lose fat and look good. However, most women fear that by using weights to train, they will end up looking the female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even though women understand cardiovascular exercises and flexibility, very few know how to train their muscles.Lets clear this misconception first. According to Sally Gunner, an aerobics instructor, who is one of the people behind Body Pump, ``it takes men a great amount of time to build big muscles, and also an abundant amount of male hormones to produce muscle mass.'' She says that it has taken her years of hardwork to have a perfect body and well defined muscles.Therefore, because of the genetic capability that women lack, and the amount of work involved, it is nearly impossible for them to develop big muscles.Women have the same skeletal muscles as their male counterparts. These muscles need to be exercised to produce a shapely figure, specially after you have lost weight. Moreover, women work their lower body muscles much more, in an attempt to loose that tummy or have thinner thighs.All muscles should be worked in harmony and the weight should keep increasing from time to time. Only when muscles are worked against resistance do they continue to get stronger and stay firm. A large number of women do not increase the amount of weight with time, they train with, hence stagnating this development.The workout schedule should be based on circuit training. A single set of exercises for each body part, like the shoulders, back, legs etc. with no rest between these exercises, is an ideal way to ensure that all muscles are trained equally. Another important point is that when fat is burnt, it exposes the muscle that lies beneath it. Burnt fat does not get converted into muscle, and this muscle, if not exercised just sags, making you look older. Therefore, to make it look good, you have to tone it.One last advise. Nothing can be achieved if you are not ready to control your diet. So do that and see the results.
