Strength workouts??

There are MANY different routines that you can do. Really the best thing is to try a few until you find something you like. I have 3 different workouts I do.
A. Chest and Triceps
B. Back and Biceps
C. Legs and Shoulders

so my week looks like:

Monday : Chest and Triceps
Tuesday : Back and Biceps
Wednesday: Legs and Shoulders
Thursday : Chest and Triceps
Friday : Back and Biceps
Saturday : Cardio
Sunday : Off
Monday : Legs and Shoulders

So my routine goes M-F and continues into the next week.


As far as the individual workouts there are a ton, I would recommend talking to someone at your gym to see if they can walk you through some workouts for the individual muscles. Or Google it and you'll find a bunch of websites that show different workouts

Here is a starter strength training workout. This is the plan I am currently working on:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-phase-1.html

I would recommend having at least one session (if not more) with a trainer to get form down as it is very important in order to prevent injury.

I go to a boot camp style class 2-3 times per week, and the trainer has us do different things every day to work different muscles. It's nice because someone plans the routine for you, and is there to guide/push you, and you're doing it with other people. So maybe look for something like that! Or, if you're not into the group workout thing, I have some MFP friends that are doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women: http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/nrol-for-women

I am at odds with that also due to if you use the treadmill from your 30-1 hour cardo it also helps get you body warmed up to to either free weights, weight machines or whatever your plan is for that day and after each 3 sets of 10 if you are working on arms stretching on that one area before you start the next weight machines or station of weights etc... I am 56 and I have never knock on wood damaged my body and within 1 year at the weight I want to be at... I hope it works for me this time due to I am NEVER giving up the gym again...

I definitely recommend adding strength training to your workout! It's a great way for women to lose weight and get good muscle definition. There are literally a ton of different ways to strength training, and I'm sure people will post them here, and you should be able to find additional ones on youtube and google. It's best to try some things out and see what works for you.

Some general tips:

-Always take a day off between doing the same muscle group. For instance, if you do upper body on Monday, don't do it again on Tuesday. Do Lower body on Tuesday instead.
- Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Once you get comfortable with the motion of the exercise, aim for less repetitions of a higher weight than more repetitions of a lower weight. Contrary to what some believe, this won't cause you to bulk up or look like a man. It will help you maintain muscle while losing weight.
-Do your weight training before cardio, not cardio before weight training. It's better to use your top tier energy reserves on weight lifting, or your workout will suffer.
-Change up your routine frequently. Doing the same exercise over and over again is not the best way to get results. Once you get familiar with the general concept of lifting weights, try different exercises and different muscle groups to keep your body guessing.
-Most importantly, do what works for you! If you find that anything I've said or anyone else says doesn't fit the experience you end up having with strength training, then go with what works for you. There are a lot of ways to be successful in strength training, and you'll find the one that you're best suited for!

I am sure that I was trained differently because each of my workouts are 3 hours 3-4 days a week and 1-2 hours a few days a week at home.

Yeah just enough to warm your system up and to have the muscles warm. The after every set of 3-10 all you need is a door jam to place your hand on the inside and pull lightly outward lets say after set of curls if your are benching go to the top of a doorway and pull downward just a tad or you could take down the molding, lol, leg presses bend over and try to touch your hands flat on the floor etc..