Tip: Start strength training with MuscleWiki!
For women who start strength training, it can be very difficult, at first, to get a good training schedule that works for you. Not everyone has the money to hire a professional to create a workout plan for them. And a lot of the times, the workout plans that are available at the gym are not very extensive. Fortunately, the Internet was invented, and there is a crazy amount of information online that you can find about strength training. Most recently, I stumbled upon MuscleWiki, a site where you can target a specific muscle group that you want to find exercises for. Super handy!
Musclewiki is a fairly new website created by fitness dude Ryan. He has the opinion that fitness, no matter how difficult it sometimes seems, should be made simple so everyone is able to do it. To him, the difficulty lies most of all in the journey. By that, he means, that it is especially hard to find the right exercises and that's what motivated him to start this site. The website MuscleWiki is made in such a way that it is suitable for beginners and advanced lifters. Personally, I think it's a bit low for advanced people because there is not a large amount of exercises available. But if you're just starting with strength training, it is the perfect tool.
How it works
When you start strength training, it is an absolute must to set up a program that you stick to. When you repeat the same exercises for a few weeks, you'll be able to track the progress that you've made. At some point, you will find yourself able to do more reps or heavier weights.
When you go on MuscleWiki, you're immediately met with a picture of the body. At the top left, you can indicate whether your're a man or a woman. From that point, it speaks for itself: Click on the muscle group that you want to work on and you will see an array of exercises you can do. These exercises also have helpful GIF's and an extensive explanation in the text. That way, you can clearly see and read how to have the perfect form for the move.
Calculators
Besides strength exercises, you can also find a few helpful calculators on MuscleWiki where you can (among others), calculate your caloric intake and your macros. With the "one rep max tool", you can see how much weight you can lift for one rep based on your strength and endurance. When you're lifting heavy though, it is recommended that you never try it alone. Ask someone to spot for you and help where necessary.
MuscleWiki is a very handy website that's growing it's database of exercises everyday. I find this a pretty good thing, because after you're busy with strength training for a long time, then most of the exercises won't be anything new for you. It seems like soon home work-out exercises will also be added. Exciting!
How did you start strength training? Are you going to give it a try now? I'm curious! :)
