 |
| source |
We just spent this past weekend at the SCW Fitness Conference in Dallas. In addition to learning some great fitness tips to share with our clients, we were able to meet some awesome fitness colleagues. As we talked to exercise instructors of formats from aqua to Zumba, we were happy to realize that we're not alone. We're not the only ones having difficulty getting our female clients to stop fearing weights.
If you're a woman who is afraid of lifting any dumbbell with a number bigger than 5 on it, stop right now! Take your purse and put it on your scale. Does it weight more than 5 lbs? If you are anything like the average woman, the answer is likely yes. Do you ever lift your purse? We're guessing the answer is yes as well. Now, go back to the bathroom and look in the mirror. Do you look like a bodybuilder? We're assuming no. Interesting....
Go walk around town doing, well, whatever you want to do with one exception. Look out for any women with children. Carefully watch them. Observe their every move, but try not to be creepy. If these moms are like any mom we've ever known, you'll see them pick up their kids a few times. Don't worry, we're not going to have you weigh their kids. We will ask you if you think any of these children weigh more than 5 lbs. If you've ever known anyone who has had children, you probably know that a healthy baby weighs more than 5 lbs on its first day out of the womb. So the answer has to be yes. If these kids are even one year old, they weigh more than twenty pounds. Look back at the mom. Does she look like a bodybuilder? No? Interesting.....
Ladies, listen up! In your everyday life you pick up many items that weight more than 5 lbs and so do many other women. Have you and your entire neighborhood started looking like bodybuilders? Stop fearing heavy weights! If the weight you're working with isn't making you tired after 15 repetitions, you're not going to be able to increase your muscle mass (please don't fear this phrase!). You want to increase your muscle mass and muscle:fat ratio. Why do you want more muscle than fat? Other than the obvious reason of looking more lean, muscles burn more calories than fat does even while you're watching TV. As women, we need to do weight bearing activity to help prevent osteoporosis. So, stop fearing the weights! Embrace them, lift them, just don't fear them anymore. You're not going to look like a bodybuilder and you're lifting more than 5 lbs during the day anyway.
We can't wait to see you rocking more than 5 lbs in the gym! Thoughts? Share them with us in the comments below:
