Lifting is "bad for you"

Dragonwolf

I have been told my uterus will go all wonky and that my bladder will fall...but this is a new one.

My uterus is already all wonky, does that mean it would fix it?

msf74

as a general point aimed at the whole thread:

Every sport has its risk of injury. I got a crap ton of injuries playing ice hockey but was still in much bettter shape then than I was after I quit and got obese (because I carried on eating like I was training 4x week and games at the weekend when I was sedentary . *facepalm*) - so regardless of the risk of injury, people should do sports/exercise that they enjoy. There are sensible precautions to avoid injury in any sport, such as lifting with good form, wearing adequate protection equipment in ice hockey, etc. I'm not saying to ignore the risk of injury altogether. Only that the health risks of being unfit and sedentary are substantially greater than the risk of injury from playing sport. People frequently forget to factor that into the equation when they talk about not wanting to do particular exercises because "it's dangerous/bad for you"

All of this.

Risk v reward, cost v benefit.

Does weight lifting (or any type of training for that matter) carry risks and costs? Sure. It seems weight lifting (or cycling or running or...) may lead to hardened arteries or an enlarged heart or whatever. To reject that out of hand is daft.

However when you compare the magnitude of the risk and the likelihood of that occurring to the much larger benefits recovered it is clear that it is definitely a worthwhile pursuit.

Cryptonomnomicon

A friend just tried to talk me out of lifting, because when your muscles get big, they pull away from the joints. What?!

*snort

That's just...

*snort

But it will make you snort on occasion.

JTick

I had someone tell me once that women shouldn't lift because our hearts aren't strong enough.

I might have made this face at her: :huh:

If we're equipped to push another human being out of our vagina, I think I'll take my chances with lifting.

The only side effect I've ever noticed is boosted self-confidence and extra sexiness. So, I guess you should proceed at your own risk.

h7463

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

Bahahahahahahahaaaa......!!!!! I'm trying to remember this when I drag the vacuum cleaner through the house in a minute....... :laugh:

ncrugbyprop

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

I guess that's why its good to be rich so someone else can carry around your kids.

SXMEnrico

OK, so this is one I haven't heard before. I just started reading "New Rules for Women" and realized that once I really seriously get started lifting that the weights I have at home are probably not going to cut it. So until I have the funds to build up our home gym, I'm going to have to suck it up and hit the gym. I have a "friend" on Facebook that is really fit, and she is so well defined that I honestly assumed that she lifts, so I messaged her and asked her where she goes since the weight room at my local rec center is pretty small and typically overrun. Her response was that lifting is bad for you because it shrinks your arteries. :huh:

I have heard all of the "you'll get bulky", "you'll look like a man" crap before, but I honestly had never heard this one before.

You don't need equipment. There are plenty of bodyweight exercises that will work your upper/lower body (Youtube is your friend).

The key is consistency. If you eat clean and work out consistently you can and will be more fit than 90% of people in the gym. I have seen this first hand.

And no, lifting is not bad for women. You simply don't have the hormone levels required to get huge. But your arms will be toned and your legs will be rock hard. If someone tells you that's a bad look for a woman, you should tell them to have their head examined.

SXMEnrico

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

using heavy weights may or may not be that important. It all depends on what your fitness goals are. It also depends on how you use that weight. Even 3lbs can bring you to your knees if used properly. Try doing 50 weighted circles and those 3lb weights will feel like 300lbs very quickly.

Dragonwolf

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

I can't find a "haha, no" gif that adequately expresses my reaction to the thought of never lifting more than 3lbs...

Also, I'm pretty sure the spicy chicken tenders I had the other day had enough cayenne pepper on them to put more hair on one's chest than any amount of lifting could ever do...

sljohnson1207

My guess: she doesn't want you to lift, b/c she doesn't want you to look better than her.

Is she THAT friend?

This is exactly what popped into my head, too.

AglaeaC

And it continues to be awesome.

dbmata

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

Bahahahahahahahaaaa......!!!!! I'm trying to remember this when I drag the vacuum cleaner through the house in a minute....... :laugh:

Sheeeeee-ittt. Pies weigh more than that.

aliakynes

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

Bahahahahahahahaaaa......!!!!! I'm trying to remember this when I drag the vacuum cleaner through the house in a minute....... :laugh:

Sheeeeee-ittt. Pies weigh more than that.

Pretty sure she has someone lift those for her too.

*backs away slowly

healthylifeforme

I"ve never heard this before, either. Like others have said, I wouldn't listen to her at all. I've done the first round of NROLFW and I loved it. I still lift, but it's been a while since I've done this program. Keep it up, you'll love it! If you want to be friends on here, send me a request. I love having lifting buddies

amusedmonkey

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

So moms with babies beware! Buy a forklift if your baby weighs more than 3 pounds.

_lyndseybrooke_

It also makes hair grow on your chest. BEWARE!

Gwyneth Paltrow's personal trainer says that no woman should lift more than 3 lbs. Think about that...

using heavy weights may or may not be that important. It all depends on what your fitness goals are. It also depends on how you use that weight. Even 3lbs can bring you to your knees if used properly. Try doing 50 weighted circles and those 3lb weights will feel like 300lbs very quickly.

Uh, yeah, I'd much rather work my arms without doing 50 reps of the same exact move. Yeah it'll feel heavy. Try doing 50 jump squats with absolutely no weight - you'll probably feel like your legs are going to fall off. But if your fitness goal is to look good, doing a few sets of squats with heavy weights is way more effective and efficient.

...who the hell wants to do 50 reps? Ugh!

yogicarl

Two things I got from the original post that have not been addressed:

1. the friends has a body that the OP considers to be "fit" and must be well defined (in the OP's eyes) for her to think her friend lifted weights, and;
2. the friend apparently doesn't lift weights, so;

is it worth investigating how the friend has arrived at such a fit body and see if there is anything worth taking on board, instead of dismissing completely just because she has a misguided (maybe) opinion on lifting weights?

<backs away slowly, but leaves the idea there for consideration> ?

KirkVidrine

Your friend’s response about weight lifting constricting arteries and by proxy, then reducing blood flood, therefore increase blood pressure as well as other bodily issues, is probably due to the varying reactions of cardiovascular muscle to various training stresses. In short, cardiovascular training has been shown to increase the elasticity of arteries/veins and overall volume/size of the heart.
his means the heart can pump more blood per stroke (because the heart camber size is larger and therefore can hold more blood) and the arteries can accept the blood easier (because they stretch better). Weight lifting does not have this effect. Instead weight lifting exercises tend to build greater density in heart muscles (think thicker and stronger instead of larger with more room on the inside). This allows for a more forcefully pressing of the blood out of the heart into the blood, but not necessarily more blood. I unaware on any evidence that arteries themselves harden due to weight lifting and that seems contrary to the reaction they would need to improve function. My guess is your friend simply misunderstood something she read. Even if she had some legitimate evidence of this, you would need to keep in mind the mountain of evidence that weight lifting improves health outcomes including cardiovascular ones. Food for thought.

_lyndseybrooke_

Two things I got from the original post that have not been addressed:

1. the friends has a body that the OP considers to be "fit" and must be well defined (in the OP's eyes) for her to think her friend lifted weights, and;
2. the friend apparently doesn't lift weights, so;

is it worth investigating how the friend has arrived at such a fit body and see if there is anything worth taking on board, instead of dismissing completely just because she has a misguided (maybe) opinion on lifting weights?

<backs away slowly, but leaves the idea there for consideration> ?

I know a woman that has a six pack after giving birth to three children and she doesn't even work out. This may be another case of freaky genetics. What people are responding to is "lifting is bad for you because....," which is not true. Period.

jimmmer

Two things I got from the original post that have not been addressed:

1. the friends has a body that the OP considers to be "fit" and must be well defined (in the OP's eyes) for her to think her friend lifted weights, and;
2. the friend apparently doesn't lift weights, so;

is it worth investigating how the friend has arrived at such a fit body and see if there is anything worth taking on board, instead of dismissing completely just because she has a misguided (maybe) opinion on lifting weights?

<backs away slowly, but leaves the idea there for consideration> ?

Well, that's not really the point of the thread.

But it's perfectly possible to have a six-pack without lifting weights.