Over the last three to five years I have stepped foot into at least ten different gyms. While everyone has their go to type of workout, there is one trend that always stands out. There are very few women who lift weights. There seems to be a stigma that goes with women weight lifting, I would like to address some of those concerns.
1. You will never be as muscular as a man, not naturally. On average, men have about ten times more testosterone than women. This is one of the key reasons why women can not build ‘bulky’ muscles like men can. If you are scared about getting excessively muscular, I will tell you as a woman, it takes a lot of time and dedication. Every calorie every supplement and every workout would have to be strategically planned, timed and executed. Even with this regime, women would not get as muscular as men.
2. Cardio is NOT the fastest way to burn calories. While running or using an elliptical burns calories, it doesn’t continue to burn calories like lifting weight does. After a weight-lifting workout your body will continue to burn calories, and add strength, for at least a couple hours and up to twenty-four hours. When you stop your cardio routine, you only burn calories for about ten minutes.
3. Lifting weights does not have to be intimidating. Most people’s reasons for not lifting weights is that they either don’t know what they are doing, or they are scared they are doing it wrong. Just like any new activity there are a few things that you could do to make yourself feel more comfortable. In regards to weight lifting do your research, educate yourself and come up with a plan. For the first few times you lift weight, it won’t come naturally, but after a while you will become a pro!