Q&A: Women and Strength Training

Question: I have been trying to lose weight for months. I saw a lot of results when I first started but I’m not seeing results like I used to. I have been doing cardio and abs 3-4 times a week.  I don’t want to lift weights because I am scared I will get bulky arms. Please help, summer is coming!

–Amanda, Carol Stream, Illinois

Anthony:

Amanda, thank you for the question. Please excuse my honest opinion throughout this article.

Hearing a girl tell me they don’t lift weights because they don’t want to get bulky is like nails on a chalkboard. It makes me want to pull my hair out.

Plain and simple, Strength training with moderate to heavy weights coupled with a good diet will lead to fat burn and that lean look you are looking for.

When a woman asks me what she should do to lose weight or get more “fit”, my first question is about her eating habits. Secondly, I ask her if she has ever strength trained before. This is where I typically get two different answers:

#1
I get those woman who say yes. When we get in-depth on what they are doing, we get to the unfortunate conclusion that makes me want to rip my hair out. They tell me they are using the machines with very light weights and high reps, or are messing around with those 3,5,and 8 pound dumbbells. Ladies, please put those pink dumbbells down and don’t be afraid to lift heavy.

#2
The No’s that I get aren’t any better. As I stated earlier, these are the women that don’t want to touch weights because they are afraid they will get bulky.Ladies, if you’re scared that you’re going to bulk up due to lifting weights you must be eating 5,000 calories a day and injecting yourself with testosterone.

Don’t belive me?
I have experience to back up my words. I have been working with a 46-year-old woman for 36 weeks. She came to me extremely overweight with a  list of medications and health issues. Over those 36 weeks I have incorporated minimal cardio at the beginning of our sessions. Following that we hit basic bodyweight movements, strength training, and core exercises for the remainder of our sessions. 

Her Result? ‘

She’s down 53 pounds, and some of her medication dosages in half, and is walking around with a lot more confidence than she’s ever had. 

Still don’t believe me?

Another personal experience from training clients coming at ya,

One of my clients, an extremely self-motivated aspiring NPC bikini fitness model pushes the pace each and every day. Recently, she squatted 215 pounds. There are some guys I know that can’t even do that and she was doing it as her last set. You think she’s worried about getting bulky? absolutely not, the only thing on her mind is getting lean and shredded up. And I’ll tell you this much, she sure as hell isn’t messing around with those “light” weights. She wants heavy ass weight.

How about you girls (and guys too) that spend countless hours on cardio equipment.

I see it everyday. 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the elliptical, then you  go back on the treadmill for another 30 minutes. First off, isn’t that boring, makes me bored just thinking about it? Second of all, are you seeing positive results? Change it up when you’re doing cardio. Sprints, Battle Ropes, Sled Pushes, Sled Drags, Interval Sprints, Jump Rope, are just a couple different variations of cardio off the top of my head. Keep it different and keep the heart rate constantly in different zones. A good diet coupled with moderate to heavy strength training and variations of cardio is a formula for success.

For my readers that still don’t believe me and are being stubborn or ignorant to the fact that strength training is actually beneficial for you, take a look at some benefits of strength training:

• Burning calories is a given, but it also makes you look stronger and gives your muscles a leaner, shredded look.
• Strength training boosts your metabolism, there is research that proves that the body continues to burn calories up to 36 hours after your strength session.
• Muscle burns fat. Need I say more?
• One pound of muscle burns 35-75 calories a day. One pound of far burns 8 calories per day. Again, need I say more?
• Getting stronger makes your life easier.
• Improved performance and confidence.

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take relentless motivation and consistency to reach that body of your dreams. Hopefully after reading this article it cleared up some of the misunderstandings there was when it came to lifting weights. If you remember one thing from this article let it be that lifting moderately to heavy weights combined with cardio and a good diet is the recipe for success.

 

Consistently Good = Great. Strive to be Great and Always Hustle.

Thank you.

It’s in Your Hands!

I know I haven’t been the best with this blog lately. I am making a promise to all my readers to put forward an effort to post on a consistent basis. If you have any fitness related questions I want to hear them and I will pick a select few and you will be featured on my website. Please do not submit a question if you do not want it published. Only your first name will be used.

 

I am making this about YOU, so let me know what you guys want to read! I look forward to hearing from you.

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Email, or post your question in the comment box.

Hustle Hard. Be Consistent. Smile Big.

Workout Clip of the Week

No matter what your training goals are, whether you would like to add muscle to your frame, lose weight, improve for your sport, or be a top bodybuilder, I feel that a variation of the Squat should be one of the staples to your program. Variations include, but aren’t limited to: Split Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Back Squat, Box Squat, etc….

This weeks workout clip of the week is a clip of one of my sets of Box Squats. I am going to try to post one “Workout Clip of the Week” to give you guys a taste of the training I perform.

Benefits of a squat:

•  They work all of your major muscle groups.
• They burn lots of calories.
• They increase flexibility in the lower body.
• Increase lower back and core strength.
• They increase Knee Strength! Yeah I said it, they are good for your knees. Why? Because it strengthens the surrounding muscles around the knee.

Note to Self—-> Any exercise can be dangerous or be “bad for you” if not performed properly.

How to perform a squat:

1. Make sure you are properly warmed up.

2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider.

3. Keep your back in a neutral position, keeping your knees centered over your feet.

4. Slowly bend your knees, hips, and ankles, lowering until you reach a 90-degree angle. Instead of your butt going straight down, focus on your butt going out. (Imagine as if someone was behind you with a rope pulling you from your lower back.) Doing this will help activate your glutes and hamstrings,

5. Return to your starting position.

Note: Look forward, Keep your chest tall, and focus on keeping your weight on your heels.

Work Hard. Be Humble.

Related articles

• Monday Workout (onlyhalfcrazy.wordpress.com)
• Bodybuilding Workouts For Mass (strengthandfitnesssite.wordpress.com)

5 Things NOT to do

When training for muscle gain, Follow these 5 things not to do to ensure your success in the weight room.

Avoid making these mistakes to help gain muscle.

Today’s Upper Body Workout

Here’s a sample of todays upper body workout. Train with relentless energy and passion and you will get the results you WANT!

You always don’t get what you wish for, but you always get what you work for.

Work Hard, the Results Will Come.

6 Simple Injury Prevention Tips

Having been involved in sports since I was little, I have had my fair share of injuries. From head to toe, the list goes on. They say that experience is the best teacher, so here is a list of five simple things I have found to work wonders in my injury prevention. I recommend any athlete or even non-athlete to incorporate these tips into their training.

Top 5 Bodyweight Exercises

Bodyweight exercises are extremely beneficial to your training programs. If your short on time, don’t have time for the gym, on the go, bodyweight exercises can be great to help build muscle, burn fat, and gain strength. You can get a great workout just by performing bodyweight exercises, as well as incorporating them into your training program. Bodyweight exercises need to be mastered before beginning an extensive strength training program. I am going to supply you with 5 bodyweight exercises I feel are great to add to your workouts, or even just to do when you’re not in the gym. There are many, many other bodyweight exercises out there, as well as variations to these 5 below. If there are any that you feel are great exercises, please feel free to share.

7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Workout

These 7 ways will help you get the most out of your workout. They may be common sense to some of you, but using them will definitely be beneficial for your success in the gym. It is important to have the exercise order correspond to your specific training goals.  The order of exercises will greatly affect the quality and focus of the workout.

I was in the gym today and someone told me that they were hitting a plateau, and they asked me if changing up their exercise order would help put them past that plateau. They wanted to train their smaller muscle groups first, then build up to their bigger, compound lifts. That question led me to want to help every one out and provide them with 7 ways to get the most out of your workout.

1. Train large muscle group before training your smaller muscle groups.
2. Multijoint exercises before single-joint exercises.
3. Alternate Push/Pull exercises when training total body sessions.
4. Alternate upper/lower body exercises when training total body.
5. Explosive/Power lifts such as Olympic lifts, plyometric exercises before basic strength and single-joint exercises.
6. Focus on improving weak areas before exercises focusing on stronger muscles. (Turn your weaknesses into your strengths.)
7. Most intense exercises before least intense. 

Follow these simple 7 steps when working out and you will definitely get the most out of you workout. You know what happens when you consistently get the most out of your workout?

You get RESULTS

Intense Fat Burn

If you’re looking to torch some fat give this workout a try:

2 Mile Run

Following the run, repeat these 3-6 times.

100 jump ropes (as fast as possible)

10 box jumps

20 push ups

This will definitely get that heart rate going and burn some calories to get that body lookin’ right. Time yourself each set and try to remain consistent.

Challenge yourself to GET BETTER.

.HUSTLE.

Exercise Series #1: Chest

Welcome to Part One of my Basic Exercise Series: CHEST

 Today we are going to focus on Chest.  Your going to be hit with a wide variety of chest exercises I feel are important to incorporate into your workout programs.

It will be beneficial for you to hit every part of your chest; upper, lower, and mid. Don’t just focus on performing the Barbell Bench Press, there are many, many other ways to build your chest, as your about to find out.

Continuously Challenge Yourself to Get Better

.Hustle Hard.

1.Bench press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.) Incline Press 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.) Decline Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When performing these barbell exercises, there is a variation of ways to perform them.

Some variations you could do is to change your grip.

• Wide Grip
• Medium Grip
• Narrow Grip

Also you could use a variation of presses using different equipment

• Board Press
• Floor Press
• Chain Bench Press
• Band Bench Press

 

4.) Push-Ups

Believe it or not, there is a variety of push ups that are extremely effective in your workout program. They include, but are not limited to;

• Plyometric Push-ups
• Band Push-Ups
• Chain Push Ups
• Incline Push Ups
• Decline Push ups
• Clapping Push Ups
• Medicine Ball Push Up ( you can either use one ball, or two different size ones.)
• Pysio Ball ( Place legs on the ball )
• Ladder Plyometric Push Ups ( stay tuned for an article on these! )

 

 

5.) Dumbbell Press (Incline, Flat, Decline)

 

 

 

 

 

Try these variations:

• Alternate Press
• Floor Press
• Physio Ball Press

 

 

 

5.) Chest Dips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These can be performed by using Assistance, Bodyweight, and Weighted.

 

 

6.) Hammer Strength Machine Press (Incline, Decline, Flat)

Try these variations:

• Alternate Press
• Single Arm Press