If you’re like most gym-going women, your gym routine looks something like this: do a 30+ minute workout with a steady, moderate pace on a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical, and then go to the weight machines and do many low weight, high rep sequences that target your inner thighs, glutes, and abs. Maybe some arm stuff too. Then you go for a walk or just stretch to cool down. You repeat this for weeks, months, years, and never quite get the results you want. You may look better, but you’ll never reach your dream body.
It’s so sad that we do this. We’re told that a long, boring workout on an elliptical is going to make the fat melt away, and that we’ll look like a bodybuilder if we go any higher than 15 pounds on any machine. When you leave the gym, you don’t feel a sense of accomplishment, and you spend tons of time at the gym to get mediocre results. If fitness magazines were honest, they’d run out of crap to sell you within a year. What most women don’t know is that if you want to lose fat and look better, lifting heavy weights is going to be a huge help.
And yes, I do mean heavy weights. Not the 2.5lb dumbbells that come in hot pink (although those are adorable), but heavy enough to be challenging yourself for each set of, say, 8 reps. Now I’m not trying to belittle anyone who is lacking in strength, and has to use 5 lb weights for certain lifts, but you truly need to be using weights that challenge you. Doing 4 sets of 20 reps with 15 pounds on the leg press is most likely not challenging yourself.
There are so many misconceptions about women lifting heavy weights, and the one that probably pops right into your head is that lifting weights will make you bulky. Well I’ve got great news!
Lifting heavy weights will not make you bulky.
Saying that you’re afraid of looking like a bodybuilder if you lift heavy weights is like saying that you’re afraid of going for a run because you might win the Boston Marathon (thanks for the analogy, r/loseit FAQ). Over the period of many years, female bodybuilders spend hours and hours working out each week, have an extremely specific, restricted diet, and some take illegal steroids. Not all women who compete in bodybuilding competitions do so, but chances are, if they are enormous and you think they “look like a man,” they probably take steroids. Here’s the reason why: the vast majority of women do not produce enough testosterone to get “bulky,” or “huge”. I’ve been researching health and fitness for a year and a half, and in that time, I have seen one single account of a woman who tends to “bulk up” beyond her liking from lifting heavy. Aside from that, I’ve seen hundreds of women talk about their success with strength training.
This lady up here went from overweight and unhappy, to fit and confident with the help of proper nutrition and weightlifting. Click the image to see her story on bodybuilding.com.
Muscle is what is revealed when fat is burned off, and it’s damn sexy. You know the phrase “skinny fat”? Where you’re thin, but not lean? That happens when there is no muscle beneath the fat, and there is no definition and very little shape.
I also want to address “being toned,” or “toning”. “Being toned” essentially means having muscle and being low enough in body fat. It’s a somewhat inaccurate notion, because muscle tone is simply the amount of tension a muscle maintains while resting, but everyone knows what “being toned” looks like. But the big issue is the concept of “toning”. This is a problem because it seems to imply that you can spot-reduce fat. “Sculpting” has the same inaccurate implication. You lose fat when you have a caloric deficit, and it happens wherever your body chooses, and not necessarily on the body parts you’ve been working. You can do as many sit-ups or crunches you want, but if you don’t have a low enough body fat percentage, all you’ll be doing is increasing your waistline (because as we know, working your muscles will make them bigger).
The weight machines at the gym are often isolation movements (i.e. that leg lifts that target only your quads), but what you’ll want to focus on when you lift weights is compound movements. These movements require more than one joint and more than one muscle group – think squats, bench press and pull-ups, to name just a few. There’s a number of reasons for this. For starters, it is more efficient – you can get a total-body workout doing two exercises if you do the right ones, helping you maximize your gym time. These movements also burn more calories, meaning it’s not just efficient for time, but it’s efficient for calorie burn. Also, machines give you too much stability – when you do a leg press, you only work your legs and glutes, but if you do a barbell squat, you also have to activate your core and shoulders to hold the barbell atop your shoulders. Compound movements also mimic natural movements: a deadlift is how you should pick heavy things off the ground, a pullup mimics pulling yourself off a ledge (hopefully that doesn’t happen too often though!), etc. Now that being said, isolation training isn’t a bad thing, it just shouldn’t be your primary form of weight training. Personally, I do almost all compound movements and add in a hip thrust or step up here and there to increase my glute size (I’m a mild sufferer of FAB (flat Asian butt) disease, so I try to make mine bigger). This type of accessory work can be added in as you want, but like I said, your main focus and source of training should come from compound movements.
Ignore the scale
There’s something very, very important that you will need to accept on your weight loss and weightlifting journeys: your scale is a dirty, dirty liar.. Take a look at the volume of 5lbs of fat vs. 5lbs of muscle below:
The muscle above takes up much less space than the fat does, even though they weigh the same amount. If you start weightlifting, you may find your weight doesn’t change, or even increases, but your focus should be on how your body has changed. Your water weight fluctuates by up to about 5 pounds per day, which just adds to the notion that weight is mostly irrelevant. Like I’ve said before, unless you are a ballerina or need to reach a certain weight class, your weight does not matter.
Some additional health benefits of strength training include increased bone density, protected joints, and some chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes and osteoporosis can be managed through strength training. But something I never anticipated that I personally would gain is the unwavering sense of accomplishment and empowerment. My previous cardio and light weight routines at the gym left me feeling…confused, I guess. I didn’t really know what I was doing, and it didn’t feel very challenging, but since it was generally accepted as what women do at the gym, I kept doing it. I would never see results, and relapse into my old habits. Now that I’ve started strength training, I feel like I can do anything. The other day I finally deadlifted my body weight, and then a few weeks later, I deadlifted 180 pounds. For some women, this is nothing. They warm up with this. But for me, this was huge. I’d never had hamstring muscles that I could feel, and now I can recruit them to help me lift 180 pounds. It feels incredible. Doing something you didn’t know you could is amazing.
What you can do when you start
I’m not going to prescribe a specific program for you. Like I said, I’m not an expert, and there are books that go into much more detail, and will help you more than I can. I would suggest picking up The New Rules of Lifting for Women, or Starting Strength. Both outline not only programs for beginners, but they give detailed instructions for the movements you’ll do – deadlifts, squats, bench press, front squats, pull-ups, whatever (Starting Strength is renowned for its incredibly in-depth descriptions of compound lifts). It’ll tell you how to lift with proper form, which is crucial to prevent injury and maximize muscle use. I personally do not follow a set program like this, but I think that these are great ways for beginners to build foundational strength and learn how to properly perform these moves.
If you don’t have access to a gym, or are unable to afford it, take a look at bodyrock.tv. They have great short workouts that incorporate both cardio and body weight exercises that can be adjusted for all levels of athleticism. My only real criticism is that lately they seem to have made their videos and pictures even more overtly sexual than before, which is saying something, so I’m not able to go on their website while at work without feeling weird.
A fantastic way to track your workouts and progress is Fitocracy. You track your workouts there, and earn points for everything you do, levelling up over time. There is a fantastic community filled with groups and member spotlights, and it’s a great way to connect with like-minded people. I love it and would highly recommend it!
Your results won’t come overnight, but you can make a lot of progress in the beginning if you stick with it. Don’t fear hard work, and don’t fear being stronger than you were before. Weight lifting is one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done, so get started! You have nothing to lose but fat 🙂
Tags: Fitocracy, Gym, Health, Olympic weightlifting, Strength training, weight loss
Lifts Like a Lady 