Okay guys, I’m sorry but this week’s blog is directly targeted towards the ladies in our lives. There will be no discussions on to how to increase your 1 rep max or how to build a more a muscular and defined chest nor will I be providing any tips on how to train for 18 inch arms or how to widen your back. In all my years of training I’ve yet to meet a single female who wishes to achieve any of these features with their own physique therefore none of them will be covered.

What will be covered however is to why in my opinion not only should women train with weights but why they NEED to train with weights. So Ladies if you’re not lifting then keep reading and if you are lifting then keep lifting and keep reading anyways.

From what I’ve seen in the fitness industry when it comes to women there are those that train with weights and those that do not. The ones that do not participate in weight training typically are involved in other areas of fitness such as yoga, pilates, bar method, spin and aerobic classes, to name a few. There are also women who prefer only to use the cardio machines at their local gyms as their sole source of exercise. In the bodybuilding industry these women (and men) are referred to as “Cardio Bunnies”. Now, I’m all for people becoming more healthy and fit however the one common theme that all these classes have in common is that none of them really target your muscles directly in challenging ways. Sure you can get a great sweat doing a cardio kickboxing class and yes I’m sure you can strengthen your core through pilates and yoga however when it comes to building and maintaining quality lean muscle NOTHING in my opinion beats resistance training with weights.

I’ve been a Personal Trainer for over a decade. During this time I’ve worked with literally hundreds of women of all ages. I’ve trained women for fitness shows, for weddings and other significant events in their lives where they wanted to look and feel their absolute best. I’ve worked with both prenatal and post-natal women with the main objective to keep their bodies healthy and fit during pregnancy and lose any unwanted weight after their babies have arrived. I’ve helped women bring down their blood pressure and lose weight. I’ve taught women how to build muscle and how to improve their overall quality of life through diet and exercise. And I could not have helped any of these women achieve any of their results without using weights.

Weights Make You Better NOT BIGGER!

Even in our modern age of technology and with all the information that we can easily have access to thanks to the internet, there is still a common misbelief by many women that if they lift weights that they will get bigger, muscular and more “manly looking”. Despite all the scientific data that proves otherwise and actually lists the benefits of weight training for women, their is still the perception by many that if women lift weights they will no longer look like women. I should state that this belief or perception is more common within the older population (ages 60 and older) then it is with the younger generation of today however the fact that it still exists continues to boggle my mind. The reality is, is that women do not have the amount of natural testosterone in their bodies to build and produce significant amounts of muscle. Yes, there are the few genetic freaks out there (both male and female) who can build a great deal of muscle in a short period of time however these people are far and between. So unless you think you too are a genetic freak who can build copious amounts of muscle simply by just looking at the weights, then it’s time to put this ridiculous notion to bed once and for all. Ladies if you start lifting YOU WILL NOT GET BIG nor will you look like a man.

Toning & Tightening

If you follow me on Instagram or are an avid reader of my weekly blogs then you’ll know my distaste for the words “toning” and “tightening” when used to describe desired results with one’s physique. In fact my hatred for the concept of “toning” and/or “tightening” is up there with the concept of “Sunday Fun Day” or the annoying idiosyncrasies of abbreviations that people use in text messages and emails such as “lol” “omg” and “brb” that are single handedly destroying the English Language. However despite my efforts to abolish these nonsensical terms, they still exist. And when someone mentions them to me during a consultation I unfortunately know exactly what they are referring to.

As arrogant as this may sound, you simply cannot tone, tighten, cut, shred or whatever the hell else you want to call it, something that is not there. For example if you have never trained with weights yet want to “tone” your arms so they are no longer flabby you are going to have to combine the use of heavy weights (with good form), a solid diet plan and cardiovascular exercises to achieve your desired results. There is no getting around this. Cardio and diet will only do so much. It’s important to use the weights to build the muscle that will give your arms that “toned” look. So start lifting!

Build Muscle to Burn Fat

If there is one thing that most women can agree on is that none of them want to get fat or too overweight. To many women this essentially means to remain thin and maintain their current body weight or even lose more weight they need to perform endless hours of cardio each week and starve themselves. Well that may have been the case in the 70’s and maybe even the 80’s however those days are long gone and we are much more educated now with regards to proper nutrition, supplementation as well as weight loss in it’s entirety.

Muscle burns fat. The more muscle you have the more fat you burn. The less fat you have the better you feel both physically and mentally. Muscle also requires calories to be built and maintained. Therefore you cannot afford to starve yourself if you want to build muscle. And remember, you DO want to build muscle, and you DO want your body to burn fat in the most efficient and effective ways possible. Therefore to build quality lean muscle you need to be lifting weights.

I know that in the majority of my blogs I usually provide you with my thoughts and opinions on certain subjects. But keep in mind that most of these thoughts and opinions are formed through facts and research done by medical professionals. What you choose to do with the above information is up to you. But do not kid yourself into thinking that by lifting weights you are doing harm to your body. You are not going to end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime nor are you going to appear “manly” and/or “bulky” if you start a resistance training program.

In other words without the use of weights you will have very little muscle. With very little muscle it will become harder to burn fat and you will become more prone to injuries as you become older. This is one of the main reasons why people either gain weight or develop many chronic physical issues as they start to age. Sure they might eat relatively clean and perhaps they even do a lot of walking and stretching each week but none of these will build much much muscle if any.

So do you still think that lifting weights is a waste of time and not for you? Well if you do then there’s not much more that I can say to convince you otherwise. For myself and to our clients the answer is clear though. If you don’t lift weights regularly you won’t become stronger. You will not build quality lean muscle. Your metabolism will slow down as will the rest of your body. But most importantly you will put yourself at risk for diseases as your immune system will become weaker over time which in turn will greatly reduce your quality of life.

So if the change in your physical appearance is not enough to motivate you to get to the gym then maybe the fact that training with weights might one day save your life will.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove