Why Women Should Lift Weights

I often hear from women that they don’t want to lift weights because they fear they will bulk up and no longer fit into their clothes.

 

From a physiological standpoint, building muscle is more challenging (than men) for women to “get bulky” without spending hours in the gym and taking in a good amount of calories. All that aside, why are we as women so fearful of being strong, resilient, and functionally capable human beings?

 

I think culturally we have traditionally had the idea that beauty meant a sleek, slender, gal in a sequined bikini. I just don’t believe everyone is accustomed to seeing a woman with defined muscles and it doesn’t fit the idea of “feminine.” A conventional interpretation of feminine traits may be viewed as a gentle, meek, well put together gal, maybe in a nice little dress standing next to her big strong husband. These cultural gender norms of how a woman ought to behave or appear are too familiar.

 

Although most female concerns with building muscle are from an appearance perspective. I challenge you to think beyond the outward appearance. Let us go beyond the superficial exterior and discuss the benefits of having increased strength.

 

 

5 Myths That You Need to Know About Lifting Weights

 

Lifting Weight Will Cause You to Look Like a SHE-Man

• First of all, women have 15-20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is what makes men, men, and women, women.
• It takes a large amount of volume as well as nutritional planning (maybe even some juicing) to build large muscle mass. The majority of you will not be spending this much time in the gym.

 

If I rock the elliptical for 30 minutes I will burn WAY more fat

• I am all about people moving their bodies but my biggest pet peeve is Barbara bent over the elliptical reading a book for one hour while she half-a**’s it on the elliptical. Come on people! Get that sweat on!
• You can work-out in half the time by including both lifting weight and cardio in a high-intensity program.
• Yes, you may burn a lot of calories spending one million hours on the elliptical but after throwing some weight around, your calorie burn continues long after your workout…WIN!
• Muscles burn calories like an inferno, therefore improving muscle mass will improve your metabolism.

 

3 pounds for 3 sets of 10 will do the trick

• Sorry to say but those cute little pink weights are not going to cut it.  
• Research has shown that to create strength gains, you need to be lifting greater than 75% of your one-rep max. Unless your 1 rep max is 5 lbs. you may need to increase the weight.
• Another rule of thumb is utilizing “Reps in Reserve”. If you complete a set of 10 but felt like you could do 10 more, you may need to increase your weight. Think about lifting with only 2 or 3 reps left in the tank.
• More and more research is supporting that the aging process is more from deconditioning than “just getting old”. This is excellent news! You can build muscle and resiliency which helps improve functional capacity. This improved functional capacity can keep you enjoying the things you love longer.

 

 Lifting heavy is not “ladylike”

• You can scrub the walls, carrying five kids, lift 50 bags of groceries but doing it with a dumbbell isn’t “ladylike”!
• Batty Freedson wrote a chapter titled “Muscle Strength and Endurance” in the 1994 book “Women and Sport: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”. In it, Freedson compared the relative strength of men and women. When analyzing the absolute numbers, men are stronger than women, more specifically men’s upper body strength. However, men’s superior strength comes from their body mass. Pound for pound, women’s legs are stronger than men’s, and the difference in upper-body strength isn’t as great as it initially appears.
• A multi-regression analysis found that 97 percent of the gender difference in strength is a result of muscle mass.

 

I will be more likely to get injured lifting weights, I will just stick to my running

• A recent study suggested that estrogen can help buffer against DOM’s (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). *I wonder if estrogen has anything to do with how women handle colds vs. man colds. 🙂 
• Lifting weights, when done correctly, has lower injury rates than other exercise modes such as running.
• Loading the tissue by weight training can make the tissue stronger and more resistant to breakdown. (Example, if you load bone, you will have bone formation)
• Loading the tissue may also help overcome pesky tendon injuries such as elbow tendonitis. Loading the tendons will generate stronger tendons that can withstand more force.

 

Go throw some weight around and seize the day!

Taryn 🙂