Ladies have come to believe over time that slaving away on the cardio machines will cause them to lose all the unwanted fat. Many ladies get discouraged because the time and sweat that they are putting in seem to just not be stripping off the fat like it used to and a few areas just refuse to lose. Why not try weight training? Are you worried about getting larger guns than your boyfriend and don’t want to hurt his ego? Are you concerned that your boobs will shrink to the size of raisins and be replaced with two slabs of solid muscle?
If you have these concerns you obviously have a misconception of casual weight training. The casual weight trainer can be defined as the person who is seeking a lean, toned, and shapelier figure.
Women will not get large muscles if they do not train for them. Light weight training for higher repetitions rather than heavier weight will give the muscles a more toned look. For example, a woman consistently squatting a bar with a Buick on each end for four sets would gain a bulky physique unlike the more toned physique a girl who is curling ten-pound dumbbells for high repetition would get. A muscular and veiny physique that most girls dread will not be obtained without using heavy weight.
Women also produce very low levels of an important hormone to muscle building, testosterone, and generally have a bone structure that does not allow for them to carry a large amount of muscle mass.
Anna Kournikova, the tennis seductress, who lifts weights for strength and flexibility, has a toned and firm, but not bulky physique because she does not push herself to get large muscles. Another example is that of the competitive swimmer. She lifts weights often to condition her muscles but does not get big muscles because it would impede her movement through the water.
The benefits of weight training are vast. A few benefits of just some consistent light weight training are a decrease in body fat percentage, muscle tone and shape, better muscular condition, and an increase in resting metabolism. More muscle causes your resting metabolism to increase because it takes more energy to maintain muscle than fat, thus burning more calories.
In addition, you feel happier, more energetic and gain the self-satisfaction of making yourself look better. Possibly one of the most beneficial parts of weight training is stress reduction. Pushing some weight can help you cope with school pressures, rude bosses, and break ups for example rather than hanging out with your friends Ben and Jerry to ease the pain.
I hope that this article may have changed the conceptions that you, ladies, have of weight training and will inspire all of you to hit the weight room and excite your life a little more than the endless monotony of putting one foot in front of the other on the treadmill.