Feb 19, 2013

Should Women Stick To Cardio Exercise And Stay Away From Lifting Weights?

Tags

By Russ Hollywood


Should women lift weights in the gym? This is one of the most commonly asked questions in fitness circles and today you will find the answer. You'll also find out what supplements to take if you are a lady trying to build a lean, toned physique.

The world of exercise and fitness has moved forward incredibly quickly over the last twenty years. Every year there are new developments in sports supplements and training methods, as well as new scientific research on previously unproven theories. It's barely the same world we lived in just 20 yeas ago. Yet despite all of this, there are many people who still have the same mentality which was floating around health clubs and gyms two decades ago.

They'll tell you that you should stay away from protein powder because it will damage your kidneys. They'll lead to you believe you need to spend two hours per day on a treadmill to lose weight. They'll also have you believing that ladies need to stick to lifting pink, fluffy dumbbells for hundreds of repetitions to tone up. One thing is common in these individuals, and that is a lack of results. []

For some reason, huge amounts of exercise enthusiasts are unaware that many of the age old theories and myths surrounding weight loss and muscle building have been scientifically researched and now have either evidence to back them up or evidence to disprove them. Sadly, most people still stick to advice like the things you can read above, which date back decades and have no academic foundations.

Lifting weights is great for weight loss. That may shock you because it goes against the old wives tales you may have heard in the past, but it is indeed 100% true. If you are a female trying to achieve a leaner, toned physique then lifting weights is better still.

But isn't it true that you'll end up looking like a bodybuilder?

No. If it were that easy to obtain a bodybuilding physique then most of the men you'd see walking down the street would look like The Rock or Sylvester Stallone! Lifting weights will improve your strength and tone your muscles in a way that cardiovascular exercise simply can not. If you aspire to achieve the lean look demonstrated on athletes such as Jessica Ennis at the recent London Olympics, then lifting is very important.

You certainly do not need to worry about getting big and muscular, because the female body does not have the testosterone levels to create a bulky physique without the outside influence of supplements. For this reason, you also don't need to be afraid of aiming for relatively low repetitions in your sets. You'll often hear that women should do sets consisting of 25 or more reps, but this is old advice which has been proven incorrect.

There is no need to be scared of big movements such as the bench press and squat. In fact, these are the type of multiple joint exercises which will provide you with stunning results if you perform them regularly.

A good supplement plan is very simple. It's easy to over complicate the whole procedure here and end up eating pills with breakfast, lunch and dinner. The truth is when you have a solid diet in place you do not need an endless array of additional products. Ensure you get a top whey protein, but everything else is optional. If your goal is to build more lean muscle than you have right now then you should also look towards adding a creatine monohydrate and glutamine product to that list.

Now you are fully aware of what supplements to take to help you reach your goal, you can begin on your journey to a leaner, toned physique. Furthermore, the next time you hear a lady ask "Should women lift weights?" you can help them get away from all of the old, unproven myths which surround this area of fitness.




About the Author: