When we say “Ladies should lift weights or do some form of strength-training”, we often get responses like, “I don’t wanna get bulky and big”. While there are plenty of misconceptions about lifting weights, the key problem with encouraging women to pick up the irons is the fear of building large muscles.
But no, the act of picking up the barbell isn’t going to give you huge muscles. It takes more than just that, and in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Your dedication to the treadmill is an absolute, inefficient waste of time that doesn’t help you keep that fat off the body. Are you upset at us yet? Great. Now keep reading, we’ll tell you why.
1. You will shred more fat when you lift
Your religious cardio regime doesn’t do you as much good as you think it does. In a study by Penn State researchers, people who did cardio and weight lifting both lost almost the same amount of weight, but the cardio group lost muscle as well while those that lifted weight lost pure fat.
What does that mean for you? Well, your butt will look better in those tight jeans when it’s more muscle than fat, and you’ll fill and fit into clothes better. That is to say: You’ll get those curves you desire.
2. You’ll burn calories, even when you’re not moving
When you stop working out, the common misconception is that you quit burning calories. The truth is a little more complex: Your lean muscle determines how much fat and calories your body goes through. The more lean muscle you have, the more fat you burn while you’re sitting on your couch watching Netflix! When you do a total body strength training workout, your metabolism can be hiked for up to 39 hours after your workout. That’s how you get a slim, toned body!
3. It takes a lot to get big
We get it: You’re still worried about getting big muscles because it’s not the body shape you’re going for. Let us put this into perspective for you: In order to see any muscle growth at all, you will need to…
- Lift plenty of heavy weights daily, in an organised and regular manner
- Have the right type of diet to fuel the muscle growth
Even regular men, aid by their testosterones, take many months to put on even a little bit of muscular weight, and eating wrongly wipes out those gains almost immediately. It takes a lot of dedication to get even marginally bigger. I mean, have you seen the number of supplements needed to get big!?
Instead, when you lift weights, you’re more likely to become lean, toned and strong. That is to say, you’re going to look like Limaran Augustina instead:
This being said, it doesn’t mean you should abandon your cardio exercises. The key is to mix in strength-training into your regular workouts.
4. You’ll get stronger bones
Strength training will counter osteoporosis when you age. It’s been proven that weight-bearing exercises help to increase bone density. It’s true that certain cardiovascular activities are also weight-bearing exercises, but that efficacy is further increased by the weight lifting and strength training when you hit the iron. So, while that milk powder ad is touting stronger bones, you can get stronger bones for free when you lift!
5. Your heart will thank you
Women have a 1 in 3 chance of succumbing to heart disease. That’s a sobering thought, but you can lower the odds of that happening to you. Lifting weights help to counter heart disease risk factors like large waist circumferences, high body fat content, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. When you lift, you’re essentially saving your own life.
