This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rhodes chapter.

The weight room: also known as the terrifying side of the gym, complete with free weights, machines, and mostly male athletes

The cardio room: where you can get your gossip magazine fix or attempt to block out the rest of the world and ease into automatic pilot

Why not get the best of both worlds?

Stop ditching the weight room: you will NOT get bulky nor will you appear out of place if you walk in with confidence and knowledge of your practice.

Think Cardio is the key to weight loss? Think again.

Cardiovascular exercise is a key component to your weight loss regime with a higher calorie burn per minute, however the calories that you burn doing cardio are not equivalent to the calories you burn lifting weights.

According to Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., director of research at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, “Lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after a workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover. That means you’ll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session.”

Therefore, a balance between strength training and cardiovascular exercise is essential if you want to burn fat and gain or maintain muscle tone.

Will you get bulky from lifting heavy?

The answer is a flat out NO! This is the biggest misconception out there. You may think that if you lift a comparable weight to a male that you will end up looking just like them.

Debunking the Bulking Myth:

Testosterone is the male sex hormone used to develop muscle mass. Women produce 1/15th the amount of testosterone that men do so building muscle and bulking up like a male would require you to lift extremely heavy weights. If you lift the proper weight, you will NOT get big.

How to choose the proper weight (Adopted from Paige Waehner CPT)

1. Pick up a lighter weight and perform a warm up set of the exercise of your choice, aiming for about 10 to 16 repetitions.

2. For set 2, increase your weight by 5 or more pounds and perform your goal number of repetitions (start with 10-12). If you can do more than your desired number of reps, heavy up again for your 3rd set.

3. In general, you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY do the desired reps.

Key: You should be struggling by the last rep, but still able to finish it with good form.

Helpful Terms:

Sets- the amount of times you complete an exercise

Super Sets- Performing two or more moves in a row with no rest in between each move

Reps- the amount of repetitions you perform of each exercise

Rest Time- the amount of time you rest in between sets

Developing a routine:

If you’re new to lifting weights, it’s best to start off with a realistic plan. Begin with a three-day split which means you’ll be lifting for 3 non-consecutive days and either resting or performing cardiovascular exercise on your off days.

Try to hit each muscle group at least once a week!

Below is an example of how to split up the body parts you train so that you hit all muscle groups each week.

Day 1- Monday: Legs/Butt/Shoulders

Day 2- Wednesday: Back/Biceps

Day 3- Friday: Chest/Triceps

On the days in between your 3 strength-training days, either take the day off or perform 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at a moderate pace. Remember to give yourself 1-2 off days per week and to stretch properly after exercising.

Keeping Track of your Workouts:

Make sure to record your workouts. In a notebook or on your phone. This will allow you to stay on track and track your progress. Map out your routine before you get to the gym and bring a copy with you so that you aren’t lost once you get started.

Sample Routines for Beginners:

3 Day Beginner Plan

3 Day Beginner Plan 2

Jamie Eason’s LifeFit Trainer Program

Jamie Eason’s Female Fat Loss Training Plan

Sources:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com…

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/…

http://exercise.about.com/cs/e…