Why EVERYBODY should lift weights…….

One of the most common myths and misconceptions in relation to weight lifting is that it ‘makes girls look bulky and manly’.

Due to this misconception, some women spend hours and hours in the gym either on cardio equipment, (i.e the treadmill), and lifting dumbbells roughly the same weight as a laptop, and seeing no results or benefits as a consequence.

This kind of training can help you become slimmer, but will it help you get toned? The answer is no, probably not. The toned physique most people crave is only obtained by lifting a resistance that is challenging to the body for a certain number of repetitions.

Don’t be afraid of the free weights area in the gym. Embrace the feeling of gradually getting stronger, lifting slightly more as you go along, and not leaving the gym in a pool of sweat. You also do not need to be in the gym for hours at a time. You start lifting free weights efficiently, your workout will be cut in half and you will begin to see the benefits in no time at all. It really is that simple guys.

Below are some points to help dismiss the myths around weight training:

By lifting heavy weights you wont end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger

The general feeling around women lifting weights is that they will achieve an extremely muscular, chiselled, tanned, oiled up physique. What most people don’t realise is that these women work tirelessly day after day, eating exactly the right foods, to look that way. It takes extreme dedication, not lifting a few dumbbells a few times a week. So there is no worry there 🙂 By lifting a weight where you can feel a good resistance, and completing 12-15 reps of a said exercise for 3-4 sets, you will start to feel and see the benefits.

Weight training will actually sculpt your body

We all know the target areas, for men and women, that they want to tighten up. Love handles, abs, arms, back, ass…..the list goes on. Another misconception of weight training is that you can spot reduce fat. YOU CANNOT!! You can, however, use weights to tone a certain area of your body. Say you want firmer, more toned arms, you can perform tricep dips, tricep kickbacks, close grip push ups, bicep curls or shoulder press. The cardio you do, and resulting fat loss will then reveal your amazingly toned arms.

Your confidence will be sky high

There is something extremely satisfying and empowering about lifting weights in the gym, and seeing the progress you are making. You will feel and look in better shape, and outside the gym you wont need to ask for help when lifting an object. Your posture will improve and generally you will feel more confident and healthy 🙂

Lifting weights increases your metabolism

By lifting weights, you are increasing muscle mass. Muscles are metabolically active, meaning that muscle raises your metabolism which in turn results in more calories being burned. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you expend, resulting in more fat being burned. You will be continually burning calories even when doing nothing. This ‘after burn’ effect lasts long after you have completed your exercise. Compared this to steady cardio, where you only burn calories while actually doing the exercise. When you lift weights, your body will be needing to repair the muscle, resulting in the continuation of burning calories long after leaving the gym floor. Now that’s a bonus.

So, lifting weights not only gets you to a more toned physique, it does so by spending half the time in the gym, and by burning calories while you sleep. It helps confidence, and also tighten up those ‘troublesome’ areas. If those reasons aren’t a good enough reason to start lifting some weights in the gym, I don’t know what is.

Stay Strong!!