Solo Fitness: Personal Fitness Vacations in Beautiful Costa Rica

Women And Weight Training

By Donna S. Ginter

"I don't want to lift weights; I'm already too big and lifting weights will just make me bigger. I'll start lifting as soon as I take off the weight."

Many people, especially women, walk around with the misconception that if they lift weights they will look like "the women in those bodybuilding magazines." Don't worry. Physiologically you cannot build muscle like a man because women have ten times less testosterone in their bodies than men. You can no more build huge muscles than grow a beard.

Weight training is in fact the perfect adjunct to cardiovascular training in order to burn fat faster. Further, good muscular development makes it hard for your body to store fat.

Imagine you are a 150 pound soft, flabby, pear-shaped woman with roughly 20 pounds to lose. You lose the 20 pounds through diet alone. The result, now you are a 130 pound soft, flabby, pear-shaped woman. Better, but still not really what you wanted, right? Think of lifting weights as a way of reshaping your body. Build your upper body by working the shoulders, chest, arms and upper back; then trim and tone the lower body with a high repetition, low weight workout. The result is a body that is "in shape."

The truth is that no matter what your age, you can firm up your body. Dieting and cardiovascular activity alone will never give you the tone you desire. Countless studies have shown that the results of weight training include lost inches, increased bone and muscle mass, and a firmer body.

The best part is that you don't need to spend $500.00 a year on some fancy gym that advertises beautiful people with washboard abs and "really great smiles." All you need is a few sets of free weights and a bench to start. Remember, weight is weight is weight. It doesn't need to be fancy or have someone's name on it.

Now, throw away the scale! Muscle will weigh more than soft skin and fat - but which would you rather have?

There are other benefits to weight training besides fat metabolization and figure shaping. Lifting weights stimulates bone growth; it provides functional strength, it improves the posture and it makes you look younger! Gee, that would be nice.

Get healthy. You'll thank yourself for it.