By: Ahmed Eid, Head Trainer of Stadium Fitness
Head Trainer of Stadium Fitness Ahmed Eid is a former Egyptian National Team Taekwondo player and team captain. He is an Elite Fitness Trainer certified by ISSA, who specializes in strength, conditioning and athletic performance, as well as in sports injuries and rehabilitation. and The Head Coach at Stadium Fitness gym in Alexandria.
As a trainer, many of my female clients have asked me, “Would lifting weights make me bulky?” Many women are concerned that lifting would result in bigger muscles, and they claim that they do aerobics and sit ups to lose weight because they’re afraid lifting would make there bodies look “manly”.
Ladies, if you have ever uttered these words, then listen up because you have just done a terrible disservice to yourself and are missing out on many great benefits of working out with weights. I want to say this loud and clear: there is no way for a woman to build huge muscles unless they are on special supplements and specially designed training systems. Those muscle bound ladies you may have seen are probably taking steroids, which are banned for obviously harmful reasons.
So why is it difficult for women to bulk up?
Simply put, women do not have enough testosterone, a male hormone that encourages muscle growth. In fact, women have ten to thirty times less testosterone than their male counterparts. On the contrary, women should weight lift to lose body fat. Here’s how it works: weight training builds muscle, which increases your metabolism, improves your posture, reduces back pain, enhances your mood, and reduces stress. Weight training is also a powerful preventive action against osteoporosis, a disease caused by porous bone and low bone density. Women have a much higher risk than men to suffer from osteoporosis. In fact, most women will suffer from this disease as they age.
Not lifting weights because you are afraid to look like a bodybuilder is like not driving your car because you fear becoming a NASCAR driver. So, don’t completely swear off weightlifting fearing that training with weights will build big muscles.
So how do you lose weight?
Belly fat is more than just a nuisance that makes your clothes feel tight. Fat inside the belly area is also termed visceral fat, and it is seriously harmful. This type of fat is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Although losing fat from this area can be difficult, there are several things you can do to reduce excess abdominal fat.
- Eat plenty of soluble fiber.
- Avoid food that contains trans fats.
- Consume a high protein diet.
- Reduce your stress level.
- Don’t eat a lot of sugary food.
- Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Get plenty of restful sleep.
- Perform resistance training (i.e. lift weights).
- Do aerobic exercise (i.e. cardio) especially high intensity interval training.
- Do CRUNCHES—nothing burns belly fat faster than crunches, which occupy the number one position in fat-burning exercises. These include twist crunches, side crunches, reverse crunches, vertical leg crunches, bicycle exercises, lunge twists, and plank exercises.
Bottom line, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. It’s a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. This means that health is a resource to support an individual’s function in wider society. A healthful lifestyle provides the means to lead a full life.
Stay healthy! Stay fit!
#AME