Women Shouldn't Lift Weights

Women should NEVER lift weights. We will become men and grow weiners.
Women, please-remember to stick to cardio only and 1000 calories a day.

Don't eat bananas either - otherwise - instantaneous weight gain

Wow, I've really been doing everything wrong!

Serious question. I love lifting and think all women who are able should try it out. It has amazing benefits. However, sometimes the weight area of the gym can be intimidating to a woman who is starting out lifting for the first time, especially if the number of men is significantly greater than the # of women in the weight area of the gym. Its great to read about the benefits, the results, and how its empowering and fun (and it is!) What advice would you all have for a woman who has everything she needs to begin physically lifting, but may have difficulty just mentally breaking into the typically male-centered weight training gym area?

I know myself, I had a difficult time "getting over it" and starting to lift. I had to go with a friend at first to spot me and keep me from being the only woman in the area. After a while of getting more comfortable with my lifts I am a lot more confident and I feel "at home" there, but this may be an issue for some women still.

What say you all?

Some clubs have women's only sections. Mine does.

I love it. Since increasing my strength training I have noticed that I am experiencing FAT loss instead of WEIGHT loss. So that is what I have decided to concentrate on. Hooray for Lifting like a Girl! :drinker:

Love it!! I don't do "Lift Like a Girl", but I'm definitely in to heavy lifting!

Nia rocks!

Women should NEVER lift weights. We will become men and grow weiners.
Women, please-remember to stick to cardio only and 1000 calories a day.

Hhahahaa LOL

Myth you would have to take steroids/enhancements/hormones to look like a man. Weight lifting with low weight and high reps will give you muscle tone. It wont make you bulky. We are no physically possible to look like that with out other stuff. If we did, then any female who goes to the gym would look like a man.

Yes, the low weights should also be pink. And have glitter. LOTS of glitter.

If your weights aren't Bedazzled, you're doing it wrong.

Yes, sir. You are, as your moniker suggests, Full of Win.

Women should NEVER lift weights. We will become men and grow weiners.
Women, please-remember to stick to cardio only and 1000 calories a day.

Hhahahaa LOL

Myth you would have to take steroids/enhancements/hormones to look like a man. Weight lifting with low weight and high reps will give you muscle tone. It wont make you bulky. We are no physically possible to look like that with out other stuff. If we did, then any female who goes to the gym would look like a man.

Yes, the low weights should also be pink. And have glitter. LOTS of glitter.

If your weights aren't Bedazzled, you're doing it wrong.

Everything I touch becomes magically Bedazzled... I must really need to lift more.

BUMP:drinker:

I have heard really good things about Nia Shanks. I've never been to her website and I'm a bit too busy doing my own thing but I have heard awesome things about it from some of my girl friends.

I would also like to encourage women to lift. Just 3 days a week. Why?

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Girls, start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

I'll post some pictures to make my points:

Me last year at 133 lbs and I have lifted weights for over 30 years doing a routine that gave me a good muscle base but did not do much for my female shape. Basically I did 10 reps, 3-4 sets, flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, 3 different back exercises, curls, tricep extensions, military press, and squats. Again this did not help my shape much, but it did give me a good foundation.


Last year I changed up my routine and ate less to lose weight with a simple calorie deficit. In this picture I was about 10% body fat or possibly a little less


This year I learned some more advanced routines. I am currently around 11% body fat and there is virtually no fat in my torso, all of my fat is in my arms, legs, and Gynoid region.


I'm not bulky. I'm still small. The level of my muscle definition is determined mostly by my body fat level.



What gave me my current muscle definition: The routine I do consists of weight lifting first and cardio second, but I still do cardio (mainly running). I change up everything all the time. My running is sometimes long easy runs, sometimes HIIT, sometimes shorter medium pace runs. My weight routine changes each day, each week, Circuits, Intermittent Super Sets, Fibonacci Pyramids, X-sets, Progress Venus Pyramids, and some splits, constantly changing it up, everything a variety of Strength, Hypertrophy, and Endurance.

Legs; In addition to Dealdlift's, Stiff Leg Dead Lifts, Sumo Dead Lifts and Squats I do Bulgarian Split Squats, Lunges, Reverse lunges, Curtsey lunges, Step Ups, Crossover Bench Step Ups, One legged Deadlifts (T-Bend), Lunge Matrix, Bowler Squat, One Legged Get Ups, Bower Squat and Calf Raise, Bowler Squat + Stiff Leg Deadlift, Curtsey Lunge + Dumbbell Squat, T-Bend + Y-Squat, Reverse Lunge & Step Up, Curtsey Lunge + Step Up, Y-squat, Narrow Stance Squat

For upper body I do Standing Shoulder Press, Standing Dumbell Curls, Lying Tricep extension, Pullovers, Bent Barbell Row, Standing lateral Raise, Standing front Raise, Curl and Press, Shoulder Press + Curl, Dips, Lying Tricep Extensions + Flyes, Venus Raise (a type of snatch), Bent Row + Standing Lateral Raise, Pullovers, Pushup + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Bent Lateral Raise + Pullovers, One Arm Dumbbell row, Flyes + Pushups, Seated Curl & Tate Press, Seated Curls + Overhead Tricep Extension, Pushups, Pullovers + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Lateral Raise + Full Front Raise, Venus Raise + Dips, Standing Dumbbell curls + Lying Tricep Extension, Upright Row + Dips, Bent Barbell Row, Flat bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Bent Row Narrow, Bent Row + Kickback,

Then some upper and lower combos; Squat and Front Raise, Step Up & Press, Step Up + Standing Shoulder Press, Squat & Press, Squat & Swing, Curtsy Lunge + Standing Shoulder Pres, T-Bend & Row, Pike Front Rais + Curtsey Lunge, Flat Bench Press + Step Up.

Core: Bar Bell Rollouts (you can start out with Stability Ball Roll Outs), Swiss Ball Pikes (you can start out with Stability Ball Curl Ups), and planks. As you advance Swiss Ball Pike and pushup.

I probably forgot some but you get the idea.

I'm not saying you will get what I got in a year. But my main point is don't be afraid to lift heavy, and also vary your routine. It takes a long time for women to develop muscles and if you stay natural you will not get big and bulky, and really what makes the muscles show the most definition is the body fat level and all people are different, you have to experiment with your own level of body fat and your genetics and your ability to build muscles. I have a genetic ability to build muscle and I'm not very big at all, but I am lean and ripped because of my low body fat.

thanks for posting!

Bump!

Wa! Ha! I love lifting heavy, bulky? Mmmm nope my waist is smaller than when I started...stronger?! Hell yes, I can lift more than a few men in the gym now......woooooooooo!

Lol I got another round of "Why would you want to lift heavy?!!?" This weekend at a Halloween party, followed by a round of "Wow you arms look fantastic!" :laugh: