Advise the typical woman trying to lose weight to add a day or two of strength training to her fitness plan, and she’ll think you suggested she inject steroids by the way you look at it.
“But I don’t want to look like one of those female bodybuilders!” she will respond often, alarm on her face. “I’m afraid I’m going to bulk up.” Now is the time to tackle this myth about her meaty bicep and find out what really happens when women add strength training to her routine.
First, let’s see what we really mean by strength training.
Getting the myth of strength training into a choke
When we really pin down the strength training myth, we find that it often starts with how many of us define “strength training exercises.” What typically comes to mind are monster men with rippling veins doing squats or bench presses with a Volkswagen-sized stack of plates on each end of the bar.
But that’s not all: you have to realize that strength training is not synonymous with powerlifting, powerlifting, or bodybuilding.
Yes, these sports rely on strength training exercise, but keep in mind that many other sports do as well. For example, the softball, volleyball, basketball, and rowing teams rely on strength training to achieve their goals, but they all feature fairly normal-looking male and female athletes.
When it comes to meat and gristle, resistance training is nothing more than contracting the muscle against opposing resistance, such as gravity, as is the case with weight lifting. The goal is to increase your anaerobic endurance, your strength, and/or the size (bear with me) of your skeletal muscles.
The resistance does not have to come from gravity; it can also come from hydraulic forces (machines), elastic forces (resistance bands), or the force of your own opposing muscles. (isometric).
Some of the strength training methods for women simply take advantage of your body weight. Think about your calisthenics routine or the most modern Pilates.
Don’t be afraid to stick with good old-fashioned weights, though; there is no reason to walk away from them. Just use lighter weights with higher reps. 10 to 12 reps per set is a good average for women, and you can increase the weight as you get stronger.
Wait, but what does “increase size” really mean?
I could almost see your eyebrow twitch when you read that resistance exercises increase size, your face narrowing in that “I told you so” look. But not so fast.
Some overweight women are deathly afraid of building strength because they look at their arms and legs and what they see doesn’t look quite flabby. It feels solid to the touch, and they probably see themselves as naturally bulky.
So if your arms are so beefy now, with little to no exercise, what will happen when you exercise them? They will get bigger, right? Well, no.
When you have a higher percentage of fat in your frame, it’s not just stored where it can be seen and pinched. It is also stored in your muscle. To imagine how this works, think of a well-marbled steak with tendrils of fat running through the meat.
So what this “marbling effect” does is make your muscle bulkier. But if you’re overweight and start replacing your fat with lean muscle, your muscles will actually look smaller! They’ll just get smaller and more toned, and that’s what you want, right?
Muscle mass and metabolism
The real good news about building muscle is increased metabolism. Did you know that a more toned and muscular body actually burns calories faster and more efficiently?
Most women think that all they need to do is create a calorie deficit and they’ll start to lose a few pounds, but adding lean body mass speeds up progress, even if it’s buried under extra fat. That lean mass will burn calories all day no matter what you’re doing.
As a result, the foods you eat won’t have as drastic an effect on your weight and appearance; It will still be a factor, sure, but by giving your body the resources to manage your weight, you won’t have to. work so hard to handle it yourself.
Other benefits of building strength
The benefits of adding resistance training to your training plan don’t end there. In addition to helping with weight control, it also reduces injuries, increases stamina, improves balance, sharpens focus, and reduces symptoms of chronic illnesses (such as diabetes, back pain, or arthritis). To continue, one of the most important benefits is that strength training not only prevents bone density loss but can actually increase it, thereby preventing and reversing the degenerative effects of osteoporosis.
the final representative
Look, this is what it comes down to. Even men who WANT to bulk up have to spend a lot of time in the gym and eat exactly the right diet to make hard gains. Otherwise, they just get more toned…and yes, their muscles may look a bit bulkier because their bodies are built that way.
But you are not a man; you are a woman. And losing weight while building strength won’t make you look like a bodybuilder. Do you realize how much work (and often drugs) it takes to get there? Your two or three days in the gym could never do that.
It will make you slimmer, confident, more toned. It will help you lose weight and improve your overall health, definitely.
And that’s exactly what you want. Work your muscles, and they will work for you in return. Strength training is vital for women too, believe me.
