“I don’t want to lift weights, because I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder!”

I paused and looked directly at my client from across the desk in my office.

She was young, well dressed, and well spoken – an obviously intelligent and educated young lady.

I sighed and mentally forced myself to choose the second option available using what I call “my modified Dax approach” (a shoutout goes to my friend and mentor, the infinitely patient, knowledgeable and inimitable Monsieur Dax Moy).

“Really!”

“Yes! I grow muscle really quickly and as soon as I touch weights, I grow muscle.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes I mean like within a week!”

“That’s amazing!”

Yes, it’s crazy, I just blow up!”

(Yeah that’s exactly what you do…)

“Isn’t that something?”

“I must have amazing genetics or something. I mean I grow muscle so quickly. Look at my legs.”

She stands up.

“No, no, there is no need to…”

Up comes the skirt, to mid-thigh.

“Look at this muscle!”

I sigh inwardly again. No muscle in sight but it was definitely what I like to call a “well-rolled” thigh.

“See? I have too much muscle already.”

“You don’t say.”

“Really! Touch it!!”

“No, there is no need to, really, thanks!”

“It’s all muscle, touch it and see!”

“NO! Thank you. Calm down!”

“Now can you understand why I don’t want to lift weights?”

She sits down, well satisfied that she has shown me something amazing and proven me wrong – all in one fell swoop.

Grraaggh!!!!

I hear this spiel constantly. Every week.

And I have heard it for the last 27 years.

It’s un-f*c!*ng-believable how a sane, well-balanced, well educated person can get waylaid into believing crud like this.

This shit just HAS to stop!!!

OK, here we go, ladies (and men) of the world. Hold tight.

For the humpty dumptieth time…

 

LIFTING WEIGHTS DOES NOT TURN WOMEN INTO MUSCLE MONSTERS!

Does NOT, will NOT, can NOT…EVER!

And before you open your mouth, I am NOT interested in what you have to say to the contrary about this subject – so please, drink a tall glass of shut-the-fuck-up and burp it quietly!

Well, not unless you can show me some amazing science I have never seen before.

Because I have never…ever…in 20 plus years in the business, seen a woman grow muscle like magic just by lifting weights.

So, no, I am really sorry, you are not a freak of nature. The overwhelming odds are you’re no exception to the rule.

You are not Wonder Woman (well, Wonder Woman was HOT – can I get a WOOHOO! for the stunning Lynda Carter if you are a 70s/80s kid like me, hell yeah!).

And you are really not likely (as in no chance of an ice cube in the pit of Hell likely) to be featured on Stan Lee’s Super Humans anytime soon.

So sorry!

If I have to be technically correct, I HAVE had a few women in the last two decades that have been able to grow muscle faster than normal but this was due to a hormonal imbalance, an endogenous testosterone level much higher than that of a normal woman.

I said a few women – it’s not that common compared to the “normal” women out there.

A higher than average test level in a woman is, of course, a medical condition which requires treatment due to several other side effects, which can be both distressing and harmful in females.

I am of course, not talking about the exceptions to the rule here.

Even with these exceptions, the muscular development you get is nothing like you see in those ladies in the bodybuilding circuit.

Let’s make one thing clear before I get some shithead trying to pull a fast one – I have absolutely NOTHING against female bodybuilders.

I have a lot of female bodybuilding clients, a lot of whom are also my friends. They are some of the most dedicated, hard working athletes I know on the planet. I have coached them, mentored them, helped them and I know what it takes to take things to that level. The work ethic, the dedication and the sacrifice are second to none. They have my absolute respect as far as athletic endeavour goes.

Just rest assured that the average woman is not even going to get to this exclusive little island of achievement by mistake.

I repeat – the effort and perseverance involved are immense.

Not to mention some help from our little ergogenic friends, which are of course, the game changers in the works.

So just to make sure I hammer the message home – that kind of physical development and muscle in a woman does not and will not ever happen by mistake or chance or just by training at your gym 2-3 hours a week.

Ever!!

Get it?

Not fuckin EVER!

So, with that done, let’s get to what really happens when women work out with weights.

 

THE REALITY OF WEIGHT TRAINING IN WOMEN

First of all, you burn fat off for a lot longer with weight training. Metabolism is elevated for hours after you actually stop the workout – in what is called Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption, or EPOC.

Simply put, this means that the body needs to work longer and harder to restore normality in the muscle cell after you give them hell in a hard weight training session, and this translates to more fat being oxidized.

Fat oxidization is very cool, right?

Second, the more muscle you have, the higher your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Muscle is way more active than fat, so a unit amount of muscle requires more energy to maintain than a unit amount of fat.

So the more muscle you have = the more fat oxidized, even at rest.

So, the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn off, even when you are sitting on your ass reading this. Capish?

Third – have you ever heard of cortisol?

Cortisol is that nasty little hormone that your body spills over every time you get stressed out – as in exactly what happens to me when I get women saying crap like “I grow too much muscle when I weight train.”

That means when I talk to women like that, they are actually bad for my contest prep and my abs – so please ladies, get outta my fat burning zone.

But I digress.

You produce a lot less cortisol when you weight train compared to when you do aerobic forms of exercise like running or biking for long periods.

Which means weight training is one of the best, if not the best choice you can make for your fat-burning workouts.

Now check out the bad news.

Excess cortisol is highly catabolic, burning off muscle like a paper in a fire. Plus, it also encourages the deposition of visceral fat.

So, no weight training means less muscle, lower BMR, reduced fat burning, bigger belly over your jeans and no more little red dress for the party with your girlfriends whom you haven’t seen in a while.

Can you give me any more bad news?

Actually I can.

Here it comes.

Fourth.

Steady state cardio is really bad news for inducing the body to produce Growth Hormone (GH) and testosterone.

It makes it one of the worst choices out there when it comes to exercise forms.

However, weight training produces a huge surge in GH and testosterone (although these are secreted to a much lesser degree in women than in men).

These two are your hormonal best buddies – they increase the rate of muscle repair and regeneration, increase muscle mass, burn off more fat, and help lower cortisol.

So if weight training is the magical key that gets GH and testosterone going, there is only one thing I’d like to say – Yippe kay yay, motherfucker!

Fifth, weight training not only helps you metabolize fat longer, it also helps you burn fat off faster – seriously faster.

So you can lose fat in way less time – like 9 times less time.

In a world where you are so busy trying to catch up with yourself, and not enough hours in the day to go around, this time saving feature alone should be a major factor in making the right choice in your exercise options, wouldn’t you agree?

 

THE WORD FROM THE REAL WORLD

OK so I can talk till I am blue in the face and I would still be a guy talking about weights.

So women might treat that with a little bit of skepticism.

So I asked two friends of mine to say a word.

They are Lucy Doyle and Nia Shanks – two amazing ladies that love and live the weight training lifestyle.

These ladies move some serious weight, train hard, eat well and are serious hotties 

Check out what THEY have to say.

LUCY DOYLE
www.facebook.com/lucycdoyle

So women lifting weights…well slowly the stigma is lifting and men are making way for us girls, who want to get in the squat rack!! Here is the thing though, us ladies typical only want to do something IF we can instantly do it well, really well (perhaps even the best dare I say)

Couple that with the term “Go hard or go home” being constantly drummed into our heads and you have a recipe for disaster!! The key to success in the weights area is, to me,is all about mastering form.

Don’t be afraid to go light and slow, there is a big difference between banging out a few heavy reps, just to satisfy our egos. Put it this way I am quite happy using the 4kg dumbbells to do my lateral raises and sure I may get a few looks, until I take my sweatshirt off !

So my view on women and weights…impeccable form will give an impeccable figure

Oh and for any ladies worried about what they may look like, if they start pumping iron. Here is my story, plain and simple. Last year prior to starting proper weight training I was 55kg and sitting at 30% body fat… now I weigh 58kg and have 15% bodyfat. I’m pretty sure you will agree I do not look mainly and bulky, just lean and defined (well I hope ha ha)

NIA SHANKS
www.niashanks.com

Ladies, if lifting progressively heavy weights did anything but allow women to build the body — leaner, stronger, healthier — they truly wanted, I would have been out of a job a long time ago.

Women don’t hire me or use my programs because they want to get big ‘n bulky. They use them because they work.

It allows them to build a better body that they can maintain with ease, and in a way that’s fun and motivating.

If you are ready to finally get the results you’re after, then give proper, progressive strength training an honest shot for at least 8 weeks.

Not only will you achieve the results you’ve wanted all along, but you’ll also experience some benefits you didn’t even expect like an increase in self-confidence.

TIME TO PUMP IRON

So, when all that is said and done, guess what 8 out of 10 of my clients will choose as their training option?

Well, yeah, 8 out of 10 – some people will not be convinced of anything – even if aliens decked out in fluorescent Lycra landed on their front lawn and started squatting and deadlifting in front of their house.

I don’t bother with people like that – they are not worth the time.

You cannot save those who steadfastly refuse saving.

What I do bother about is people like YOU – people who are looking for the truth and who want to change their lives around.

Well, the truth just came and found you ladies!

Whatcha gonna do about that?

Remember that little black dress you have planned for that office party?

The one that is just a little too tight to fit?

Well, now you have your answer to wearing it!!

With that said, who’s working out with me at The Forge tonight?

Leg day, baby! Only for those who want a seriously searingly sexy booty though 🙂

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