“I don’t want to lift heavy weights, I don’t want to
bulk up or look like a man”, if I have to hear, read or answer this statement one more time, I
will seriously hit said person with a heavy weight.
Let’s start with a few visuals
You don’t want to lift heavy weights because you are
afraid to look like this:
You don’t want to lift heavy weights because you want
to be lean and “toned” and look like this:
Now here comes the Boom = Picture one, to attain that
kind of physique took years and years and years of training, steroids, male
hormones injected etc. Picture two, the lovely Yarishna Nicole Ayala Otero who
is a professional bikini competitor lifts Heavy weights and trains dam hard –
so does every one of the amazing bikini competitors out there and they all sport
lean toned unbulky physics.
So here, very neatly numbered are the reasons you will
not become a bulking he-she if you lift heavy weights:
1, Women do not have nearly
as much testosterone as men.
Women have about 15 to 20
times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is the reason men are men and
women are women. After men hit puberty, they grow facial hair, their voice
deepens, and they develop muscle mass. Because men have more testosterone, they
are much more equipped to gain muscle. Because women do not have very much
testosterone in their bodies, they will never be able to get as big as men.
2. The perception that
women will bulk up when they begin a strength training program comes from the
chemically-altered women on the covers of bodybuilding magazines.
These “grocery stand
models” are most likely pumped full of some extra juice. This is why they look
like men. If you take the missing link that separates men from women and add it
back in, what do you have? A man!
3. For women, toning is
what happens when the muscle is developed through training.
This is essentially
bodybuilding without testosterone. Since the testosterone is not present in
sufficient amounts, the muscle will develop, but it won’t gain a large amount
of mass. The “toned” appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a
well-developed muscle.
4. Muscle bulk comes from a
high volume of work.
The repetition range that
most women would prefer to do (8–20 reps) promotes hypertrophy (muscle growth).
For example, a bodybuilding program will have three exercises per body part.
For the chest, they will do flat bench for three sets of 12, incline for three
sets of 12, and decline bench for three sets of 12. This adds up to 108 total
repetitions. A program geared towards strength will have one exercise for the
chest—flat bench for six sets of three with progressively heavier weight. This
equals 18 total repetitions. High volume (108 reps) causes considerable muscle
damage, which in turn; results in hypertrophy (muscle growth).The considerably
lower volume (18 reps) will build more strength and cause minimal bulking.
5. Heavy weights will
promote strength not size.
This has been proven time
and time again. When lifting weights over 85 percent, the primary stress
imposed upon the body is placed on the nervous system, not on the muscles.
Therefore, strength will improve by a neurological effect while not increasing
the size of the muscles.
Women need to train with
heavy weights not only to strengthen the muscles but also to cause positive
adaptations in the bones and connective tissues.
6. Bulking
up is not an overnight process.
Many women think they will
start lifting weights, wake up one morning, and say “Holy sh__! I’m huge!” This
doesn’t happen. The men that you see who have more muscle than the average person
has worked hard for a long time (years) to get that way.
7. What the
personal trainer is prescribing is not working.
Many female athletes come
into a new program and say they want to do body weight step-ups, body weight
lunges, and leg extensions because it’s what their personal trainer back home
had them do. However, many of these girls need to look in a mirror and have a
reality check because their trainer’s so-called magical toning exercises are
not working. Trainers will hand out easy workouts and tell people they work
because they know that if they make the program too hard the client will
complain. And, if the client is complaining, there’s a good chance the trainer
might lose that client (a client to a trainer equals money).
8. Bulking
up is calorie dependant.
This means if you eat more
than you are burning, you will gain weight. If you eat less than you are
burning, you will lose weight. Unfortunately, most female athletes perceive any
weight gain as “bulking up” and do not give attention to the fact that they are
simply getting fatter. “Squats don’t bulk you up. It’s the ten beers a night
that bulk you up.” This cannot be emphasized enough.
Here are reasons why you should lift heavier weights:
1. You'll Torch Body Fat
You may have been told that
cardio is the ultimate fat burner, but that effect stops the minute you hop off
the treadmill. Build more muscle and you'll keep your body burning fat all day
long. According to one study, adding just two sessions per week of heavy
lifting can reduce your body fat by three percent without cutting calories.
Another study from the
University of Alabama in Birmingham showed that dieters who lifted heavy
weights lost the same amount of weight as dieters who did just card, but all
the weight lost by the weight lifters was primarily fat while the cardio queens
lost a lot of muscle along with some fat. And more muscle, less fat translated
to smaller clothing sizes than their less muscular counterparts.
2. You'll Fight Osteoporosis
The key to this one is
consistency, as research has shown lifting heavy weights over time not only
maintains bone mass but can even build new bone, especially in the high-risk
group of post-menopausal women
4. You'll Burn More Calories
You may burn more calories
during your 1-hour cardio class than you would lifting weights for an hour, but
a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
found that women who did weight training burned an average of 100 more calories
during the 24 hours after their training session ended.
And the effect is magnified
when you increase the weight, as explained in a study in the journal Medicine
& Science in Sports & Exercise. Women who lifted more weight for
fewer reps (85 percent of their max load for 8 reps) burned nearly twice
as many calories during the two hours after their workout than when they did
more reps with a lighter weight (45 percent of their max load for 15 reps).
5. You'll Build Strength Faster
Lifting lighter weights for
more reps is great for building muscle endurance, but if you want to increase
your strength, increasing your weight load is key. Add compound exercises such
as squats, deadlifts, and rows to your heavy weights and you'll be amazed at
how fast you'll build strength
6. You'll Lose Belly Fat
While it is true that you
can't spot reduce—your body is born with pre-conceived places it wants to store
fat—a study found that the women who lifted weights lost more intra-abdominal
fat (deep belly fat) than those who just did cardio. This not only helps you
lose your belly pooch and look better in a bikini, but it also lessens your
risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers.
7. You'll Feel Empowered
Throwing around some serious
iron doesn't just empower women in the movies. Lifting heavier weights—and
building strength as a result—comes with a big self-esteem boost. Your strength
will not only show in your lean, toned body, but also in your attitude
8. You'll Prevent Injury
Achy hips and sore knees don't
have to be a staple of your morning run. Strengthening the muscles surrounding
and supporting your joints can help prevent injuries by helping you maintain
good form, as well as strengthening joint integrity.
If you seriously still don’t believe me and the countless upon countless
articles out there on this subject, then just go be a cardio queen and we will
see who looks hooter in 11 months time…..
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