I‘m not sure if it’s the natural athletic and tomboy side of me, but when it comes to lifting weights, I am not afraid to go hard at the gym. I’ll jump right in and do bench presses and squats next to the guys with no hesitation. However, I know a lot of my girl friends who are afraid to hit the weights for fear that they will “bulk” up. Ladies, that is a myth. It is physically impossible (with the exception of muscle enhancers known as steroids) as a woman to turn into a professional body builder simply by lifting a few heavy weights at the gym during the week. This is because women do not produce as much of the muscle building hormone, testosterone, as men do. For the women that do compete in body-building competitions and have grown their muscles naturally, it’s due to a strict regimen of proper nutrition and hours upon hours spent lifting very heavy weights. The weights I lift and time I spend in the gym will definitely not have me looking like the female Arnold Schwarzenegger. It will however, get me toned, tightened, and keep burning calories long after I put my dumbbells back on the weight rack.
Shape Magazine also put together an article with 8 reasons why women should lift heavier weights. My favorite reasons are #4 and #6. If you are interested, here are more weight lifting exercises you can do.
Like with any new exercises, it’s best to move to heavier weights in increments. If you find yourself doing 100 reps of bicep curls with 5 pound dumbbells and not breaking a sweat, I would move up to an 8 pound dumbbell, and you should feel a difference. Then within time, you can work your way up to 10 and 12 pound weights. Be careful not to jump to heavy weights too quickly. Only do what your body can handle, or else you can get injured and discouraged. Stay healthy readers!
Cheers!
valeriegetsreal 