When you think weight training, you are most likely
picturing Arnold holding up both arms and flexing them or a flashback to a huge
bodybuilder that you once saw in a magazine and thought,” Oh my … gross! Why
would you want to do that?” I have seen women stray far away from the weight
room and often wondered why. I know they want to get in shape and they want a
body they can be proud of, but they are skipping a big part of what it takes to
help them reach their goals. They know that, right? Truth be told, I know many
of women who turn down the weight room for a few of the same reasons. After a
while, I’ve boiled it down to about 3 main reasons why women choose to stay out
of the weight room.
The first reason would be because
there are many myths about weight training that women hear from someone who
knew someone who worked with someone who had saw this for his or herself. One
of these common hearsay myths is “You will get bulky or look manly if you lift
weights.” On the contrary, women lack the amount of testosterone for this to
actually happen. I am sure you have seen bulky or “manly” women in magazines or
on TV. Rest assured that it takes more than you can imagine making it to that
point. Food intake plays a significant role in the amount of size you will get
or lose in the gym. It’s not uncommon for people wanting to get “bulky” to eat
anywhere from 10,000 – 15,000 calories a day just to maintain, recover and
grow. This is obviously an outlandish number that you more than likely make in
a full seven day week rather than a single day’s worth of food intake.
Women often choose to skip the weight room is
because they don’t completely understand the benefits of weight training. Resistance training has been shown to be the
“Fountain of Youth” by many standards due to its many benefits. The following
benefits are:
·
Weight
loss – Weight training has shown to fire up the metabolism for longer
periods of time than regular cardio sessions. This means you’re burning
calories longer than you would by just doing cardio alone. For a massive
metabolic boost, do your cardio after your weight training sessions.
·
Immune
system Improvement – the body’s immune system gets a hefty boost with
weight training due to the fact that your body’s muscle tissue is being torn
down and rebuilt. This causes your body to develop a stronger immune system
foundation to handle this and keep yourself healthy. For an extra boost, try a
L-Glutamine supplement to keep your immune system in excellent condition.
·
Lower
Risk of Coronary Artery Disease - Weight training has shown to decrease
blood pressure, lower cholesterol, strengthen the heart and help strengthen the
immune system. A healthy combination better than any prescription your Dr. will
write for you.
·
Strength
Gain – the strength gain you will achieve from resistance training is
something that can come in handy if you have a family of little ones or if you
require lifting on a daily basis. This will also help you if you should ever
need to pull yourself up or pick someone else up to help them.
·
Strengthening
Bones – Women have a higher risk of osteoporosis and weight training is
something they should consider no matter what age. Weight training will build
better bone density to fight off osteoporosis. For a little extra, take a
Vitamin D and Calcium supplement to aid.
·
Lowering
Risk of Injuries – Weight training will keep your body strong enough to
keep injuries at bay by building stronger bones, healthy muscle tissue and
strong joints. Bad knees, bad backs and
hurting joints will be something you will never have to deal with if you have a
consistent workout routine.
Resistance training programs have
also done wonders in fighting depression or anxiety while increasing
confidence. It’s the only thing you can do consistently that will cure many medical
diseases, prevent many more medical diseases and keep your body strong while
looking great. There is no pill that will make it happen for you and there is
no magic diet out there. There is only you and the gym that will make your
goals a reality and also make anything possible for you. All it takes is a
little hard work and commitment for some magic to happen.
Think of this, you’re new to
working out and you walk into a weight room full of a bunch of guys and maybe a
few other ladies. How are you feeling? Scared, Out of place or Insecure? Who
wouldn’t? You’re stepping into a new environment and you may not know where to
even begin. Everything seems new or complicated at first, but its okay. We all
of us have been in your shoes and we know exactly what you’re feeling standing
there looking around. The best way to keep this from going bad is to make a
plan and go in prepared. I understand it can be uncomfortable working out with
a bunch of men around, and if it bothers you or you think it will bother you,
bring a girlfriend along for a workout buddy. Some gyms have a workout area
specifically for women, so that can be an option as well. Write your goals out and
keep them in your line of vision at some point of the day. Tape them to your
bathroom mirror so you see it first thing in the morning. That phrase,” Keep
your eye on the prize” means everything here. Meet with a fitness expert or an
experienced friend to set up a game plan learning the basics of exercise form
and how to establish your own personal program. We are all unique as we are the
same so not every program is going to work for us. Think of your new workout
routine as a dress tailored just for you.
When you are ready, step in the weight room
with your best foot forward and make it happen. We are in this together because
we all have done it. We know you can do it to. Train hard, eat well and keep
pushing until you cross the finish line.
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