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Is this post for real? I've incorporated strength training into my routine for almost a year and although I haven't been consistent with it, I have so much more definition in my arms and legs. I definitely look more toned. I haven't really paid attention to how many calories I've eaten for a while, so I might have gained weight from overeating, but it isn't because of lifting weights. I think it is actually possible to gain definition without eating a lot if you lift heavy.... Lifting heavy alone will not make women fat or bulky. They will only look that way if they eat too much. Lifting heavy only has positives...no negatives.
This is simply not true. There is over excess with everything. Additionally, there is an inherent risk with having a heavy piece of metal resting on your back or being lifted from the floor. If you do not have correct form or you have dysfunction, you can potentially injure yourself.
Also, there is considerable debate on what method should be utilized for long term health purposes. Increasingly, more evidence is showing that sub-maximal effort lifts may be optimal to max loads, especially for athletes.
You should continuously do research to find out the optimal program, especially as you age, as your requirements may change.
This is simply not true. There is over excess with everything. Additionally, there is an inherent risk with having a heavy piece of metal resting on your back or being lifted from the floor. If you do not have correct form or you have dysfunction, you can potentially injure yourself.
Also, there is considerable debate on what method should be utilized for long term health purposes. Increasingly, more evidence is showing that sub-maximal effort lifts may be optimal to max loads, especially for athletes.
You should continuously do research to find out the optimal program, especially as you age, as your requirements may change.
Well, what I meant was that if you do it correctly, weight lifting doesn't hurt. If you have proper form and don't overdo it, weight lifting can make you look a lot better and make you stronger.
But thirdly and most importantly, you need to eat at a caloric surplus to gain strength and muscle, and this isn't possible to do without putting on fat.
Wrong. You can consume fat while losing weight, but you won't be putting on fat. You can eat at a caloric surplus eating protein, veggies and fats, hold the starches mostly, and build muscle mass.
What you're saying is that you can't build muscle without also building fat. That makes no sense, as any bodybuilder will tell you.
What causes fat buildup is sugar and carbs. The reason for that is that they provoke insulin, and insulin builds fat on the body. Avoid triggering a major insulin response, and you won't put on fat if you add calories. It's an endocrine issue. Ask any endocrinologist.
OP, plenty of women have lost weight by building lean muscle mass and following a diet that supports building muscle, under a doctor's direction. You need to study the science of it.
OP, I like you. I like where you're coming from. I think you should always question the methods being perpetuated by the general public and the fitness community. Look how often a new "more superior" method appears every few years.
In this case, I don't agree with you.
I believe strength is primarily a CNS response. It is not exactly clear how muscle growth occurs. There is still disagreement about what is happening from a biological perspective; however, the methods are tried and true.
For example, you could theoretically build strength without adding any mass, especially if you monitor your caloric input. However, you will likely build a dense musculature capable of exerting considerable force compared to an untrained body.
To give you an example of the CNS response, imagine a person getting struck by lightening. Their body has the capacity to tense so hard that it snaps their bones. This level of contraction could occur in an untrained person regardless of their body structure.
Personally, I think strength is a key factor that contributes to physical health. I believe the most important factors are structural integrity, strength, flexibility, and mobility. If you lack in any of these qualities, you are not in optimal physical health. However, it is important to remember as our requirements change, we must modify our program to meet our needs.
Strength training is also great for your abs. Exercises like dead lifts and squats can do wonders for your midsection. They are definitely more effective than crunches....If you lift heavy, you will feel it in your abs and notice more definition..
I'm a woman, lift four times per week. Nothing but positives for me. The only thing bulky on me are my arms. I look less than I actually weigh, due in great part to lifting. If I didn't strength train, I'd probably never go to the gym. I actually don't care about numbers on scales now.
You need to eat more in order to get stronger. How are you planning on lifting more weight if you don't eat more food? No caloric surplus=no strength or muscle gain.
Well you don't have to eat more food. I don't. In fact I did 20 cardio tonight and that Boist circuit as fast as I could and came home and drank water. I will now eat a snack which is a bowl of steamed broccoli.
At 5"8, and now 116 (117) last week, I am lithe and slightly toned looking since it has only been one month. I feel great! Not getting fat or eating more.
Hakkarin - I don't know where you come up with some of the nonsense you post. This thread is a perfect example. As a 46 year old woman who needed to lose 25-30 lbs I joined a gym in 2001 right before 9/11. Within a year I was down from 153 to 128 lbs and went from a size 14 to a size 8. I went 5-6 days a week, spent 30 minutes on cardio and 30 on weight lifting.
I remember doing some free weights, looking in the mirror and noticing for the first time in 20 years I had a thigh gap again! This wouldn't have happened with just cardio.
Maybe if I was lifting way too much weight, drinking lots of protein shakes and shooting up steroids I might have gotten fat but I didn't. Ever watch The Biggest Loser? The women are losing weight through exercise including weight training, aerobic activity and eating right.
Do you come on these threads to try and impress us with your supposed knowledge? Because if so you are failing miserably.
Ok, for starters the myth about extra muscle burning more calories isn't even that true. Even a male who works out for years and build muscle won't be able to eat more than perhaps 700-800 calories more than he did years prior AT MOST (just lol at all the fat dudes eating 4000+ calories a day thinking their lard is muscle). Secondly, women can't even put on anywhere near as much muscle as men can so even after years of lifting whatever muscle they will build would probably burn no more than perhaps a few hundred extra calories a day (wow, a whole donut!).
Okay...there's so much to comment on ....but I'll stick to this - considering many women's base caloric requirement including moderate activity may only be 1,500-1,800 calories a day, you're damned right that I'll take an extra 300! YAYYYYY...DONUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And for a guy to have an extra 700-800? Isn't that like an entire extra meal a day? Since when does an increase like that not even count for something?
OP needs to return to this planet.
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