For men having good looking strong arms is generally at the top of their "body wish list" and most know that strength training to build muscle tissue is generally the best way to reach that goal. Unfortunately, though most women also want to have attractive arms they have somehow been confused into thinking that strength training is the last thing they should do. There has been such a push from I don't know what that if a women does any strength training that somehow they will end up looking like a man and a body builder man at that.

I want every woman out there to know that traditional weight training and strength training is not only something that you should not avoid but should be a integral part of any woman's workout program no matter what your goals.

I have had many female clients over the years and the only ones that have ever reported back to me that they received complements on their arms were my clients that I was able to convince to incorporate strength training into their personal fitness routine. So it is about time that the ladies out there start lifting some weight like the guys and only then will they start getting the bodies they want and burning calories like a man.

With that said, this workout is most definitely for the guys and the girls. Whenever you are lifting weights there are two main categories you typically fall under, mass building, or toning. The main difference between the two is the number of repetitions and the amount of weight. Mass building is typically done with a higher or more difficult weight (compared to your own strength levels) and with a lower number of repetitions. More aggressive mass building will be done with a weight that is difficult for you to complete 4-6 repetitions in 2-3 sets, where as more moderate mass building will be done with a weight that makes it difficult to complete 8-10 repetitions typically done with 3 sets.

Toning style on the other hand is more for increasing endurance at a specific strength which causes muscle tissue to firm, rather than increase in size and strength. Toning is typically done with a weight that makes it difficult to complete a 12 repetitions or higher using 3 sets. The more aggressive toning routine can even go up to 20+ repetitions per set using 3-4 total sets.

Each version of weight training greatly changes the number of calories you burn. Typically a toning routine may burn more calories total because the workout just takes longer when doing more repetitions and set; however, aggressive weight lifting has a much, much higher after burn effect due to the increased energy demands to repair ripped muscle tissue (ripping individual muscle fibers is what causes the muscle to get stronger and bigger).

Because of the nature of theses routines it is very difficult to give an accurate calorie burn range but we will try anyway. For the exact style of routine I am doing (3 sets, 10 repetitions, heavy enough weight that it is difficult to finish the last set), taking into account the amount of weight I am using, I can expect to burn around 9 calories per minute through out this routine giving me a total of 315 calories burnt over the course of this 35 min workout. Keep in mind however that if you can lift more than me then you will burn more calories per minute, and if you lift less than me then you will burn fewer calories per minute. On average if you are lifting lighter weight expect as low as a 4 calorie per minute burn and if you are lifting very heavy then expect a 11 calorie per minute burn; giving you a total range of 140 to 385 total calories burned over the course of this 35 minute video. Don't forget that you will also get a decent "after burn" affect so you can add around 5 to 10% of the above total for every day that you are still sore.

The following is the exact routine used in this video. Each group of two exercises is done alternating for three sets each, doing 10 repetitions per set.


Strength Training for Arms and Shoulders - Strong Toned Arms Workout

Group 1
Over Head Press
Curl

Group 2
Lateral Raise (palm facing back)
Overhead Tricep Extension

Group 3
Arnold Press
Hammer Curl

Group 4
Ventral Raise (palms facing up)
Skull Crusher