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I've noticed that a lot
of the women I've trained with over the years suffer from weight
lifting phobia. By that I mean that they tend to be overly concerned
with developing muscularity, as if itís a bad thing. I
guess a lot of women are under the misconception that the development
of muscle is simple and happens overnight. The truth is that muscular
development takes a combination of discipline, proper food intake,
and training, and to develop huge muscles takes genetics or supplementation
most of the time. The truth is that everyone can benefit from
resistance training of some type, whether it's free weights (dumbbells
or barbells) or exercise bands. Not only does a toned physique
help protect your skeletal frame and increase your resilience
to injury, but it also increases your metabolism.
I guess I take offensive that some people think musculature comes
rapidly and easily. I have heard more than once, "I don't
want to look like Arnold," and just let me say that this
is not possible for a woman. Many of the female clients Iíve
trained shy away from resistance training in the beginning for
this very reason, when in reality looking "like Arnold"
will probably never happen, at least not naturally! So my point
is please don't be afraid to participate in a resistance-training
program for fear of developing too much muscularity. I have even
heard this from obese women! I'm certainly not trying to offend
anyone out there, only to put your minds at ease. So donít
shy away from the weights, instead give them a try before you
rule them out.
When engaging in a weight-training program, you should push yourself
provided that you are injury free and have consulted your physician
before getting started. For increasing strength as well as toning,
I usually suggest training somewhere in the eight to fifteen repetition
range per set. That means that if the weight is so light that
you can pump out 40 reps without batting an eye, then the weight
is probably too light. You should feel fatigued by the end of
a set, provided that the weight is heavy enough.
So take a good look at your training regime, and ask yourself
if you suffer from "Arnold phobia." If so, rest assured
that this muscular metamorphosis won't happen, and just get out
there and push yourself. If you are in good health, there is no
reason to baby yourself, you should be sweating by the time you
are done working out. Granted, it's fantastic that you exercise
at all regardless of the intensity, but you will be doing yourself
a favor and getting the most out of your workouts if you put 100%
into them. So what are you waiting for, give this a try for a
couple weeks and see if you don't notice a difference!
Melissa Allen is a certified
personal trainer, Blackbelt & fitness consultant, as well
as the owner of Optimum Condition— personal fitness training
and kickboxing instruction. She is a regular columnist with various
newspapers and welcomes input from her readers. Please contact
her with any questions or comments that you may have by calling
(619) 252-4993, email her at Opticondit@aol.com, or visit her
website at www.optimumcondition.com. |
