women should lift weights?? wtf?

suzycreamcheese

i keep hearing this all the time on here. Why?
What if i dont like lifting weights?
I never really enjoyed resistance exercise much when i used to go to the gym, and tbh, thats what put me off going.
Surely its all about finding an exercise or a sport you really enjoy, so you are able to stick at it long term.
I cant imagine starting threads about why people should go running, because i know its not for everyone

I was at the gym 4 times a week for 18 months doing resistance, and didnt make any difference to my physique, and i didnt enjoy it. I only every enjoyed the running, and cardio is the only thing that seems to have changed my body too

I think it would be nice if people laid off the word "should" a bit when it comes to what sort of exercises people choose to do, because the ONLY thing worth sticking at, is the one you enjoy doing, otherwise its only ever going to be a fad.

Lauren38570

I agree and when someone wants to stick to working out it should be something they enjoy doing

hush7hush

No one is saying that you MUST do it.


But in all actuality, you really should, because it builds muscle, and the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR, therefore, the more calories you burn just by living.

suzycreamcheese

never really built any muscle on me as i said. Running on the other hand, has really defined my legs and arms more than anything else ever did

suzycreamcheese

you really should run you know

hush7hush

Then do what makes YOU happy!

People are only trying to help.

hush7hush

you really should run you know

And why is that?

For the record: I do run.


Also, I run AND lift. Because I don't just want to be skinny, I want to be toned and strong.

achampionsheart

No one is saying that you MUST do it.


But in all actuality, you really should, because it builds muscle, and the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR, therefore, the more calories you burn just by living.

i agree!!!

suzycreamcheese

and eat like i eat

GypsyRose25

you really should run you know

lol... except for those of us who can't!

GreenSkinnyJeans

Because lifting weights is good for bone health.
even if you don't see the results, it's there : /

hush7hush

and eat like i eat

Well you don't even log your food.

ShaunHensley

I agree wholeheartedly, do what works for and is enjoyable to you. Lift weights if there is a particular area you wish to add size or definition to, if at all.

brittg7

you werent lifting heavy enough weights then in all honesty...but you can to resistant bands to gain tone and muscle or even body resitance like push ups and dips and pull ups...just sayin...

GypsyRose25

and eat like i eat

This site is for people who want help. That means people will offer their opinions. You don't have to take them, but getting irritated because people use the word "should" when it comes to strength training is pointless. Their is empirical evidence stating that strength training is just as important as cardio.

hush7hush

I sense a little ignorance on the OP's part now, and I'm going to leave this forum.


Enjoy your runs!

AmerTunsi

what hush7hush said..

and also when you do pure cardio, you actually LOSE muscle, which in the end makes you physically look fragile, but also you burn less calories.

The women should lift weights thing is a new message people are getting out there because before and currently women are intimidated by weights and they fear "bulking" up ... how about just maintaining what you have?

And previously "aerobics videos" were only for women .. and now men do it and often find that it kicks their butts ... giving more credit to a woman's strength!

You can build up some lean muscle, or maintain, doing some of the work out videos out there.

When people are saying you should do it, they aren't trying to be offensive but instead trying to help you reach a more well balanced healthier version of yourself. Being educated is nothing you should feel offended by.. they aren't telemarketers trying to sell you something you don't need.. you need muscle, and you need to strength train to maintain or build more.

suzycreamcheese

im joking. What works for me, wont necessarily work for you, and vice versa.

I get totally fed up with people assuming it will.


I think people saying that they have found lifting weights to be really beneficial and that they really enjoy it, totally different to people saying YOU SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS. WOMEN NEED TO LIFT WEIGHTS.

because they dont

TheBraveryLover

Good post, OP.

beccau_20

because they dont

Weeellll... I disagree with this but that's the whole point of an open discussion forum: respectful debate.

Anyway, do what you like, of course. I have personally seen the benefit of strength and resistance training, so for me it works, even though I think it sucks.

joehempel

Actually I think there is a NEED to lift weights...not for bulking, but for maintenance. Low weight high rep, even with resistance bands...right now that's what I used because I'm not bulking yet.

If you go on long runs the carbs and fat you burn eventually stop burning and you burn amino acids and proteins in the muscle. It's important to do some resistance training a couple days a week to keep maintaining what you have.

What you do is up to you, and what makes you happy, it has no baring on my life what so ever, but it's my 2 cents.

Good luck with your runs!! I've got my longer runs tomorrow (if I can get it in) and Thursday.

_Sally_

We lose muscle as we age, so it is recommended we do strength training, just to maintain, if not improve out physiques and keep our metabolism high to avoid gaining weight. Without it, we will get softer and our metabolism will get slower (so we need to eat less as we age if we have less lean muscle mass).

If you did resistance 4x a week without any results, I would suggest you were not challenging yourself with the weight enough, so I can see how it may have seemed like a waste of time.

Perhaps you just haven't found the right strength training workouts. Maybe find a group sculpting or kettlebell class? Bootcamp or Crossfit? Yoga? Pilates?

BTW, I'm a runner as well... I never understood wy so many people who don't enjoy running, do it anyway - never made sense to me :-)

GypsyRose25

I think what most people mean is that you SHOULD, but you don't HAVE to. You know your body and you may not fit into the SHOULD category. Most people, male or female, do. I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just want my point to get across.

randa_behnam

lifting weights builds muscle and burns more calories than cardio alone. you will continue to burn up to 72 hours after serious strength training exercise because your muscles are going to be repairing themselves. You have to do a lot more cardio to reach the same effects.


It is best to incorporate both strength training and cardio into your exercise. If you dont like weights then dont do it. No one is making you. I personally dont like running but i get amazing results from doing 40 mins of strength and only 15 mins of cardio.

ivyjbres

Yeah, really, what you "should" do should be more based on your goals rather than... I'm not sure where some people get their ideas, so from, wherever.

Like, if you want to loose a lot of weight like me and haven't worked out in 5 years, probably adding some muscle will help.

If you're training for a marathon (I checked your page), added muscle is really just an aerodynamic inconvenience, and not something you need to be actively doing.

As long as you are using your muscles everyday, you're not going to loose the muscle you have. And if what you have is what you want, then you don't need to add to it.

If you didn't gain any muscle, you probably weren't lifting enough weight. The whole light weight-high reps idea got way to oversimplified. By light, think of that as "light to me," it should be on the low end of what you find challenging. And that's for toning. For actually building muscle, we're talking about a weight that when you pick it up you think, "hey that's heavy," and you're actually tired after you do 12 reps.

Also, it really pisses me off when guys say women can't bulk up because we lack testosterone. That's complete BS. Women either do or don't bulk up due to routine, diet and genetics, just like guys do. We've all seen guys that lift every day and drink protein shakes and never get any bigger, we've also seen chicks whose muscle is ridiculous... You're fitness results are not based on your sex, and its mind boggling to me that that idea has made it through from the 1950's.

pantoine

Women should indeed lift weights - but it's mostly for building bone density as women are more prone to osteoporosis than men. Bones get dense in response to bearing weight.

Running will naturally do this for the bones in your legs/hips/spine, which is good :-)

BTW: cardio does *not* reduce your lean muscle mass as someone here suggested. Some protein ingested in the hour or two after your run will help build muscle mass faster so you can run longer/harder more quickly.

The proportion of lean muscle mass vs fat is important in a wide range of health concerns but whether it's your arms or legs doesn't mean much except for one thing: exercising your BIG muscle groups, such as the legs burns a lot more energy :-)

GypsyRose25

Also, it really pisses me off when guys say women can't bulk up because we lack testosterone. That's complete BS. Women either do or don't bulk up due to routine, diet and genetics, just like guys do. We've all seen guys that lift every day and drink protein shakes and never get any bigger, we've also seen chicks whose muscle is ridiculous... You're fitness results are not based on your sex, and its mind boggling to me that that idea has made it through from the 1950's.

No one in this thread said anything about that...

katherines2230

I've been lifing weights with my trainer for only 3 weeks and can already tell a difference. Its helping me drop weight faster too. I liked the elliptical and could do it for an hour 4 days a week but it was getting me no where. I'm definitely a believer that women "should" lift weights.

katherines2230

you werent lifting heavy enough weights then in all honesty...but you can to resistant bands to gain tone and muscle or even body resitance like push ups and dips and pull ups...just sayin...

And I agree with this if you lifted for 18 months and didn't see any results.

MsQt

You don't have to do strength training. If you like losing weight, having no curves, or definition, just keep doing cardio. I you want to have a woman (eight hour glass figure) then you must do something to get it. No one said the get what you want must fun but you have to work to accomplish what intimidates you. There is no way that you will do plain cardio and have a awesome body. The difference in a runner and someone who incorporates both strength training is when you look at runners you'll know it: No shape, thin no muscle mass weak looking. One does both has curves and definition. What ever you were doing at the gym that showed no results is only because you don't know what you're doing. My body is all that and it only took me 3months to look the way that I do now.

suzycreamcheese

maybe women should "consider" lifting weights