Maybe I’m severely out of touch but I thought we were over this fitness fallacy that weightlifting makes you bulky?! Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from both men and women stating that they don’t want to lift weights because they didn’t want to become bulky.
The Truth
“Can lifting weights make you bulky?”
Sure, lifting weights COULD make you bulky but there needs to be a few things to help with that. You need to be lifting challenging weights with high reps and eat excessive calories. There is a SMALL percentage of the population that can grow very easily, but that still doesn’t mean they’ll suddenly get Hulk super sized.
That brings us to the next question, “Will lifting weights make me look like a bodybuilder?”
Yes, if you lift weights you will automatically look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the best bodybuilder to have ever lived. It’s so easy to be the best in bodybuilding that hitting the gym and lifting some weights you’ll instantaneously become the best bodybuilder EVER.
Hopefully you’ve sensed my sarcasm 😛
Benefits of Lifting Weights for Females
This is Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton. The trainer to Marilyn Monroe and helped her see the benefits of resistance training.
Ladies, the body that most of you want is actually sculpted through lifting appreciable weights. And I’m not talking about lifting 3lbs weights for 50 reps or so. I’m talking about something in the 5-10’s + range.
You may say, you feel the burn with the 3lbs weights and you very well are. But what if I asked you to hold a pencil in your hands, then hold your arms out to your side for 45 seconds, do you feel the burn? Yep. Is that effective? Nope.
So take a step forward in the right direction and push yourself a little bit. A combination of cardio and weight training will go a long way. Eventually you’ll find weight training to be far more effective than just cardio classes, “strength training” classes where you lift 3lbs weights, or spinning classes alone.
Cardio Bunny
While cardio is great for you, the problem with cardio as your only fitness method is that you’ll need to keep doing cardio to burn off the calories. While with weight training, your body will keep working to burn more calories thanks to the lean “toned” muscles developed through resistance training. This basically means you burn more calories at a resting rate.
Keep in mind that you can still make weight training into a cardio session. All you need to do is minimize your rest periods and move at a faster pace. A simple circuit may look like this:
- 1A: Squat 4×10
- 2A: OHP 4×10
- 3A: Rows 4×10
- 4A: Pike Sit ups 4×15
The Benefits of Resistance Training for Women
There are SO many benefits to resistance training for women.
Get the Look You Want
The first is that you’ll look amazing. I know that many women get scared off when you hear things like “build lean muscle”, but that’s just saying “to get toned”.
Terminology aside, resistance training helps you develop the body you want with far less work.
Work Less, Look Better
Through weight training you can work out less, train just as hard, and look even better with resistance training, all thanks to your new lean muscles or “toned look”. You’ll also be able to tolerate carbs a lot easier, hello PASTA!
Strength
You know that grumpy old lady that’s hunched over, well now that you’re strong and have “toned” muscles this is less likely to happen. Thanks to have the new found strength you’ll have better posture and still be able to keep up with the activities you love to do as you get older.
Prenatal/Postpartum Benefits
Resistance training also helps keep you healthy and strong through a pregnancy. It can also help you bounce back even quicker, thanks to the strong muscles that you’ve developed.
Conclusion
This post isn’t meant to be focused on body type but that weight training is VERY beneficial for everyone regardless of your goal. Simply ignoring the benefits of lifting weights is doing you a big disservice.
Whatever your body type is, be confident and proud of it, screw marketing and fitness media for putting up unobtainable air brushed images and pushing BS fitness fads.
Stay strong and train smart,