When I worked in a gym I did many consultations with people to determine what they wanted from a training program and what they wanted to achieve. The common criteria for a female were: train 3 times per week and no weights, just cardio...
In my experience many women when wanting to lose a bit of weight or get fitter and tone up will not want to lift weights. In fact this is the last thing they wanted to do. I had to convince these clients that weight lifting was the way to go.
"Weight lifting is only for muscle bound men and bodybuilders"
"Lifting weights will make me masculine and bulky"
"But if I start lifting weights, when I stop the muscle will turn into fat"
These are some of the statements that I have heard in the past by females after I have suggested that they start to lift weights as part of their weight-loss/ fitness plan. But these common misconceptions are NOT true.
It seemed to me that 9/10 females that approached me for weight-loss advice would be surprised that weight lifting will help them.
As it happens I was able to change these common opinions and put them straight. On some occasions it turned out that these ladies preferred "pumping iron" than cardio, and believe it or not they did not turn into the incredible hulk! I believe that the #1 reason that women have an aversion to lifting weights in the gym is that they do not want to appear muscular, bulky and masculine.The truth is (and I know that anyone who has tried to put on muscle, male or female will back me up here) Muscle is very hard to put on, it takes a long time and you need many months or even years of consistency with diet and training to get good gains.
Training and diet is one thing but there are also some other major factors when it comes to female muscle gain. The main reason females will have a harder time putting on lean muscle is down to hormone levels. (I want to keep this simple and will do my best).
The hormone testosterone is the reason male weightlifters are able to put on muscle a whole lot easier than female weight lifters. (This still takes a lot of hard work for a guy)
Because of the lack of this hormone in females, it makes it near impossible for them to put on a massive amount of muscle. "Freaky big" Professional female bodybuilders will use synthetic testosterone and this is where the "Bulk and masculine look" comes from. But even with this aid it still takes a lifetime of dedication for them to get this look.
As you can see I am really trying to hammer home how hard it is to put on muscle for any gender but it is so much harder as a female.
I strongly believe that if a woman started lifting weights like a bodybuilder and eating a healthy clean diet, staying consistent with this for a year or two, they would look more like a fitness model rather than a bulky bodybuilder!
How can lifting weights help you lose fat?
As I mentioned above, I would always advise some form of resistance training to everyone. Lifting weights will help to boost your metabolism and the more lean muscle you have, the more fat your body will burn.
By lifting weights on a regular basis, you will start to change your body composition. By this I mean the ratio of muscle to fat will become in favor of muscle, when this happens, you will find it easier to keep fat off and your body will be burning fat all of the time.
If you have more fat than muscle at the moment, the results from training will be slow at first (This in my opinion is the hardest part of the process, not just physically but mentally too), but as soon as the muscle outweighs the fat, you will see some much faster results and will have to put in less work to maintain.
"So what about my muscle turning into fat if I stop training?"
Right, this is an idea that I hear a lot! The bottom line is that muscle DOES NOT turn into fat.
This is what I think: If you train hard for 10 years, and achieve a great physique, then just stop everything and decide to sit in front of the TV eating fried chicken, your muscles will atrophy (they will shrink from lack of stimulation). You will start to put on fat as a result of not doing your exercise, this will be compounded and made worse by the muscle wastage, your metabolism will slow down... and you are back to square one!
Muscle does not turn into fat. Your body composition will change if you stop training and neglect your food intake the ratio of fat to muscle will become in favor of fat. Females also have a harder time here and will see a turn around a bit quicker. Unfortunately this is due to genetic makeup.
In conclusion
I hope this has outlined the importance and value of weight lifting for females. Tammy Wynette said it "Sometimes it's hard to be a woman" and that's right when it comes to building muscle also! In my opinion it is a huge achievement to get a ripped lean physique for anyone but it is so much more challenging for a woman to get this look as they do not have the "natural tools".
My advice to any female wanting to change their body shape weather that is fat loss or muscle toning would be to try a strength training program at first, for around 6-8 weeks and then start to look at how bodybuilders train.
If you have not tried a resistance program before because you were in doubt or have similar beliefs to that of the quotes at the beginning of this post. I challenge you to get a trainer who knows what they are doing and train hard with weights for the next 8 weeks... I think you will be surprised at what you learn.
If you are not sure on how to lift or are unsure of correct form in the gym, most gyms will have someone there that you can ask for help. Correct lifting technique is essential as an injury will only push your progress backwards.
Please leave a comment if this has been useful or you have any questions. As always I am happy to give my advice on a query and will do my best to help where I can.
I have written a short book on boosting your metabolism. It may be helpful to you. You can read more about this by following the link below. Also If you are interested in starting strength training, you may find this article useful -> http://www.jimshealthandmuscle.com/strength-training/
Many thanks for reading and good luck with your training! http://www.jimshealthandmuscle.com/bosting-your-metabolism-naturally/
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