Lift Like a Girl

I'm no stranger to the weight room. My favored form of exercise is resistance training. I know, that's not necessarily the case for most women. I believe one main reason for this is lack of knowledge. Many women believe that if they work out like a man, they will look like a man. This is simply untrue. What makes a man build muscle in bulk is testosterone. Although all women do have some amount of testosterone, the amount, even if you happen to have more than the average woman, is minimal compared to men. Therefore, it is impossible for a woman to look like a man just from working out.

My personal experience has been that the heavier I lift, the quicker my body responds to training. Muscle burns about 30 TIMES more calories a day, even at rest, than fat. Do not be afraid of muscle! During most of my workouts, I like to do a combination of rep sets. Rep sets are the number of repetitions used to complete a given set. For example, when performing the bench press exercise this morning, 14 reps completed my first set. My second set consisted of 10 reps, and my third set was 6 reps. Now, as I lower my rep range, I increase the weight. So, I completed the first set using 65 pounds (the bar weighs 45# unweighted), 75 pounds for set two, and 85 pounds for set three. I followed a similar pattern for all of my exercises this morning.

I choose to vary my workouts from one day to the next. I never workout exactly the same way. This causes muscle confusion, and when you keep your muscles guessing you will keep progressing. Using the above example, the next day I work my chest I may or may not do the barbell bench press. I will most likely use dumbbells to change up the exercise. Also, instead of increasing the weight and decreasing the rep range, I might start with a heavy weight and low reps, then work my way down in weight and up in reps. There are many ways to change up the same exercise in order to keep your muscles guessing: pause sets, pyramids, staggered sets, intervals, etc. The key is form.

As I mentioned earlier, lack of knowledge keeps many women away from the weight floor, especially free weights. As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, I always kept form as my highest priority. There is a right and wrong way to perform any movement or exercise. Actually, there are several right and wrong ways. This is where education is necessary. Hiring a trainer to teach you proper form is very important when beginning a new exercise program. Improper form can cause injury, pain, insecurity, and all will likely lead to a break in activity or ceasing workouts altogether. Learning good body mechanics will improve confidence, and allow you to try more exercises as you progress.