Why women should lift weights

I hear it all the time. "I don't want to lift too much weights, I am going to look like a man." "I prefer doing cardio." If this sounds like you, it could not be any further from the truth, primarily because of two hormones, testosterone and estrogen. Both hormones are produced naturally in the ovaries. Testosterone has several functions, but lets focus on one task, which is assisting the body in muscular development. Estrogen also has several functions such as regulating menstrual cycle. But estrogen can also contribute to stubborn fat deposits primarily in the breasts, hips and thigh regions (the dreaded saddle bags).

Now here is the kicker, women have about 1/7 the amount of testosterone that men do, so the female body cannot naturally develop large man-like muscles, have a deep voice, etc. But as it relates to estrogen, women produce way more than men. So what does this mean? Unless you are loading up on testosterone, and estrogen blockers, the chance of looking like a linebacker may not be so realistic.

With all that said, why should women lift weights? Well, when you lift weights your muscles naturally become more dense. When your muscles become more dense, your bones produce more Collagen. What is Collagen and why is that a good thing? Collagen is a fibrous protein which provides the bones with strength and flexibility. By the way during that time of the month when you have your lady business, your body looses some Collagen. So essentially training your body to produce more Collagen is important simply because you will have a denser and stronger bone structure. Strong bones in turn help to prevent osteoporosis s(thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time). You've seen her, the elderly woman who walks with a hunch; you guess it, primarily caused by osteoporosis.

Not enough to get you starting to lifting more weights? Well how about this. Ever notice that woman in the gym with the nice broad shoulders, and strong pretty arms and legs? You know her, the one you hate because she spends half the time you do working out, but you could only wish to have her body. How does she do it? SHE LIFTS WEIGHTS!! Which as I mentioned helps to develop your muscles. By the way its true, the more developed muscle mass you have, the more effectively the body burns calories even at rest. Essentially, muscle is a metabolic tissue and can burn calories for up to 15 hours following weight training.

Of course you can loose weight by doing a whole bunch of cardio. But guess what? You have no muscle mass. So one twinkie puts that weight right back on, while the fit lady you quietly envy, has had three twinkies, and not gain a single pound. Unfair isn't it.

So every once in a while I say to women, step out of that Zumba class, get of that spin bike, and to quote a good friend of mine, "train insane or remain the same.'

Too Much Cardio Doesn't Work

I often observe gym members as they go through their daily routines. On one particular day, two women caught my eye as they rushed in for a 1pm spin class. They got my attention primarily because I had noticed them running on the treadmill at 6am that same morning, as I met my first client. Each ran for about 40 minutes.

Two things came to mind as watch them head to spin class. One, these were two dedicated individuals, and two, they didn't really appear to be loosing any weight, even though I noticed them every morning at 6am on the treadmill. I forgot to mentioned they are both slightly overweight :(.

Now compare these women to a client of mine who I had only worked with for 1 1/2 months, and had lost 10 pounds while becoming more toned. The question comes to mind. What is my client (a 42 year woman)doing differently? Let me answer that question in parts. I trained a number women who compete in fitness shows, including my wife, Chikondi Mseka. During contest preparation, Chikondi can easily shed any where from 10 to 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, while doing cardio 2-3 per week, sometimes for only 25 minutes.

How is that possible you might be asking? Well for one thing Chikondi, and the client mentioned above, adhere to a very to a simple meal plan, which has them eating six times per day, while cycling their carbs and calories. In addition, they both do resistance training 4 to 5 times per week for up to 1 hour per session. These session are quite challenging mainly because I want to use all the glycogen stores in their bodies. FYI glycogen is derived from carbs, which your body uses as energy. Now since the glycogen stores are depleted during resistance training, when its time to do cardio, their bodies have to rely on their fat stores for energy. This of course results in weight loss. In addition, they both become toned and trim :).

So as I often tell my clients, that becoming trim is not only about how long your cardio sessions are. Its how well you balance them with proper weight training. Of course the right meal plan helps :). If you want further advice don't hesitate to consult KooYah Fitness.

Calorie-Cycling

You have finally made your mind up that you are going to loose weight. So you do some research and you find what you think is the perfect diet. Within a couple weeks you have dropped a few pounds, and you start feeling good about yourself. Then you hit that inevitable plateau, and the weight stops coming off. You punch it even harder at the gym, and still that mushy tushy won't go away. Eventually you get discourage, and give up.

Sounds familiar? The answer to this problem is more simpler than you think. The average diet states that if you reduce the calories the weight will come off. WRONG! Your body's natural instinct to preserve itself at all costs kicks in. Sensing a calorie deficit, your body shifts into starvation mode, shutting down all fat burning as it hoards calorie stores. The body simply adjust to your energy expenditure in order to revert to your previous weight, known as your "setpoint." The Laboratory of Human Behavior and Metabolism at Rockefeller University in New York conducted a study in 1995 which measured both obese and non-obese people who either increased or decreased their body weight 10 percent to 20 percent. In both cases, metabolism shifted--at a lower weight, the subjects began burning less energy throughout the day, while at a higher weight they burned more, an effort by their bodies to return to that "setpoint".

To combat the "setpoint" you must incorporate calorie-cylcing. In lay man's terms this means that when your body wants to return to your "setpoint", you jolt it with a surplus of calories (clean calories of course). From there, you cycle your eating patterns, daily if you choose, and this will restart your fat-burning furnace and help you forge a chiseled physique.

This is a technique that I have often used succesfully with my wife, Chikondi Mseka, when she competes in various Figure shows. If you would like to learn more about calorie-cycling don't hesitate to check us out at KooYah Fitness.