Why women NEED to lift weights
This topic is much maligned and always has people on one side of the fence or the other.
The purpose of this article is to show you what strength training can do for you.
Afterwards, you will be armed with enough ammunition to decide if you want to give it a go, or maybe just stick to your cardio ways.
Before I go on, I want to preface this by saying I am NOT anti-cardio, by any stretch of the imagination. I'm actually pro-cardio.
It has it's place and is very beneficial for both increasing fitness AND also shedding those extra kilos.
I guess I'm just 'pro-er' (yep, it's a word) weights.
The reason I am in favour, and HIGHLY RECOMMEND that everyone -- especially women -- strength train is because being strong is just the beginning.
Although that is pretty damn awesome!
Two of the most common fitness goals that I hear are;
Lose Weight
Tone up (Get more definition)
Now, you can lose weight without doing ANY exercise.
Yup, that's right.
As long as your nutrition is on point, you can certainly lose plenty of kilos, without having to exercise.
Would I recommend this approach? No.
But, it can be done!
In terms of creating definition and 'toning', or firming up the body, you MUST exercise. And this has to include resistance training (Weights).
Let me explain why this is the case and run through some of the best exercises that you can do to help you transform your body.
Q- What do you think gives you that definition, or tone on your body???
A- It's muscle
Knowing this, how can you expect to get toned and have an athletic looking body if you don't lift weights?
Even Justin Beiber agrees
But muscle weighs more than fat!
No. It. Doesn't
This myth needs to die!!!
Below is a short video I shot detailing why this is not the case and that building muscle will actually make you smaller -- NOT bigger.
Great. You now know that muscle and fat take up different amounts of space.
Fat takes up more, and muscle takes up less space.
So how do you go about building muscle and what types of exercises should you be doing?
Big, compound movements which use a lot of muscle groups at the same time.
Think of Body-weight exercises and using free-weights, like Dumbbells, Barbells and Kettlebells.
Some of the best exercises you can do to help get you strong and also speed up your metabolism are;
- Squats
- Lunges
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Push-ups
- Chin-ups/Pull-ups
- Overhead Press
- Rows (Bent-over/Pendlay/Body)
There are no tricep kickbacks, bicep curls or ab crunches on the list!
The reason is because they don't work as many muscle groups as the exercises listed above.
The more muscles you use, the more calories you burn. plus, you can build more muscle.
THESE ARE 'BANG FOR YOU BUCK EXERCISES'. Stick to these!
There it is. The facts, laid out for you in black and white.
The power of strength training in all its glory.
With it, you can;
- Develop coordination
- Reduce your risk of injury
- Get strong(er)
- Speed up your metabolism
- Build a lean, defined body
- Strengthen your joints
- Reduce your risk of osteoporosis
- Build confidence and maximise your training time
Personally, those are more than enough reasons to incorporate strength training into your life.
At the end of the day it's you who has to decide if it's something worth pursuing.
It will be challenging. It will be tough. It will require effort.
How lifting weights can make you feel over time!
But in the end it will all be worth it!
Until next time,
Go and lift some weights!
Jesse
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