Workout ·

Don’t Let The Pretty Face Fool You. I Lift HEAVY Weights.

“Don’t get too big!”
“You are going to look like a man!”
“Why do you lift such heavy weights?”
“You are a girl, you shouldn’t be doing that!”
“Why are you not doing cardio?”
“You are going to look bulky!”

I hear this stuff all the time.

“Why do you lift so heavy?”

It is an extremely common misconception that if you are a woman that lifts heavy weights, you are automatically going to become this ginormous woMAN with massive muscles. Not true!! There are many many benefits that women can have by picking up a set of dumbbells or resistance bands.

“Aren’t you suppose to be doing cardio?”

You want to lose weight, do hours cardio. You want to “tone and shape”, do hundreds of repetitions with low weight. You want to get big, lift heavy. There is something wrong with this advice. It is not true. The only way to “tone” your body, is to create and build muscle to “shape” your body. While yes, you do have to lift weights to build, but that no way means you are going to get “big”.

Cardio: This is the first thing somebody hears when they say they want to lose weight. “Do cardio”! Cardio today, tomorrow, and cardio all week! Did you know cardio actually breaks down hard earned muscle, not body fat? So while you may be losing weight, it’s fat AND muscle weight. This muscle that is being destroyed, is what keeps your metabolism fast. When burning off your muscle, you are actually forcing your body to store excess body fat by slowing down your metabolism.

Women who lift weights actually lose more body fat versus women who ONLY do cardio. When you train with weights in the gym, you break down the muscle fiber. Your body works to repair this muscle over the next few days; not only does your strength increase, but your metabolic rate does as well! For every pound of muscle you have, your body burns an additional 50 calories!

By adding lean muscle to your body, you are able to burn more calories! Which yes, that means you can either eat more food if you are trying to maintain your current weight, or lose extra weight faster!

I am not saying to never do any cardio at all. But by lowering the amount of cardio you do and increasing resistance training, you will get faster and longer lasting results!

“Don’t get too bulky!”

Progress and change will not occur if you don’t challenge yourself and decide to only stick to those 2 lb. baby weights. No, I am not saying to go hurt yourself and grab the 50 lb. dumbbells. All I am saying is to honestly challenge and push yourself. You are stronger than you think.

Many women are scared to “go heavy” because they think they will get “bulky” like a man. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I have been lifting weights for over two years and never once have I heard somebody say I look like a “man”!

Women already naturally have a very difficult time adding any muscle at all, so it is unlikely for a women to put on even half the amount of muscle a man does. This natural difficulty is due to the lower levels of the muscle building hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is very high in men. It is what makes a male a male, while estrogen is what makes a female a female.

Without performance enhancing drugs, the female body does not produce the amount of testosterone needed to get big, muscular, and bulky.

So ladies, don’t be scared to lift those weights! You can feel good, and still look pretty while doing it!

If you want to learn how to shape your body and increase your metabolic rate, schedule a free 30 minute consultation with one of our expert coaches! Let’s get you started on your journey to being a fit and beautiful woman in and outside the gym!

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