Are you exhausted and soaked in sweat after an hour of cardio each day? Does the scale no longer show appreciation for your hard work? Quit spending hours on the elliptical, stair master or treadmill and pick up a set of weights!
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2004 only about 20% of women aged 18-34 strength trained twice or more a week. When you don’t pump iron, you lose out on the fat blasting exercises that don’t make you want to collapse in the middle of the track. By incorporating just two sessions of weight training a week, you can reduce your overall body fat by about 3%. This can be done in just 10 weeks without sacrificing any Dove chocolate or Coco Mero.
Forget the myth that lifting weights will make you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Women simply do not have enough testosterone to build muscle like a man. Strength training for women helps to build a sculpted, feminine body with stronger bones and an added metabolism boost – who doesn’t want that? The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that women who completed an hour-long strength training workout burned an average of 100 more calories during the 24 hours following the workout than they did following a cardio session. This after-burn can be easily doubled when you lift 85 percent of your maximum load for eight reps.
Here’s another myth: if women decide to lift weights, they should be very light. Sometimes too much cardio can actually deplete your muscles, leaving you looking weak and not toned. Weight lifting is imperative to prevent any loss of muscle tissue. Studies have shown that men and women do not need to train differently. Although you won’t be lifting as much as guys, you still need to have a significant amount of weight in your hands. One to five reps with max weight builds strength, but most of us should be working six to 10 reps, which is most beneficial for muscle development. 10-12+ reps are used to only build endurance, which is why lifting lighter weights with a lot of reps is not effective.
Now, I know what many of you are thinking, “The weight room at the ARC is filled with only guys!” Don’t be afraid to go down there. Grab a workout buddy and explore the sweaty man-cave together (you also get to check out all the hot guys in cut-off tees). I work out with my boyfriend a couple times a week, and surprisingly, I am not the only woman down there. If you’re still feeling weary of stepping into a smelly, testosterone-heavy atmosphere, then you can stick to upstairs where the women dominate the ARC. In the middle of the track, there are a variety of weight options to choose from.
Remember that when you do lift, do so with proper technique, otherwise you can hurt yourself or end up working the wrong muscle. Don’t risk hurting yourself; if you are unsure of how to do something, ask the cute boy next to you for advice, or simply YouTube the name of the move to find an instructional video. If you want more information about strength training and detailed workouts for women, visit Simply Shredded and never pick up a five-pound weight again.