In my time dealing with mostly female clients, I have come across many weird and wonderful statements they’ve said which reflect their own beliefs about women, strength training, and the visual aspect of having muscles. They go something like this:
- “Strength training is for men”
- “I only want to Tone”
- “I’m scared of getting big muscles if I strength train”
- “I just want to do cardio to lose fat”
Exercise, and in particular, strength training, has the power to change your life. We need to learn to embrace it to allow our bodies to transform into the natural wonder they can be. Opting to choose a ‘cardio only’ exercise plan over a weight or resistance training plan is one of the biggest mistakes we can make. The recently coined phrase ‘Strong is the new Skinny’ was not plucked out of thin air. Cardio certainly has a place in our personal fitness journeys, but it shouldn’t be the be all and end all of them.
We also have to learn to move away from the common isolation movements gym programmes have often prescribed (i.e. bicep curls and seated calf raise – exercises that target a small group of muscles), and learn to employ and enjoy exercises that represent the foundation of our essential body movements. I’m talking about things like squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull-ups, press-ups, clean and presses, burpees and the like. All exercises we love to hate but that are essentially full-body, functional, and entirely natural movements. By marring multi-joint, total-body functional movements with other exercise factors such as short rest periods, heavy weights, circuit training, or short sharp sprints, we will all end up with the goal body we have long been searching for – one that is lean, trim, strong, and femininely sculpted.
To enable you to trust me on this I need to first destruct those myths (mentioned earlier) in which many of us believe:
‘Strength training is for men’: Yes they are. But they are for women too. Once upon a time gyms were the domain of men, but times have changed. Science and education has allowed us to understand how important it is for women to be strong. There are endless benefits of strength training – it’s not just for aesthetic purposes. And you don’t even need to step foot in a gym. Calisthenics (bodyweight training), or a few small pieces of exercise equipment (strength bag, kettlebell, medicine ball) are all you need to produce an all-over body intensive workout.
‘I only want to tone’: The process of toning is a result of two processes – growing muscle mass and reducing body-fat. What you must understand is that if you do want to ‘tone’ your muscle you’ll have to do the following: 1) grow bigger muscles; 2) lose bodyfat; 3) lift some heavy weight for fewer repetitions; 4) lift some lighter weights for more repetitions; 5) perform regular interval training; and 6) eat less sugar, more clean food, and have an adequate protein intake. Diet is actually the dominant force controlling your body-fat. Remember: Strength training will not make you gain the kind of weight that eating poorly will.
‘I’m scared of big muscles’: Let’s get one thing straight – women do not behold the hormonal power to grow bulky muscles simply through strength training. Unless you’re involved in the sport of bodybuilding, you will never look like a bodybuilder – that have unimaginable levels of discipline with both their nutrition and exercise to look like they do. So rather than fearing strength training, learn to embrace it. It is only when you begin to include some form of resistance training in your exercise regime that you will truly begin to feel empowered, more confident, and altogether stronger. It is, honestly, a beautiful feeling.
‘I just want to do cardio to lose fat’: When people say this I always tell them to compare the physique of a sprinter with that of a marathon runner. And they always come back saying they’d prefer the physique of the sprinter. Why? For sprinters to sprint, the body’s energy system calls on minimal fat as a fuel for that exercise, so they need minimal body-fat stored on them. However, a marathon runners main energy used during long-distance running is fat, so they need a decent amount of fat stored on them. People who do predominantly cardio-based exercise will therefore always hold more body-fat than those who do higher intensity exercise or strength training. And therefore, following a cardio-only exercise regime will not allow you to attain that body you are striving for.
For comments email corinne@fitfixnz.co.nz
