Weight training for women

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arhee
arhee Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Women need to weight train more. I cannot say this enough. Especially in London, England at my gym, I am always the only girl in the weight room. I am fighting with the guys for use of the bench, smith machine, bench press machine, etc. Every time I see a woman enter the gym, they go straight for the cardio machines. I shake my head when I see this, because by just sticking to cardio they are shooting themselves in the foot. If they just added some weight training to their cardio routines they would benefit so much more.

I see women on either the treadmill or the elliptical machine month after month and I see absolutely no transformation. Perhaps slightly slimmer bodies, however still extremely soft bodies. I do realise that women love their cardio and a majority of them are slightly afraid of weight training for fear of being the only girl and the fear of becoming very bulky and muscular. This is a common fear that women have and a huge reason they ditch the dumbbells. Women do not have the amount of testosterone in their bodies to create the big and bulky frames they so fear. In fact, the women who do get that freakishly big are most likely using some type of anabolic steroid to achieve this look. Women also fear that lifting minimal weights will actually get them that big, but its just not possible. I would actually love to get very muscular and bulky and no matter how hard I work and how heavy I lift, I still stay extremely slim. I have more of a toned definition to my frame, which is not my ultimate goal.

Lifting weights revs up your metabolism and burns calories even while you are at rest, whereas cardio does just the opposite. Cardio burns the calories you burn while you are doing it. The exception to this is if you do HIIT/Interval training where there is a lot of calorie burn afterwards for the body to recover from the session. But a normal treadmill or elliptical session will not do this. I also notice that a lot of women think that they can eat whatever they want or larger portions because they have done their 45 minutes on the elliptical. This is in fact how they keep the weight on and keep the soft look going year round.

The fact is, the women I know keep going on about how they do not enjoy weight training and its not fun for them. Well exercise is not typically fun. It's something we all have to do though for our health and well being. You just have to push through it. If you want that beautiful, toned, sculpted slim body that you see on fitness models and celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Cameron Diaz, you got to start by lifting that dumbbell and lift as heavy as you can.

See you in the gym ladies!!

Replies

  • newman84
    newman84 Posts: 234 Member
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    i actually enjoy weight lifting more then i enjoy cardio.
    :happy:
  • tater8589
    tater8589 Posts: 616
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    I enjoy using kettle bells. When I left my ex, I took the kettle bells that I used. :laugh:
  • balfonso
    balfonso Posts: 370 Member
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    Too right! :laugh:

    I incorporate weight training in my gym programme or if I'm not in the gym, I'll do some bodyweight exercises at home
    .
    Quite luckily in my gym, there's quite a few ladies using weights, although I do see the majority of them on the usual suspects solely for cardio and only cardio for their entire gym session. There's this one blonde girl who looks like a model, but she literally is "stick thin" that you can actually see her spinal bones sticking out from her back [she wears a top that's backless]. I only ever see her on the treadmill for hours constantly holding onto the bars whilst running!!! Crazy....

    Anyways, I say 'yay' to strength training! I feel really good after doing it and I'm seeing a difference.

    It helps in order to look good naked!
  • rose1617
    rose1617 Posts: 469 Member
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    i actually enjoy weight lifting more then i enjoy cardio.
    :happy:
    me too!
  • kidakiwi04
    kidakiwi04 Posts: 238
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    I don't have access to a gym what are some strength exercises can I do at home? I have 3lbs weights resistance bands and a exercise ball and that's it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • iDreamNEON
    iDreamNEON Posts: 112
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    I don't have access to a gym what are some strength exercises can I do at home? I have 3lbs weights resistance bands and a exercise ball and that's it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    When I Was Just Doing The At Home Thing For Lower Body I Did Squats, Lunges, And [If You Have Access To Stairs] I Used To Step Up Two Steps At A Time. For Upper Body I Did Push Ups, Then I Made Makeshift Weights With Water Bottles And Did Shoulder Press, Chest Press, Bicep Curls, And Triceps Kickback. And For Abs Good Old Fashioned Crunches These Are All Pretty Common So You Can Google Them To Find The Right Technique To Do Them.

    I Love My Weights And I Even Have A Little Masochistic Love For The Soreness I Get The Next Day From Lifting.

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