WEIGHT LIFTING FOR WOMEN

Weight lifting is a good way to get it off. Yet in all the years he has worked in a gym only one woman has asked for weights. Women don't realize, it seems, that they lack the male hormone testosterone that is responsible for spicy beefcake. There is no way in the world a woman's body can expand to Mr. Universe proportions.

You don't have to go out and buy weights. Get a pair of your husband's old socks, or a pair of pantyhose, fill them with pebbles or sand from the beach, tie a knot at the ends and you have got a nice one kilo (21b) weight in each hand. This is a good weight to start with, you can build up gradually from there.

STOMACH

Lie with knees bent, hands on head, on an incline board. (At home, hook feet under a bed.) Bring the body up so head meets knees. Hold. Lower it slowly and repeat six times. Work up to 20. These exercises at home are quite practicable if you use your ingenuity to replace the facilities and equipment usually in gyms.

BUST AND SHOULDERS

Lie flat on back with arms outstretched at sides, a weight in each hand. Imagine a barrel is sitting on your chest and bring your hands slowly around the barrel until they meet above the chest.

UPPER LEGS

Sit on board with legs hooked under weights (at home sit on a table with two 1kg 'weights tied to your ankles). Slowly raise your legs until they are out straight. Then lower your legs slowly and repeat exercise:

WAIST

Grasp a weight of 1 kg in one hand. Hold the other and up to the head. Push the body to the side, always keeping shoulder in line with knees and ankles. Return to upright position, repeat four times and then change hands.

UPPER LEGS

Lie flat on back, holding with your hands on to a rail above the head (at home, a good alternative is to use the underside of a cupboard). Then raise your legs slowly until adjacent to your body, hold for two seconds, and then lower your legs slowly. Relax and take deep breaths between each exercise.

UPPER ABDOMEN AND ARMS

Lie flat (on a table at home) with weights in each hand held directly above the head. Let your hands drop back, as far below the head as possible, before bringing them back above the head. There's no need to worry that these exercises will leave you with overdeveloped muscles every woman's hormone make up will prevent it.

BOSOM

Position 1. Lie on 45 degree angle, feet apart, weights in each hand. Rest hands on shoulders then push the weights above the body hold for the count of three then lower the two weights and return hands to position 1.

CYCLING

A warm up before exercising. You don't need an exercise bike for this one any bicycle will do. Another good warm up exercise is to jog on the spot for about 3 minutes. This gives you a gentle start to vigorous exercises.

INNER THIGH

Stand on one leg with the other resting on a bar or bench so that it is adjacent to the leg on ground. Stand straight, hands clasped above the head. Slowly drop the trunk of the body forward, and hands. will fall behind leg for balance. Pull the trunk up again slowly and breathe deeply for six seconds before repeating.

RUNNING

Legs, arms, lungs, heart, all get a workout when you run. Run to relax and wind down after you've been exercising but don't break records.

GROUND RULES FOR WEIGHT-LIFTING

First do general warm up exercises. Then try Toe Touching, and follow up with Head Circles: Stand tall with feet wide apart, hands on hips: Drop chin on to your chest. Rotate your head slowly to the right, continue backwards, on to the left end return to the front. Repeat 10 times. Arm Circles: Stand tall, arms stretched sideways off shoulder level, palms upwards. Make small circles backwards with your arms. Head quite still. Repeat 10 times backwards and 10 forward.

ELBOW ROTATIONS

Stand tall, feet apart, elbows at shoulder level. Clench fists and hold in front of your chest. Throw elbows backwards and without bending far back, come back to start. Repeat 10 times.