Smashing the Stigma: Girls and Lifting

            Do you ever hear the sound of huffing, puffing, and grunting at the gym? Are these sounds all too familiar when you are on the elliptical doing your thing and feeling good? Well you must be working out in the O’Pake gym.  You might be glancing over to see who is making those sounds and 9 times out of 10 it is the men over at the weights area.  But have you ever thought about joining them? No, I don’t mean going to flirt! Actually going over and using the weights?

The truth is, most girls are intimidated by the whole scene: the grunting men, the huge barbells, the stares you know you’d get if you walked to that side of the gym… It is intimidating. But if you go to the gym, then you’re obviously trying to get fit and live a healthier lifestyle. That being said, I’m going to be very honest with you ladies, and let you in on a secret:

            If you lift weights, you will not get bulky, you will not look manly, and while you may get some stares, you are doing your body good.

            Just going to the gym and being a cardio bunny is not going to get you the body you want! A lot of girls don’t want to lift weights because they are afraid they will bulk up and take on a manly stature. I’ve heard the excuse, “Ew, I’m not a man, no way am I going over there to lift.” Well, my good friend science is here to enlighten you. Men have much higher levels of testosterone, thus having the ability to make huge gains and build large amounts of muscle. Women don’t have nearly as much testosterone, so what results is the formation of lean muscle. This means that your body will be tighter, more toned, and strong. In fact, studies show that if you have more muscle mass, you burn more calories throughout the day because your metabolism speeds up. This is only one of the many rewards that result from strength training. You can read more about the benefits of lifting here.

I’ll admit, it is intimidating to walk over to the weights in O’Pake for the first time. But once you do it, you’ll get past whatever was holding you back and you’ll gain confidence in the process. Even if you’re not ready to start with the weights, then try some of the strength training machines! They are just as effective and can act as stepping-stones because the strength machines are scattered all over the gym and aren’t in a designated area like the weights are. My faves are the bicep curl, the lat pulldown, and the ab crunch.

If you do decide to muster up the courage and pick up some weights, here is my go-to arm workout:

I usually do this 3 times through. You can use whatever weights you can handle, and if you’re sore the next day, that’s GOOD!

The stigma that only men are supposed to lift weights needs to be broken! It’s the 21st century, women shouldn’t be intimidated by men at all, especially in the gym when everyone is there for the same reason. Do your body good and look good in the process by adding weight training into your gym routine.

And above all, look like a lady, train like a boss.

HCXO,

Alli Murray