Let’s talk a little about lifting weights. I hear many women expressing concern about it. The primary concern women have when it comes to weight training is, “I don’t want to get bulky.” Ladies, weights are your friend. Doing only long, slow bouts of cardio won’t get you the results you want. Trust you won’t start spontaneously growing muscles, bulking up and looking manly. If that were the case I would look like Arnold Schwarzenegger by now. I’m doing the strength training three times per week for almost four years now. Sure we can increase our muscle mass, but adding on significant amounts of muscle is a true challenge for most males, let alone females. It requires serious dedication. You have to workout hard and be on a strict diet. My dear Ladies, we just don’t have enough of the testosterone hormone to make our bodies look like the Hulk. Lifting weights does, however, have lots of benefits for females: you’ll lose more fat and shape your body faster, burn more calories, get into shape faster, you’ll handle stress better, build stronger bones, you’ll improve balance and ranges of motion, stop age related muscle loss, and strengthen your body and mind. You will feel empowered and strong.
“By taking back your power … in your job, your home and your relationships, you begin to emerge as a more confident, successful, and empowered individual — one who is unafraid to begin or end a relationship. You give yourself the power to make the choice, your own choice, unhindered and uninfluenced by any one other than yourself.” – Dr. Barbara “Bee” Delozier, Msc.D.
So don’t be afraid to lift weights. “You are performing weight lifting to help develop feminine curves, tone your body and raise your metabolism…To improve the appearance of your legs, hips, and glutes…The heavier the weight lifting, and the more intense the workout is overall, the greater your post-workout caloric burn will be. The post-workout calorie burn can last for up to 24 hours after your workout, and if you work hard enough to trigger it, you’ll be burning more calories than you normally would have THIS ENTIRE TIME.”
