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I am very passionate about the topic of women and resistance training, mostly because it really irritates me when people have a glass ceiling placed over their heads by someone else.
I consistently hear the following: “My friend Johnny says that I shouldn’t be lifting weights with my legs because they will get big and bulky.” Meanwhile, Johnny is a 127 lb weakling finishing off his 10th set of bicep curls using 12 lb dumbbells. So let’s get to the five must-know resistance training tips for women.
5. Leg work (e.g., lunge or squat) is more effective when you add weight. Besides, it takes a lot less time to do 3 sets of 6-10 reps with weights than 3 sets of 25 without weights.
4. Getting stronger doesn’t equal getting bigger. You can actually become quite strong without getting bigger. Think gymnasts and Cirque du Soleil performers – very strong and not at all big.
3. It’s OK for women to use a barbell. As a matter of fact, a weight is a weight. Just because you use a barbell doesn’t mean you will develop bulk. In reality, barbells can be more effective for fat-loss (and that is what you want, right?) because they force the entire body to work hard. And hard work equals lots of energy used which equals more fat burned.
2. Many times women are led to believe that just a mere whiff of the “guys area of the gym” will instantly add 20 lbs of muscle to their thighs. Let’s use some logic here, please. If it were really that easy to get bulky, don’t you think every guy in the gym would be walking around at a solid 190-225?
The real truth is that anyone you see in person or in a magazine who is bulky has spent years and years TRYING to get that way. So there isn’t a snowball’s chance that just catching the scent of iron is going to cause you to gain 10 or even 5 lbs.
1. If polled, I would guess most women would say they would like to look somewhat athletic or like a fitness model. I would guess that if we took a look at their training regimens, we would find they train frequently and hard with moderate to moderately heavy weights and perform exercises like squats, presses, and deadlifts with a barbell.
Heck, I once saw a training clip of some college volleyball players doing tire flips and, trust me, these girls had legs that any women would kill for.
Hopefully, this little article has dispelled some of the half-truths and lies that many of you have been fed and will keep you from becoming frustrated because you have been led a stray by some half-witted, less-than-effective training program.
My advice is to add a dose or two of iron to your fitness regimen. You’ll have a body to be proud of if you do.
Enjoy!
Troy M. Anderson is the owner of Anderson Training Systems, LLC, a fitness coaching business based in Tempe, Arizona. Troy is often referred to as “the MacGyver of coaching” for his unique ability to build effective fitness programs using only the most basic equipment. For more articles and instructional video ,
visit http://www.atscoaching.com
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