The Truth about Women and Weights

Dear fellow girls, this one's for you. Read it. Know it. And stop believing myths that simply aren't true.

Let's talk about weightlifting. What is weightlifting, you ask? Well, thanks to Webster, I have a great general definition for you, and here it is...

Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, either for the purpose of competing to determine which competitor can lift the most, or for the purpose of promoting health, fitness, or development of a muscular physique.

Let's pay greatest attention to the second half of the definition (because the part about competing really refers to a sport called powerlifting). The wise Mr. Webster says that weightlifting is used for "promoting health, fitness, or development of a muscular physique." Who doesn't want to do that? The truth is, there is this awful stigma that has been circulating for years that weightlifting is for men only, and women need only run on a treadmill or sweat it out on an elliptical to be healthy and fit. This could not be farther from the truth. 

 

Please hear me out: I'm not downplaying the importance of aerobic activity and cardiovascular fitness. They are both an extremely important component of health, weight loss, and fitness and should never be overlooked. Nevertheless, weightlifting got a bad reputation somewhere along the line, but it is EQUALLY important in maintaining general health, dropping body fat, and increasing overall fitness. 

You're not going to get ripped and look like a man by lifting weights 2-3 days per week at the gym. I think that bears repeating: you're not going to get ripped and look like a man by lifting weights 2-3 days per week at the gym.  

 

Men have more testosterone and other important hormones than women, and that is part of the reason that they tend to "bulk up" when lifting weights consistently. Men need a minimum of 2-4% body fat to remain healthy and keep organs insulated; women, on the other hand, need 10-13% (I know, it stinks). Because men are genetically predisposed to a lower percentage of body fat, more of their body percentage is freed up for lean mass (that's muscle, by the way). For these reasons and many, many more, women have an extraordinarily difficult time bulking up the way that men do when they lift weights. 

Those women that you see (like the one pictured above) that do bulk up have more than likely had some sort of hormone therapy, taken steroids, or are genetically predisposed to attain more muscle (perhaps through a hormone imbalance.

So, what does happen when girls lift weights? They tone!! I have several clients that ask to do specific exercises to "tone" a certain area of their body (i.e. "Let's do more sit-ups so I can tone my abs!"). The truth is, you have to remove more fat before you'll ever be able to see that 6-pack you've been dreaming of all this time, and that's where aerobic activity and cardiovascular fitness (running, swimming, biking, elliptical-ing) come in. The flip side of this truth is that all the cardio in the world won't tone your body the way weightlifting does. Both cardio training AND weight training are essential for toned abs, defined arms, and skinny thighs. And that, my friends, is the truth.

 

Happy Friday!