Women and Weight Lifting

Hello all! Sorry that I have been absent the past few days, life has been cray cray. I’m planning on trying to do 1-2 posts a week. As for the feature friday, I will get to that once things settle down – sorry all! 😦

Today I wanted to discuss something that has always really, really bothered and offended me. One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing women say, “No, I don’t want to lift weights because I will look manly of bulky.” UGH!!!!! Women!! GET THIS THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!! I just find this idea that women have to be so close-minded, ignorant, and just down right offensive! I take these comments very personally because last time Ichecked, I did not look like a man!

I wanted to discuss some of the many benefits that weight lifting can bring women. Maybe for those of you who have had this idea that you will look bulky or manly from lifting, these benefits will change your opinion on the matter!

Benefits:

• Burn more fat!!! – lifting weights will increase your lean muscle mass. An increase in lean muscle mass will also result in an increase of resting metabolism, thus allowing you to burn more calories throughout your day. For each pound of muscle gained, the body burns up to 30-35 more calories a day.
• TONE AND DEFINED!!! – Research shows that when women strength train, unlike men, women do not gain SIZE from strength training. Women have far less hormones in their body that increase muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) than men. Women will, however, benefit with toning and definition from weight lifting.
• Improvement in attitude and decrease in depression – studies have shown that frequent strength training reduces clinical depression. Women who strength train feel more confident, powerful, and capable – all important qualities for a women in today’s society to have!!!

These are just SOME of the many reasons why strength training for women is SO important! I have clients tell me all the time, “I just run on the treadmill because I don’t want to look like a man.” The first thing I add to their training program is weight lifting. And guess what?! They all LOVE it! I have gotten so much positive feedback from my female clients saying how confident and “bad ass” they feel when they’re pumping iron next to men. They love the feeling of feeling in control, and on top of that, they absolutely love more than anything, the way they look and feel about their bodies after just a few weeks of strength training.

Ladies, please, I cannot stress this enough – please, please incorporate strength training into your routines! You will LOVE the results you see. Running on the treadmill will help aid in weight loss, but weight training will tie everything together and will be the icing on the cake. If any of you guys need ideas of some exercises that you can start to incorporate into your routine, please let me know! I’ll do anything to make women see that they can be strong and powerful without being big, bulky and manly!

xxxxxo Felicia

what women THINK will happen!

what will ACTUALLY happen!