Hit the Weights Ladies!

Molly isn’t your average forty something.  She eats right.  She gets enough sleep.  She controls her stress levels.  She’s figured out how to juggle family comittments while still making time for herself.  Oh yea, and she lifts weights.

Don’t worry though.  She’s not the one in the corner of the gym by the water fountain turning green.  Her muscles don’t bulge out of her clothes.  Her veins don’t pop out of her skin either.  Actually she looks pretty good.  People notice her.  Her friends envy the way her dresses fit her body.  They can’t believe her stomach is still flat enough to wear a bikini. They’re even a little jealous of her arms. They’re not too big, not too thin, and they have just the right amount of muscle tone.  But these things don’t surprise Molly.  She’s used to them by now.  She realized long ago that they are just a few of the many benefits that come from lifting weights.

That’s right.

She lifts weights.

Let me repeat that one.  She is a W-O-M-A-N and she lifts W-E-I-G-H-T-S.  That’s right – at the gym.

Some of you ladies may think I must be crazy.  You must think there is something wrong with me for recommending that you take up an activity that will cause you to look bulky or buff.  But that is it right there – looking big or bulky is rarely what results when women take to the iron.  In fact, it’s almost always the opposite: you end up tight and toned. (one of the reasons I wrote this article) You see, women are very different hormonally from men.  While some men, especially those with higher testosterone (and a few other hormones) lift weights and put on muscle mass relatively easily, this is simply impossible to do naturally (whether you are trying to or not) for most women.  Women have a drastically different chemical makeup than men and their bodies respond differently to training because of it.  Most women simply are not designed to get “buff.”  So hopefully that dispels the myth that some of you may have been told.

As I write this I’m thinking about another unfortunate mindset that many women have.  Some women may not be lifting weights. Maybe, as I just said, they’re scared of turning into the Hulk.  On the other hand, there are a lot of ladies out there who think they simply don’t need to work out – to lift especially.  This is often  because they are already “thin.”  In their minds, if they are a size zero, they’re already perfect.  I’ve got news for you ladies: if you aren’t already naturally thin, starving yourself and being lazy is not the way to go. And whether you are naturally thin or not you should still lift weights. Why do I say this?  Well, for one, I like food. And I also like lifting.  But in all seriousness, here’s the real reason.

Being “skinny fat” is not the way to go.  It is not attractive, nor is it much healthier than being overweight.  What do I mean by “skinny fat?”  This term refers to ladies (guys can earn this title too) who are thin in so far as they have small measurements but do not have any muscle.  They are not going to look “fat” by the typical definition, because they don’t have much fat on them.  But they don’t have much muscle either.  The result?  They are thin, but have no muscle tone.  They don’t look sexy in dresses.  They might have a small dress size, but they don’t impress you when they throw one on.  They probably can’t help you carry the milk in after grocery shopping.  All five pounds of it is just too heavy.  And the laundry?  Don’t count on them to fold it, they’re just too weak.

I may be joking a little bit, but it’s important to be aware that being “skinny fat” is not ideal.  Those who are “skinny fat” are not endowed with the same traits that those who lift weights begin to develop.  They aren’t strong, and don’t look it.  So they look less functional and are less functional.  I may sound like I’m saying that humans should be machines when I mention being “functional.” All I really mean is that improving your strength and balance and agility from hitting the weights helps you in all aspects of life. Saying that an exercise is “functional” simply means that it is something that aids your physical body in doing other activities – even activities as simple as driving a car or carrying groceries.  The main idea is that skinny fat isn’t much better than fat fat.  You don’t want to fall into either category.

So there are ladies who are scared of getting big from lifting and then there are those who think that they are already skinny and that lifting weights won’t benefit them.  Any others?

Here’s a third category.  On top of the aforementioned two groups there is also this one: the women who have tried lifting weights before but didn’t see results.  Now they too are in the “lifting is bad” group.  For them, the realization needs to be that lifting is not bad. There are simply many different approaches when it comes to lifting weights.  Whether you work out with free weights or machines, high reps or low reps, all of these approaches have a slightly different effect on your body.  What’s more is that lifting weights has to be kept in sync with proper cardio and diet recommendations.  If you get romantic with the leg press but you still hang out with the dorritos while watching TV at night you are forming a very dangerous love triangle that will prevent you from getting the results you want. The key is to maintain or improve other parts of your life while also starting to lift weights.

Not yet convinced?  Let’s review some of the benefits that you will get from lifting weights:

You will build muscle mass which will result in improved muscle tone.  Not only does this make you leaner, but it makes you stronger as well.  You’ll have more energy and endurance to get through cardio workouts and your metabolism will also work more efficiently. Your joint condition will improve as well.  Joints are placed under stress as muscles grow and are exercised and this results in connective tissues adapting by getting stronger.  This little adaptation is great because it helps to also improve your body’s agility and decrease it’s risk of injury.

So I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Lift weights!

Even if most of the benefits don’t actually concern you, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to look better.  Start hoisting iron and your body will thank you.

Oh, and then go buy a new strapless dress.