In our continuing series on weightlifting for women, let’s today talk about
Fears Women Have About Lifting Free-Weights
This is Part 4 of 4 in the series.
Fears women have of getting bulky from lifting weights are unfounded
Click here for part 1, part 2, or part 3.
“I Don’t Want To Get Bulky!”
Way too many women are worried about “getting bulky”.
Holy Cow, you’d think that merely looking at free-weights would turn a woman into a she-man! The biggest myth aside from the “muscle tone” myth is that women will get bulky from lifting weights.
Let me say this to those of you women thinking this: unless you are a genetic oddity, meaning like 1 in 1000 or rarer, you are not going to get bulky from lifting free weights.
Last time we talked about ideal workouts for women. Will they make women bulky?
Many men – who have far more natural growth (anabolic) hormones like testosterone – do everything they can to TRY to get bulky, and they can’t even do it! Do you really think that with your higher levels of catabolic hormones and lower levels of anabolic hormones you are going to become muscle-bound? No way.
And what is “bulky” anyway? I guess some women (more…)
Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below.Continue reading about Should Women Train Like Men – Fears, Complaints and Excuses
Part 3 of 4
- Lifting routines for women are often the same as for men
The past 2 articles (part 1 and part 2) in this series were lead ups to this part 3, which is probably what most of you have been waiting for! Here is how (more…)
Join the forum discussion on this article, or comment below.Continue reading about Should Women Train Like Men – Modifying Lifting Routines For Women
Part 2 of 4
If you missed Part 1, click here.
Muscle Tone is somewhat of a myth - lift heavy, eat right to build muscle and lose fat
The Myth Of Muscle Tone
Most women will say they want to
- Lose weight, and
- Improve muscle tone
Notice that these are not in the Ultimate Fitness Goals (UFG) list! Why not?
Because you don’t want to lose weight. You want to shed fat. You could lose weight by losing muscle. Or by cutting off your left arm. What you really want is less fat.
And there is no such thing as “muscle tone”. There’s muscle size and there’s the amount of fat surrounding it. Those two qualities are the only things you control to give birth to the visual impact of your body that some people call “definition”. (There’s also the genetic traits you have for body shape, bone-length & width, muscle insertion points, body part proportions, etc. but you don’t control those.)
Super-High Reps? No
The muscle tone myth leads to the misguided workouts of super high repetitions. You know, going for (more…)
Continue reading about Should Women Lift Like Men – Muscle Tone Myth
- Should women lift like men?
Women often find that they can keep their weight about the same over many years by just eating sensibly and light cardio. But often, in their mid thirties or forties, they start getting “soft”. By only looking at the scale they don’t notice it. But what has happened is that they have slowly lost muscle and slowly gained fat. Their shirts and pants still fit (for the most part) but their body composition is far less attractive. And equally (or more) importantly, they are on a track to become helpless in their older age. Muscle loss is equated to functional loss – and functional loss is a loss in quality of life. Muscle loss in your 30s and 40s is slow enough to not be noticed but once you get to your 60s and 70s and 80s, you may be no longer to lift a milk gallon over your head. Let’s make sure you never get that weak ok?
Should Women Lift Like Men?
This site is geared towards men. After all, I am one.
But we all have women in our lives – wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, etc.
So whether you are a woman, or know one, or just play one on TV, this post is for you.
Part 1 of 4
So Should Women Really Workout Like Men?
For the past few years, all the “experts” keep saying how a woman should lift like a man. But is it true?
The answer is yes and no. I’ll boil it down to one (long) sentence for you:
Women can and should do nearly the same exercises as men, but because women have different goals and different chemistry, the ideal program will usually be different than what a man would use.
I’m going to break this series down into 4 parts. And if you post an intelligent comment to any of these, then afterward shoot me an email at support@worldfitnessnetwork.com and I’ll send you (more…)
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