National Women’s Health Week is an effort to raise awareness about manageable steps women can take to improve their health. The focus is on improving women's health and the importance of incorporating simple preventive and positive health behaviors into everyday life.

Women are the caregivers: for spouses, children and parents, and they often forget to focus on themselves. However, research has proven that when women take care of themselves, the health of the entire family improves.

Maintaining regular health checkups is one of 5 health habits that can improve women’s health. The others are physical activity, a healthy diet, not smoking and engaging in safe behavior.

For regular health appointments, a bone density scan is very important. Having healthy bones is important at any age, but as we age our bones get thinner. Healthy eating habits, regular cardio exercise and a strength training routine are imperative to healthy bones. Osteoporosis is a concern for women, as women are four times more likely to develop this disease than men. To limit the risks of Osteoporosis, women should definitely engage in weight-bearing exercises. Eating healthy and possibly taking calcium supplements also aids in prevention.

Ever thought about adding a strength training routine to your normal fitness routine? Fitness experts say that full body workout is perfect for people who are new to exercising, but those who are regular should opt for split routines. Split routines allow for variation in exercises, the person does not get bored easily and every muscle groups get equal amount of attention. In addition the split routine allows the major muscle groups to recover - something which the fitness experts always recommend. However it is important to remember that there are no strict rules regarding how one should split up the workout routine. One should follow a routine which he/ she finds comfortable. Below a rough guideline regarding a strength training routine.

• The total workout can be split into upper and lower body. Then one can do different types of exercises on various days and lift weights two-four times every week.
• There are many who prefer to do push exercises one day and pull the other day. Pushing exercises generally targets areas like chest, triceps, calves, quads, shoulders etc. and includes bench press, calf raises, squats, and overhead press. Pulling exercises, on the other hand, focus on areas like biceps, abs, hamstrings etc. They usually include hamstring curls, bicep curls, and pull-downs.
• Another way to make the strength training routine fun is to opt for three days split. For example one can target chest and triceps on the first day, biceps and back on the second day and shoulders and legs on day 3.
• Many people love to target each muscle group every day. For them the strength training routine can look like this-day 1-chest, day 2-back, day 3-shoulders, day 4-arms, and day 5-legs.

There is a belief that one needs to devote large amounts of time to reap the benefits of this popular method of exercising. However this is not a right idea. Health expertsagree that 2-3 training sessions per week (each lasting for 20-30 minutes) is enough for most people. If you feel as though you don’t know how to begin this, we offer a great program called Group Power. It is a wonderful session much like our other Group Exercises, in which a group of people get together and work on the same routines with a trainer. People who are into this particular exercise will agree that it has a positive effect on the physical and emotional health. Give it a shot and it will surely make the strength and fitness routines easier and fun. Contact us today to find out how you can get involved.