The women's fitness blog

The pressures family life can make it difficult to motivate yourself to get started. So, it's worth thinking about what you gain from regular exercise - or conversely, what you stand to lose form lack of exercise.

• Physical inactivity is a major contributing factor to coronary heart disease - in other words, if you don't exercise you dramatically increase your risk of dying from a heart attack, particularly if your family has a history of heart problems.
• Conversely, exercise means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure
• Being physically active can help you to manage stress and increase your self-confidence
  
• Regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain an ideal weight, which can be important in managing many health conditions (or may just make you feel happier about your appearance)
• All exercise helps strengthen bones and muscles to some degree, but weight-bearing exercise, such as running, is especially good in promoting bone density and protecting against osteoporosis, which affects men as well as women
• Different exercises help with all sorts of health niggles, such as digestion, poor posture and sleeplessness, and physical activity can be beneficial for a range of medical conditions, from diabetes to lower back pain

I see a lot of women in the gym who seem to concentrate on cardio work, such as running. A lot of them say they don't lift weights because they don't want to build big muscles and look like men. This is a very common misconception; the fact is that women don't have enough testosterone to build significant amounts of muscle.

If you have seen any female bodybuilders who have big muscles it's because they take steroids. Lifting weights will not naturally enhance muscle size to this degree in women. It will only add a little muscle, which gives that toned look, as the muscle pushes out more. Lifting weights is one of the best toning and all-round fitness techniques women can use. Studies have shown that resistance training beats cardio in almost every area, including fat-burning.

Women should do the same exercises as male bodybuilders, including squats, deadlifts, crunches, pulldowns and curls. If you are intimidated by all the bruisers in the weight room, go with a male friend. Guys will most likely be impressed with a woman who knows what she's doing fitness-wise.