STEP-BY-STEP Fitness

Don’t Worry Ladies, You Won’t Get “Swole”

"Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push up, it's about taking your power back." 

– Jillian Michaels (Black Team trainer on Biggest Loser)

So here we go. Probably one of the most repeated concerns expressed by women about working out and resistance training is this, “I don’t want to look like a body builder”, or any statements fairly close to that one that relate to woman and lifting weights. Ladies, I want you to “listen” to me very closely. YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A BODY BUILDER IF YOU LIFT WEIGHTS. Let me “say” that one more time, YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER IF YOU LIFT WEIGHTS!

Ladies, if you want to maximize your efforts and time in the gym then you NEED to be lifting weights or doing resistance based exercises. In my experience the fear woman have of looking like a bodybuilder is based on misinformation and ignorance. I understand how you might come to that conclusion. You’re in the gym and you see a muscular woman lifting weights and you think, “if I lift weights I’ll look like that. But that’s not what I want”. From that moment forward you have decided that lifting weights is bad and you will have no part of it. Instead you will continue to utilize the treadmill, bike, stair climber, and cross trainer as a means to achieve your goal. Depending on your personal goals those things could work for you. However, in most cases it will take you longer to achieve the results you desire. 

Here is the simple truth. Just lifting weights will not make you look like a bodybuilder. Female bodybuilders and fitness competitors are more muscular than the average female because that’s the nature of what they do. They don’t look the way they do just because they lift weights, it’s how they lift weights and resistance train, it’s their diet, it’s their supplement regimen, and sleep habits. It’s also months and years of highly intense training and dedication. 

No matter what your goal is resistance training will help you get there faster. Here’s the science part of it. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. Whether your goal is to have arms like Michelle Obama or abs like Jillian Michaels resistance training is the way to go. With traditional cardio machines you burn calories while you are performing the activity and for a short period of time after you finish the activity. Research shows that a person continues to burn significantly more calories for 24 hours after completing a resistance training based workout. 

So ladies, lay your fears to rest and start pumping iron. Not sure where to start? Next time you’re at the gym flag down one of the personal trainers. They can point you in the right direction and give you a little instruction if you need it. If you workout at the same gym I belong to, you can flag me down as well. I will be happy to help. 

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Next week’s topic: Why I Emphatically Dislike the Concept of “Dieting”

Thanks for reading!!

Your Friend,

RJ