It seems to be conventional thinking that women should not
seriously lift weights, unless they want to look like a grossly ripped
bodybuilder. I have seen this with personal trainers and from the stares
I get from men when I am in the weight room. I refuse to use a personal
trainer because they will always tell me to lower the amount of weight I
am lifting and increase my repetitions. This is one approach, but I
find that I am never motivated by this and subsequently I stop going to
the gym because I dread these exercises. Thanks motivating personal
trainers.
To quell the fear of getting 'ripped,' your supplementation and diet would have to be so on key that you would probably be borderline taking steroids. Women just do not make enough testosterone to validate that kind of muscle growth and it takes over a year to gain just one pound of muscle.
That being said, there are a variety of reasons why I think everyone should incorporate weight lifting into their routine. Personally, I started lifting weights when took a couple 10 pounder weights from the workout bench my roommates had. I had no idea what I was doing, but every morning before I would go for my mile swim, I would do about 20 biceps curls, some delt work, and weighted crunches. It didn't take long for me to notice that my arms were getting more toned, I felt a little stronger, I was warmed up and ready to go for my swim, and I started losing weight!
Upon researching, I found that one of the biggest reasons I was starting to lose weight was because (I had pretty much plateaued with swimming, doing a mile everyday is great but eventually your body gets used to it) lifting weights increases your metabolism up to 48 hours after you have done so. It is often said that muscle burns more calories than fat, but as I have said before it takes a long time to build a lot of muscle. Lifting weights also increases bone density and tissue connectivity (reducing chances of injuries) which is very important for women and has a score of other benefits related to diabetes, heart disease, reversing the effects of aging, etc.
For those of you that need a tangible list of the benefits:
Build Lean Muscle Mass - (reverses the effects of aging in women over 40 or Sarcopenia)
Increased Everyday Functional Performance
Maintain/Lose Weight
Build Stronger Bones
Protect Against Injury
Gets rid of Pain from previous injuries
Stronger Back
Increased Lean Body Mass = Faster Metabolism
Improves Coordination of Muscles
Better Blood Sugar Control - Muscle tissue requires glucose which is pulled from the bloodstream, effectively preventing diabetes
Melts Visceral Fat Around Organs (contributes to diabetes and is found increasingly diagnosed thin people)
There are different types of emphases which is magnified by competitions. Everyone is familiar with the scary looking bodybuilders, which as I have said, takes way more work that anyone would care to do and is impossible if you are just trying to make lifestyle changes like me. With fitness models however, feminine muscles and features are emphasized such as shoulders and legs. Interestingly, abs and obliques are not a major focus point because not only abs are made in the kitchen but it does not look very feminine to have a thick core.
We have all heard of the natural high from exercise, but I personally believe that you get it a lot faster from lifting weights. With cardio, the high usually comes when your body starts burning fat, within 15 minutes of the exercise, but within the first repetition, I can feel that high. It is a great stress relief because I find that I am focused on what I am doing and not worrying about my other problems. An all consuming high if you will. Once I am done and I am faced with my stress and problems again, everything feels a little more manageable. I have seen people addicted to this high, usually the sinewy gym rats that are there every single time I am.
When I lift weights, my posture is a lot better because it feels more comfortable to hold my body that way and I naturally look and feel more confident. It is also easier to do daily tasks and my balance feels a lot better and I feel more flexible. For this reason, I stress doing compound exercises, exercises that utilize more than one muscle group and are commonly done in day to day activities. This include squats, military press (especially important for women because we naturally have weak upper body strength) and bicep curls. At work, I notice that I can easily lift things above my head, carry more groceries, and I overall have more stamina. Even without cardio, I feel easily two times better than normal and this greatly affects my happiness.
To quell the fear of getting 'ripped,' your supplementation and diet would have to be so on key that you would probably be borderline taking steroids. Women just do not make enough testosterone to validate that kind of muscle growth and it takes over a year to gain just one pound of muscle.
That being said, there are a variety of reasons why I think everyone should incorporate weight lifting into their routine. Personally, I started lifting weights when took a couple 10 pounder weights from the workout bench my roommates had. I had no idea what I was doing, but every morning before I would go for my mile swim, I would do about 20 biceps curls, some delt work, and weighted crunches. It didn't take long for me to notice that my arms were getting more toned, I felt a little stronger, I was warmed up and ready to go for my swim, and I started losing weight!
Upon researching, I found that one of the biggest reasons I was starting to lose weight was because (I had pretty much plateaued with swimming, doing a mile everyday is great but eventually your body gets used to it) lifting weights increases your metabolism up to 48 hours after you have done so. It is often said that muscle burns more calories than fat, but as I have said before it takes a long time to build a lot of muscle. Lifting weights also increases bone density and tissue connectivity (reducing chances of injuries) which is very important for women and has a score of other benefits related to diabetes, heart disease, reversing the effects of aging, etc.
For those of you that need a tangible list of the benefits:
Build Lean Muscle Mass - (reverses the effects of aging in women over 40 or Sarcopenia)
Increased Everyday Functional Performance
Maintain/Lose Weight
Build Stronger Bones
Protect Against Injury
Gets rid of Pain from previous injuries
Stronger Back
Increased Lean Body Mass = Faster Metabolism
Improves Coordination of Muscles
Better Blood Sugar Control - Muscle tissue requires glucose which is pulled from the bloodstream, effectively preventing diabetes
Melts Visceral Fat Around Organs (contributes to diabetes and is found increasingly diagnosed thin people)
There are different types of emphases which is magnified by competitions. Everyone is familiar with the scary looking bodybuilders, which as I have said, takes way more work that anyone would care to do and is impossible if you are just trying to make lifestyle changes like me. With fitness models however, feminine muscles and features are emphasized such as shoulders and legs. Interestingly, abs and obliques are not a major focus point because not only abs are made in the kitchen but it does not look very feminine to have a thick core.
Motivational Factors
One of the most empowering aspects of lifting weights is the ability to increase the amount of weight being lifted significantly faster than men. For example, men can start at a 40 lb biceps curl and a woman can start at 15 lbs. After a few weeks the man will still be at the same weight, while I personally could get up to 25 lbs within a few weeks.We have all heard of the natural high from exercise, but I personally believe that you get it a lot faster from lifting weights. With cardio, the high usually comes when your body starts burning fat, within 15 minutes of the exercise, but within the first repetition, I can feel that high. It is a great stress relief because I find that I am focused on what I am doing and not worrying about my other problems. An all consuming high if you will. Once I am done and I am faced with my stress and problems again, everything feels a little more manageable. I have seen people addicted to this high, usually the sinewy gym rats that are there every single time I am.
When I lift weights, my posture is a lot better because it feels more comfortable to hold my body that way and I naturally look and feel more confident. It is also easier to do daily tasks and my balance feels a lot better and I feel more flexible. For this reason, I stress doing compound exercises, exercises that utilize more than one muscle group and are commonly done in day to day activities. This include squats, military press (especially important for women because we naturally have weak upper body strength) and bicep curls. At work, I notice that I can easily lift things above my head, carry more groceries, and I overall have more stamina. Even without cardio, I feel easily two times better than normal and this greatly affects my happiness.
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