“I’ll lift weights, but I’m not going heavy maybe just the small dumbbells.”
“Lift weights? No way that will make me bulky.”
OH MY GOD. sounds really familiar, doesn’t it?
The above attitude hurts me a little inside every time I hear either of those sentences.
First and foremost, what is strength training? It is a physical type of exercise which consists of the use of resistance to encourage muscular contraction which builds strength, the size of muscle worked and also improve anaerobic endurance.
In this blog, I will be dishing out six compelling reasons why ALL women should strength train.
No.1 IT WON’T MAKE YOU BIG AND BULKY
Take note, one of the many key factors in building muscle mass is testosterone. Women only have around 10% of the testosterone that men do. Even more to the point, to build muscle you have to be eating a lot of calories. If you’re not doing that, then relax you won’t resemble Arnie.
Will you build some muscle? Yes, of course, you will. But this muscle will overall improve your body shape, and give you definition, not turn you into a female bodybuilder. Now there is nothing wrong with that either, each to their own in my opinion. I think the dedication from those who do hands down is incredible.
No. 2 BOOSTS YOUR METABOLISM
No. 3 BUILD THEM GLUTES
Any female I’ve ever spoken to at the gym has said that if there’s one body part they would love to improve, it’s their glutes. Every girl wants good glutes. It is a fact. It will not happen if you continue just doing cardio. An hour on the treadmill and the cross trainer will not do that for you. Get under the squat rack, take up those heavy weights (be aware of what suits best at first and increase the weight over time), buy a resistance band and squat, glute bridge, deadlift, lunge just go for it. Burn baby burn. But most importantly do it right, correct technique is everything.
No. 4 WAIT FOR IT … YOU CAN EAT MORE AND STILL BURN FAT
FOOD IS FUEL love it, live it and learn it. You need food for performance, and integral to your recovery and your progress when lifting weights. Having an understanding of good nutrition can make such a difference. As the saying goes abs are made in the kitchen. The myth about carbs being bad for you, yes, it is somewhat true but we need carbohydrates for recovery after training along with protein and fats. Carbs, protein, and fat are a must in our diets, the healthy kind of course. Eat to become lean, seems pretty awesome to me.
No. 5 STRENGTH TRAINING ALLOWS YOU TOO BETTER YOURSELF
No. 6 STRENGTH TRAINING ALLOWS YOU TO DISCOVER WHAT YOUR BODY IS CAPABLE OF DOING
Author: Holly Purcell Grant
4th Year Recreation and Sport Management