Please be sure to stretch before doing any type of exercise.  Consult your doctor if you have any health issues.

I do have several different hand weights because individual muscles have a different maximum weight they are capable of handling in accordance with which exercise I am doing.  For instance, when I do regular squats, I use 20 lbs. in each hand but I use 10 lbs. when doing step-ups onto a chair.  When I do bicep curls I can use 10 lbs. but when I do the arm pull-up exercise I can use 20 lbs. When I began muscle building, all of the weights I used were much lighter.

As the weight I needed increased, I eventually bought a set I could add weights to but I still need the smaller weights for certain exercises.  Since I rotate through the exercises and repeat 3-4 times, it really slows down the process if I have to add and remove weights so I like having several different sizes. When I need a heavier weight for the larger muscles, I can just add to my heaviest set.

Have a hands-on healthy and safe day!
Joy

The first couple of days of muscle building caused some pain for me.  Although I continue to build muscle, they don’t seem to feel as sore.  Now the only time I feel much pain after muscle building is when I use a new muscle.  I change which muscles I am exerting periodically and sometimes feel some soreness.

For instance, 2 days ago, I did forward lunges while holding 10-pound weights for my leg exercise.  I didn’t think it would be much different than the step-ups onto a chair that I had done many times in the past but I learned otherwise.  Apparently, there is a muscle just above the top of the legs that gets a real work-out when doing lunges and it let me know it.

A great way I have found to bring some relief for sore muscles is to take a mineral bath.  I use Himalayan salt in a warm bath and soak for 15-20 minutes (or longer if one feels so inclined).  I bought Himalayan salt as part of the healing process for my adrenal glands and I have found so many uses for it.  I think it just might be the one therapeutic supply that I just can’t live without!

There is a fantastic muscle program on the NES Health MiHealth PEMF/Microcurrent device that works wonders on muscles.  I have also had great pain relief by using the Acute Balance setting on the NES Health MiHealth.

3 days a week I use hand weights
I use the heaviest weight I can hold while doing 8-12 reps in good form for steps 1-3, I have not used any weights for abdominal exercises:

1. Legs & hips- squats OR lunges OR step-ups onto a chair 
2. Pulling with arms- bicep curl OR bend over and pull weights up to torso 
3. Pushing with arms- hold weights over shoulders push up OR push-ups on the floor without weights
4. Abdominals- crunches OR single bent leg lifts with lower back on floor OR oblique crunches on the floor or on an exercise ball  
5. Repeat steps 1-4 two more times
6. End with legs & hips.

You will need to increase the amount of weight over time.    You could start with a large plastic bottle of water that is easy to hold but you will probably want it to be at least 32 ounces.  I purchased a set of hand weights with discs that can be added to increase the pounds.  I use heavier weights when doing squats.
It is generally believed that if more than 15 repetitions per set is possible, the weight is too light to stimulate maximal growth. Muscle Hypertrophy Training". Muscle Hypertrophy Training. http://www.expert-nutrition.com/hypertrophy-training.html. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
There is no need to do 20-40 repetitions, heavier weights with less repetition works great.
Several growth factors are involved that regulate the mechanisms of change in protein number and size within the muscle. The adaptation of muscle to the overload stress of resistance exercise begins immediately after each exercise bout, but often takes weeks for it to physically manifest itself. The most adaptable tissue in the human body is skeletal muscle, and it is remarkably remodeled after continuous, and carefully designed, resistance exercise training programs.
Muscle growth occurs whenever the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown. Both, the synthesis and breakdown of proteins are controlled by complimentary cellular mechanisms. Resistance exercise can profoundly stimulate muscle cell hypertrophy and the resultant gain in strength. Interestingly, a single bout of exercise stimulates protein synthesis within 2-4 hours after the workout which may remain elevated for up to 24 hours.
Aging mediates cellular changes in muscle decreasing the actual muscle mass.  Happily, the detrimental effects of aging on muscle have been shown to be restrained or even reversed with regular resistance exercise. Importantly, resistance exercise also improves the connective tissue harness surrounding muscle, thus being most beneficial for injury prevention and in physical rehabilitation therapy.
Additional References:
Foss, M.L. and Keteyian, S.J. (1998). Fox’s Physiological Basis for Exercise and Sport. WCB McGraw-Hill.
Rasmussen, R.B., and Phillips, S.M. (2003). Contractile and Nutritional Regulation of Human Muscle Growth. Exercise and Sport Science Reviews. 31(3):127-131.
Biographies:
Young sub Kwon, MS, CSCS, is a doctoral student in the exercise science program at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. He earned his master's degree in exercise physiology in 2001 and has research interests in the field of resistance training and clinical exercise physiology. Before coming to the U.S. he was an exercise specialist in a hospital in Korea.
Len Kravitz, PhD, is the program coordinator of exercise science and a researcher at UNMA, where he won the 2004 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. He was also honored with the 1999 Canadian Fitness Professionals International Presenter of the Year Award, and was the first person to win the IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year Award.

Here is some information about what happens when you build muscle, and how that affects your metabolism and hormones.
When muscles undergo intense exercise, as from a resistance training bout, there is trauma to the muscle fibers that is referred to as muscle injury or damage in scientific investigations. This disruption to muscle cell organelles activates satellite cells, which are located on the outside of the muscle fibers between the basal lamina and the plasma membrane of muscles fibers to proliferate to the injury site. In essence, a biological effort to repair or replace damaged muscle fibers begins with the satellite cells fusing together and to the muscles fibers, often leading to increases in muscle fiber cross-sectional area (hypertrophy). The satellite cells have only one nucleus and can replicate by dividing. As the satellite cells multiply, some remain as organelles on the muscle fiber where as the majority differentiate (the process cells undergo as they mature into normal cells) and fuse to muscle fibers to form new muscle protein stands (or myofibrils) and/or repair damaged fibers. Thus, the muscle cells’ myofibrils will increase in thickness and number. After fusion with the muscle fiber, some satellite cells serve as a source of new nuclei to supplement the growing muscle fiber. With these additional nuclei, the muscle fiber can synthesize more proteins and create more contractile myofilaments, known as actin and myosin, in skeletal muscle cells.
Growth factors are hormones or hormone-like compounds that stimulate satellite cells to produce the gains in the muscle fiber size. These growth factors have been shown to affect muscle growth by regulating satellite cell activity. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a key regulator of satellite cell activity. It has been shown to be the active factor in damaged muscle and may also be responsible for causing satellite cells to migrate to the damaged muscle area.
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is another important growth factor in muscle repair following exercise. The role of FGF may be in the revascularization (forming new blood capillaries) process during muscle regeneration.

A great deal of research has been focused on the role of insulin-like growth factor-I and –II (IGFs) in muscle growth. The IGFs play a primary role in regulating the amount of muscle mass growth, promoting changes occurring in the DNA for protein synthesis, and promoting muscle cell repair. Insulin also stimulates muscle growth by enhancing protein synthesis and facilitating the entry of glucose into cells. The satellite cells use glucose as a fuel substrate, thus enabling their cell growth activities. And, glucose is also used for intramuscular energy needs.
Growth hormone is also highly recognized for its role in muscle growth.
Resistance exercise stimulates the release of growth hormone from the anterior pituitary gland, with released levels being very dependent on exercise intensity. Growth hormone helps to trigger fat metabolism for energy use in the muscle growth process. As well, growth hormone stimulates the uptake and incorporation of amino acids into protein in skeletal muscle.

Lastly, testosterone also affects muscle hypertrophy. This hormone can stimulate growth hormone responses in the pituitary, which enhances cellular amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. In addition, testosterone can increase the presence of neurotransmitters at the fiber site, which can help to activate tissue growth. As a steroid hormone, testosterone can interact with nuclear receptors on the DNA, resulting in protein synthesis. Testosterone may also have some type of regulatory effect on satellite cells.
Have a hands on healthy day,
Joy
Information found at: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musclesgrowLK.html

I have been doing bursting aerobic exercise since last November, 3 days every week.  The fact that it takes less than 15 minutes has made it so easy to fit it in to my schedule.  At first it would take me 4 or 5 minutes to recover from each 30 second burst of running in place as fast as possible.  However, I was surprised how much more quickly my heart rate recovered after just a couple weeks.  Since I was bursting only every other day, that means that after just 6 or 7 sessions my recovery time decreased to about 2 minutes.

I love knowing that it is helping my adrenals and not causing a stress response for my body.  This is so important because of the role they play during menopause and in relationship to my seasonal and food allergies.   This has helped tremendously along with the muscle building routine I do on 3 days of the week, on the days I am not doing my aerobic bursting exercise.  Using the most effective way to build muscle the exercises take less than 20 minutes.  I will be adding more about that soon.

Update: I am still doing my bursting every week and I am very happy with the improvement.  I just love exercise that is so productive and time efficient!!

Bursting Method:
1) Run as fast as you can for 30 seconds.
2) Recover for at least 2 minutes (at first it may take 3-5 minutes to recover).
3) Repeat above steps 3 more times.

When you do endurance exercise as when you do 30 minutes or more steady state training, running, walking, biking, swimming of moderate or higher intensity, you create oxidative stress. It lowers your immune system. Marathon runners have a much lower immune system for some time after running a marathon.

Through the science of exercise endocrinology they have learned that the fuel substrate that your body uses primarily during exercise is the one that is stored back after exercise. If you use more fat during exercise then your body will want to store that fat back on after exercise. Also, if you do something more intense that uses more carbohydrates during exercise, your body will store more carbohydrates back into your muscles and burn more fat after exercising.

Stress hormones shrink the hippocampus that affects the brain and memory. It is important to be careful not to create a stress through exercising. Endurance training is very stressful on adrenal glands. However, doing short intervals of intense exercise and then resting for at least twice as long, is beneficial for adrenals. This method of exercise works with your sympathetic nervous system and helps teach your body how to handle stress better. It is still beneficial for increased circulation and for the brain and heart.

Doing aerobic exercise in short, intense burst with recovery time between intervals helps to raise growth hormone. Human growth hormone is produced in the pituitary gland, which gets its signals straight from the brain. As such, human growth hormone is said to be able to improve the functions of the brain, by affecting some of the proteins produced there. In addition, human growth hormone can stimulate the repair and rejuvenation of neurons in the brain. Everything from memory, to learning ability, to intelligence can benefit from human growth hormone. It also can also protect cells all throughout the body. Where some antioxidants remove oxygen from cells but keep certain destructive enzymes, human growth hormone can act directly on these proteases, keeping them from damaging the cells. Not only that, but human growth hormone is widely accepted as being able to build and retain muscle mass. This includes increasing stamina, strength, and even endurance.