Weight lifting

First off, lets clear up the misconception many of us have on women and weight lifting. I'm tired of hearing "I don't want to lift weights, i will look like a man!" Strength training WILL NOT,  i repeat, WILL NOT make you look like the hulk. You will not get masculine bodybuilder type muscles from lifting. Due to the fact that women's bodies do not, and cannot, naturally produce as much testosterone ( the hormone linked to muscle size) as males do, it is IMPOSSIBLE! God never intended on making women look like men, that is why our bodys chemistry is made up of totally different things. What about the women bodybuilders you see on TV and in magazines?! Those women spend countless hours in the gym lifting extremely heavy weights, probably have good genetics and in most cases take some type of anabolic steroid. They do not look like that by accident. Regardless of how much or how often you train or how much protein you consume, you will not come close to looking like a MAN!

I personally think VS models are too thin. Now SHE has a body! 

You want to "tone"?

Everyone already has muscle, its about bringing them out and showing those beauties to the world! 

Tone = Define
Definition or "tone" is created by:
1. Building and preserving muscle
2. Lowering body fat

THIS is why i cannot push clean eating enough! 
Lowering body fat is all about your diet and caloric needs. Building muscle comes from a good strength training routine and heavy lifting! 
Why do we so often hear that women should'nt lift light?? Is it because we "shouldn't be as strong as men"? I don't know, but throw that out the window ladies!! Lifting 5lb dumbbells 50 times isn't going to give you the "toned" shape you're going for. Very high repetitions will not encourage your body to make your muscles bigger or more defined. Feeling "the burn" is not a sign of burning fat. The "burn" is lactic acid being built up into your muscle. The pump feels good and will make you feel like you're getting toned, but in actuality you are just growing the size of your muscle.

To "tone" you should stick to heavier weights and lower reps.

Example 115lb squats (3 x 8) or preforming 8 squats, 3 different times :) 

Lifting heavy with smaller reps will make your muscles more dense - not larger. Which is great for toning, IMO. The reason for this is known as myobibrillar hypertophy. This basically means that you are increasing the thickness of your muscle fibers instead of the fluid that's in them. 
I am all for building my muscles, so sometimes i do lift slightly lighter with more reps, i like to switch it up! 

Burn calories 24/7

Usually the goal of weightlifting for women is to get a nice figure while slimming down and toning up!   Although cardio will burn more calories than strength training in 30minutes, strength training will have your body burning calories all day long! Studies have shown that if you lift weights 3 times a week for two months you will gain nearly two pounds of muscle weight and lose about 4lbs of "fat" weight. As your lean muscle increases so does your resting metabolism. They say, that for each pound of muscle you gain, you will burn 30-50 more calories each day. This is why i like to tell people to GET RID OF THE SCALE! Or at least try not to weigh yourself everyday. 

I personally weigh myself every two weeks, just out of curiosity. I am at my "goal weight", being 5'7 and 132lbs i am totally happy with that. People look at me and say "there is no way you weigh 132lbs", remember people, muscle weighs more than fat! At one point (before weight lifting) i weighed 122lbs. My body looked almost exactly the same EXCEPT i had no muscle definition. I like to call it "skinny fat". I am now HEALTHY AND STRONG! 

I recently had my body fat measured at the base gym. They have something called "The Bod Pod" it is highly accurate in measuring your fat and takes only a few minutes. Keep in mind that the "average" body fat in the US for women is 30%. At 127lbs i was 13% body fat. The man preforming the test put me in the "at risk" category. After having breastfed i lost all breast fat and now have nothing but sagging skin :( BUT, im getting boobies soon to fix that ;) ANYWAYS, this could be one reason my body fat is low. Another reason may be because i am healthy, i eat right, and i am gaining muscle!! Again, muscle weighs more than fat. After being put in the "risky" category i did tons of research to see what i was doing wrong. What I found was that i am doing everything right! I do not want to be what the "average" American is. For the average American today is overweight. As long as i have normal menstrual cycles and no health issues it is perfectly safe to have low body fat. I am now 5lbs heavier than i was when i took the test because I have upped my carb/protein intake and have gained muscle mass. So im sure my body fat percentage went up just a bit. 

I was one of those women who used to walk pass the weight room in the gym and cringe. There was no way I was ever going to step foot into a room full of confusing machines, crazy amounts of iron and lots of intimidating men & women. Trust me, once you breach the free weight area, you'll realize your fears are unfounded. 

Still not convinced?! 

Here are some benefits of lifting heavy:
1. FAT LOSS
2. Muscle preservation
3. Increased metabolism
4. Increases functional strength - daily activities
5. Increases bone density
6. Increase energy
7. Improves digestion
8. Lowers blood pressure
9. relieves stress
10. Helps with depression
11. Lowers resting heart rate
12. Makes you look good naked!

So in summery, get off the damn treadmill and get your booty to the squat rack! 


TO BE CONTINUED......time for bed! :)