Ladies: Please Stop Underestimating Yourselves

hill242

If you think you won't lift weights because people (including YOURSELF) have told you that you're too weak, or that you'll get big, please read this article.

http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2010/08/women-please-stop-underestimating-yourselves/

shimacrema

I totally agree with you 100% !!! I love weight lifting and I have yet to get bulky or look like a man.


Shima

schnarfo

wow id love to go to a class like that!

TabiHerbalifeCoach

when you lift weights you build muscle- building muscle does NOT mean bulking up, the more muscle you have the more fat you burn!!

mncardiojunkie

Weight lifting changed my entire body and life. I'm not sure where this notion comes from that you will bulk up.

Kasuko

low rep high weight lifting will bulk you up. High rep low weight will tone you up.

Lisa0711

low rep high weight lifting will bulk you up. High rep low weight will tone you up.

This is true for men... I'm doing ChaLean Extreme and I lift pretty heavy with that program. All I noticed is that I'm toning and my strength has improved a lot. Oh and I've noticed I can see a lot more definition in my muscles when I flex! But it's definately not bulk.. The reason is women just don't have enough testosterone to bulk up like men do.

miqisha

Weight lifting alone doesnt bulk you up....its the steroids and certain shakes that makes them that bulky

Some women are naturally bulky and weight lifting does make them look more masculine, without the added steroids etc.....buts its not so for the average person

I have a girlfriend, who didnt use to lift weights, and she was naturally masculine.....but the average female isnt that way

I hate weight lifting, but I do it, because I know it will give me that definition, that cardio alone cant do

balfonso

low rep high weight lifting will bulk you up. High rep low weight will tone you up.

Absolutely! That's what my trainer said to me. I'm growing to like this type of strength training! It is a must for toning!

glfprncs2

Had 30 pounders in each hand during ChaLean Extreme Push Circuit 1 today...funny thing, the heavier I lift, the smaller I get.

hill242

low rep high weight lifting will bulk you up. High rep low weight will tone you up.

I would say that the term "toning" has no real meaning.

There is fat loss and fat gain. More fat = less muscle definition, regardless of how much muscle you have.

There is weak and strong. Lifting weights means you get stronger. Low weights just mean you don't get as strong.

Check out this article: http://www.stumptuous.com/lies-in-the-gym
I'll quote a section from it:
LIE: Men train, women tone.

"To be serious about strength training, eliminate the T-word-”tone”-from your vocabulary. Lifting a tiny weight for a hundred reps is a waste of time and energy, plus it never really stresses your muscles enough to make them much stronger. As the good Sgt. Robo says, “More isn’t better, better is better.” In fact, according to one study in which men and women trained the same muscle group 3 days a week for 20 weeks, “the women made significantly greater relative increases than men in strength.” (MacDougall et al, McMaster University)

"Women and men have exactly the same skeletal muscle composition. It would not be possible to tell biological sex from muscle tissue alone. But more importantly, there is no such thing as “toning”. There is muscle mass and strength gain, and fat loss, and that’s it. In purely technical terms, “tone” refers to the ability of the central nervous system to provide passive muscular resistance to being stretched. What you probably think of as “toned” muscles are merely muscles which are not hidden by a lot of bodyfat. In other words, there is no reason why you should waste your time on the stupid little weights when you could be getting tough and strong."


More from stumptuous.com on weight lifting:
http://www.stumptuous.com/category/starting/starting_weight_training

Ladies (and men) - do not fear the heavy weights. Embrace them!