women should lift weights?? wtf?

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  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    So if I posted a thread titled 'Why People Should Eat Clean', or 'Why People Should Exercise', or 'Why People Should Do Cardio'...you'd be offended?

    Right.

    I think in the context of this discussion some people are equating should with must. "Why people must eat clean" , "Why people must exercise" or "why people must do cardio."

    .

    possibly. I read "should" as saying someone should be obliged to. "women should lift weights" as a general recommendation that all women need to, and should feel obliged to lift weights, regardless of other circumstances, needs, or whatever else they are already doing.
    Im pretty sure thats what "should" means where i come from. Maybe slightly less instructional than "must" but still an instruction.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    why "should" i lift weights? What do weightlifters have that i dont have, apart from the ability to lift big things, and put them down again slowly? seriously?

    Im slim, im reasonably strong, im fit,I have muscle definition, I carried my ten year old boy down the street the other day in one arm when he hurt his foot, ive even carried my 4 year old on one hip and my 3 year old on the other down the street at the same time when they both decided they were going to refuse to walk at the same time recently. I can run over two hours straight . My blood pressure is spot on, i rarely get ill.

    Tell me, why "should" I be out lifting weights rather than doing what im doing?

    Not saying lifting weights is bad - its great. A lot of you weight lifters have awesome bodies, but really, theres no SHOULD about it. There are many ways. Its beneficial to exercise and to eat healthily as much as possible, and its fine to say that you could possibly benefit from lifting weights, but thats very different from saying YOU SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS

    Stength training doesn't mean weight lifting. I work with a personal trainer and I told him that I am very much against machines, my strength training in those sessions is all body weight with some added weight because I'm strong. That being said, I'm a pump instructor and believe that my level of fitness (I am by no means a body builder, but I am particularly fit and have a low bf %) is from the mixture and various types of cardio and strength training that I partake in. If someone asks me what they're doing wrong or how to fix whatever is happening (not losing weight, not toned the way they want to be, etc) I'll ask about over all habit (food, types of exercise) because I know what has worked for me. there are long term proven scientific benefits to strength training including a reduction in osteoporosis. Strenght training isn't just about overall fitness, but plays a role in long term overall health. I defintely don't do it so that I can lift things up and put them down.
    We all do what we want, unless you ask me a question an my analysis leads me to say to you "you should be strength training" I wouldn't say it to you or anyone else, but if you ask me a question and that's what my analysis leads me to believe you have a few choices: 1) ignore my advice, 2) take my advice, or apparently 3) get pissy because I gave you honest advice believing that you asked an honest question but I didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    my post was about weight training
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    If someone asks me what they're doing wrong or how to fix whatever is happening (not losing weight, not toned the way they want to be, etc) I'll ask about over all habit (food, types of exercise) because I know what has worked for me. there are long term proven scientific benefits to strength training including a reduction in osteoporosis. Strenght training isn't just about overall fitness, but plays a role in long term overall health. I defintely don't do it so that I can lift things up and put them down.
    We all do what we want, unless you ask me a question an my analysis leads me to say to you "you should be strength training" I wouldn't say it to you or anyone else, but if you ask me a question and that's what my analysis leads me to believe you have a few choices: 1) ignore my advice, 2) take my advice, or apparently 3) get pissy because I gave you honest advice believing that you asked an honest question but I didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear.

    See this is the crux of it. If someone specifically asks for advice on how to acheive a particular goal, and a good way would be weight lifting, then of course "you should maybe try weightlifting" is the perfect answer.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    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.
    So here's the breakdown. If muscle isn't "stressed" it atrophies. When this happens then loads gets shifted to other "supports" in your body. Normally it will be the bones. So now your weak leg muscles (running doesn't build muscular strength unless you're running uphill, stairs or sprints) are holding up your erect body each day while grinding away at the cartilage and leading to osteoarthritis. And this is much more common in women than men. So yeah, you SHOULD lift weights or do resistance training if you want your body reduce this from happening.
  • lcarter25
    lcarter25 Posts: 286 Member
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    what did the person say to you suzy? just randomly you need to do weight training?
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    y'know i always thought i put my opinions across clearly and wasnt too cryptic or anything, but im really surprised by how many people seem to have read that ive got something against weight lifting. Id challenge anyone to read back and tell me where they got that from
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    what did the person say to you suzy? just randomly you need to do weight training?

    not directly to me, but general posts saying that women should weight train.

    a few people seem to have got what i mean, but im surprised this has gone on so many pages
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    y'know i always thought i put my opinions across clearly and wasnt too cryptic or anything, but im really surprised by how many people seem to have read that ive got something against weight lifting. Id challenge anyone to read back and tell me where they got that from
    Well if you don't like something, it's an indication that you would be against it. You also said it did nothing for you. So if you did all that work and nothing happened, it's another indication that you're against it.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
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    No. It isn't. Eating is crucial Breathing is crucial. Sleeping and drinking and some level of activity are crucial. Lifting weights isn't. Most people get throughout their lives just fine without it. So it isn't by any definition of the word, crucial.

    It may be preferable if you want a certain body composition. But that isn't the same thing as crucial.

    Well, fine. Crucial if you don't want things like osteoporosis. Or if you want to effectively burn fat, while retaining muscle, burn more calories. Maybe you won't die if you don't do it. But you won't have optimal health.
  • Lillyzar
    Lillyzar Posts: 46 Member
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    I would never view someones advice based on their success as a personal affront! It's pretty unbelievable that someone being proud of their work turned into this!
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    running doesn't build muscular strength

    really? So how come people get better and better at it, and get better muscle definition etc?
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    Well if you don't like something, it's an indication that you would be against it. You also said it did nothing for you. So if you did all that work and nothing happened, it's another indication that you're against it.

    well no, not at all, not against it in general, just dont think its the best exercise for me
  • QuestForFitness
    QuestForFitness Posts: 74
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    Well, techinically I think everyone SHOULD lift weights....Meaning everyone should be doing something to build muscle and to most people that means lifting weights. Of course lifting is not the only way to build muscle. I think statements like "women should lift weights" is more geared toward the women who want to "just lose fat" and focus solely on cardio without ever doing anything to build muscle.

    Yes, running builds muscle but it is also important to do strength-specific exercises to get the best results visually and in order to be at your healthiest.

    I'm rambling. I just mean that yes women SHOULD strength train, be it through lifting, resistance, plyo or body weight exercises. And so SHOULD men.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    really? So how come people get better and better at it, and get better muscle definition etc?
    Because it's easier to run when you weigh less, and when you have less fat it displays more musculature. But you get that lifting weight too.
    Cardio only regimens burn a lot of muscle if you're trying to lose weight. It's been documented by several peer viewed studies. Just look at a long distance runner and sprinter physique wise. Both run, but their running workouts are much different. One is more aerobic while the other anaerobic.
    If you don't like lifting weights that's fine, but science and study indicate that optimal health requires that the muscle be under some moderate resistance to keep it from atrophying.
  • Sirchunx
    Sirchunx Posts: 24 Member
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    running doesn't build muscular strength

    really? So how come people get better and better at it, and get better muscle definition etc?

    Perhaps there is a confusion here between muscular strength and muscular endurance?
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
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    surely muscle atrophy is only going to be a real problem when youre talking about someone bed bound? Ive never known of a normal healthy active person who eats properly to have muscle atrophy?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    well no, not at all, not against it in general, just dont think its the best exercise for me
    That's by how you feel. But contrary to how you feel, study after study will show that people who strength train (along with a good cardiovascular regimen) will have optimal muscle strength and conditioning compared to those that don't.
  • lcarter25
    lcarter25 Posts: 286 Member
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    Just because suzy doesn't like it doesn't meant she's against it! I don't like spinning but I'm not against it
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    surely muscle atrophy is only going to be a real problem when youre talking about someone bed bound? Ive never known of a normal healthy active person who eats properly to have muscle atrophy?
    When a muscle is "sore" after a workout, it's because it's been broken down. This is an direct indication of non use of a muscle (unless of course the muscle was overloaded during a workout). Non use of a muscle is a cause for atrophy.
    If you look at an athlete who trains consistently, then look at them in later years when they don't, you can definitely see that they look much different. This is atrophy of muscle. It doesn't just apply to bed ridden people.

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