I am a 23 year-old fitness professional. Helping people
transform their bodies for almost 3 years now, I often get inquiries from ladies wanting to lose weight and “tone up”. Usually they ask me whether I take
aerobics classes. Or they expect me to make them do aerobics and endless hours
on the treadmill/elliptical trainer. They surely don’t expect me to say “My
female clients mostly lift weights.” When I tell them that weight-training will
get them the best “return on investment” of time and effort in getting their
body-shaping goals, they are aghast!
I don’t blame them. There are so many myths surrounding weight-training, especially when it comes to women. They have been led to believe that lifting anything more than 2-3 kg, the will make them “bulky” and muscular like men. The marketing machinery of a popular sports shoe brand has succeeded in convincing them that daily 2 hours of dance aerobics and pounding away on the treadmill is the only way for girls to lose weight. They are unaware of seriously harmful side-effects of excessive aerobics – chronically high stress hormone levels, knee ankle and lower back pain, muscle loss leading to weight gain when returning to normal levels of exercise and diet, vicious cycle of huge swings “yo-yoing” in bodyweight and appearance, and metabolic and hormonal damage.
I don’t blame them. There are so many myths surrounding weight-training, especially when it comes to women. They have been led to believe that lifting anything more than 2-3 kg, the will make them “bulky” and muscular like men. The marketing machinery of a popular sports shoe brand has succeeded in convincing them that daily 2 hours of dance aerobics and pounding away on the treadmill is the only way for girls to lose weight. They are unaware of seriously harmful side-effects of excessive aerobics – chronically high stress hormone levels, knee ankle and lower back pain, muscle loss leading to weight gain when returning to normal levels of exercise and diet, vicious cycle of huge swings “yo-yoing” in bodyweight and appearance, and metabolic and hormonal damage.
In the first conversation with a new/prospective female
client and the first few sessions, I explain to them the above. I also assure
them that they don’t have to worry about getting “big muscles” since women have
around 10 times LESS the amount of testosterone levels (the hormone associated
with muscle growth potential). They will gain some muscle which will give them
a “toned” look, giving them killer curves. Only those women who train very hard
with weights for a long time and lose a lot of body-fat enough to show abs get
that muscular, manly look (a la Bipasha Basu in her fitness dvd).
While my focus with female clients is to get them the toned and shapely body of (for example) Deepika Padukone. Not to mention the fact that that little amount of muscle gain will also raise their metabolism a bit i.e. the amount of calories your body burns throughout the day. Weight-training also strengthens the bones and joints, which is crucial for women since they are at a higher risk of osteoporosis. It also gives their bodies much more stable since women in general have too much flexibility. Moreover you can keep the heart pumping and get a decent “cardio” workout during weight-training itself by resting little or not at all between exercises.
But these are the physical benefits of strength-training for women. I am a feminist at heart and what I love most about it is the awesome psychological boost it gives them.
Most girls don’t know this, but deep-down they love feeling athletic and “hard-core.” They love getting strong; it empowers them. When my female clients realize that lifting weights won’t automatically make them overly muscular and that if often causes them to lean out and improve in shape, they set lifting records left and right!
I love the look on their faces when they get stronger than they ever thought possible and at the same time lose inches of fat and develop nice muscle tone which shapes up their arms, hips and thighs (the areas most girls complain about being too flabby).
They don’t just get stronger; they FEEL stronger both in their bodies and their minds. Their confidence increases, they develop a mental “edge” over girls who’ve never lifted weights, their posture improves - in short they “kick ass”! ;)
Here’s to empowering women through strength-training – Go girl!
While my focus with female clients is to get them the toned and shapely body of (for example) Deepika Padukone. Not to mention the fact that that little amount of muscle gain will also raise their metabolism a bit i.e. the amount of calories your body burns throughout the day. Weight-training also strengthens the bones and joints, which is crucial for women since they are at a higher risk of osteoporosis. It also gives their bodies much more stable since women in general have too much flexibility. Moreover you can keep the heart pumping and get a decent “cardio” workout during weight-training itself by resting little or not at all between exercises.
But these are the physical benefits of strength-training for women. I am a feminist at heart and what I love most about it is the awesome psychological boost it gives them.
Most girls don’t know this, but deep-down they love feeling athletic and “hard-core.” They love getting strong; it empowers them. When my female clients realize that lifting weights won’t automatically make them overly muscular and that if often causes them to lean out and improve in shape, they set lifting records left and right!
I love the look on their faces when they get stronger than they ever thought possible and at the same time lose inches of fat and develop nice muscle tone which shapes up their arms, hips and thighs (the areas most girls complain about being too flabby).
They don’t just get stronger; they FEEL stronger both in their bodies and their minds. Their confidence increases, they develop a mental “edge” over girls who’ve never lifted weights, their posture improves - in short they “kick ass”! ;)
Here’s to empowering women through strength-training – Go girl!
