Myth: Weightlifting Makes Women Bulky
Perhaps no other fitness myth is more pervasive and insulting to women than the myth that lifting weights makes women bulky. I have been told this many times by many prospective female clients. They usually tell me they don't want to get bulky as they let their eyes travel over my shoulders and onto my belly. Yep, I have visible muscles and I DON'T have 6-pack abs. But, I have a 300 lb deadlift, I won the 2019 Pan American and World Masters Olympic Weightlifter Champions in my age and weight class and I'm 51. I don't give a flying fuck if any one thinks I'm bulky. But, it's been a long road to get here:)
I could write 1,000 blog posts on the bulky issue because there are so many different points to address. However, today I will focus on just one: "What the hell is bulky anyway?" Leigh Peel researched this very question and found that the majority of her 2000 research subjects identified Hillary Swank's Million Dollar Baby physique as too bulky. â
To get to 16% or less body fat takes a TREMENDOUS amount of work! So much so that very few women actually get this low. Getting this low also has some profound hormonal and other physiological impacts.
Here's the big fat bulky deal. Weightlifting will make you strong. It will make you burn more calories which increases your metabolism. Weightlifting will increase your bone density decreasing your risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures. It will make you powerful. Being strong will make it easier to carry your kids, your groceries, your skis, your bike, your kayak, your everything. At our gym we lift weights and no one is bulky. In fact, we probably lift heavier weights that Hillary Swank and none of us look like her. We all look like the best version of the strong, confident, and powerful women that we are.
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Myth: Do Crunches and Sit-Ups for a Strong CoreDid you see the New York Times article last Wednesday? It seems the myth of core exercises has finally hit mainstream. Thank goodness. I'm so tired of people talking about "core" work. Before we bust this myth today let's get clear on terminology. You core is the trunk of your body. It's your entire torso, front AND BACK, minus your arms, legs, neck and head. You "core" includes all the muscles that attach to pelvis, hips, back, spine and your diaphragm. Yes, it includes the abdominal muscles, and it also includes obliques, intercostals and a whole bunch more. Your "core" is much more than your stomach muscles, and in fact, I argue that all the other muscles are WAY more important to a healthy, strong and mobile truck than your abs. People who don't train like athletes, e.g. they don't row and run hard, jump rope, deadlift, squat, press, throw, do burpees and kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches often miss out on strengthening their trunk muscles. This is especially true for folks who use machines including ellipticals and treadmills. The machine removes any need for balance and stabilization. You, dear reader and TSCF gym member do not need to work your core specifically because you do it everyday you train with us. In fact, we prioritize core to extremity movements (many of which I just listed above) because they have the wonderful training adaptation of trunk stabilization and strengthening. Core work became all the rage when people noticed they had back pain despite going to the gym. Oddly enough those elliptical "runs" and "back and bi" days did nothing to make the entire trunk strong. Reductionist training (reducing training to specific body parts) will lead to big gaps in athletic development. On another note, sitting for 4-8 hours a day will WRECK your back and eliminates the use of a large portion of you core. Thus your back pain persists despite the 3 hours a week you spend at the gym. It's those 20 hours per week you sit that you need to solve, not doing 100 crunches every day. But I digress, did you know that in 2009 some exercise researchers slapped electrodes on the front and back of folks and had them do a high-intensity workout? Yep, and then they asked those folks to do some crunches and planks. Want to guess which workout activated the truck muscles more? The high-intensity workouts activated more truck muscles including those on the back! Crunches and sit-ups aren't going to help your back pain. The New York Times article I referenced also said as much:) They also suggested including planks, farmers carries, lateral jumps, squats, deadlifts into your training session to ensure you developed a strong trunk. Strange, I think we did all of those things just last week at our gym. If you have 18 minutes to spare in your busy day to listen to my favorite irreverent strength coach, Mark Rippetoe, discuss "core" stability, I think you'll be entertained and enlightened. Enjoy! Myth: Exercise Makes You LOOK Better |
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