The Most Common Workout Mistakes Women Make (Part 3)

Mistake #3: Being Resistant to Resistance Training!

I hear lots of women tell me that they don’t want to use weights or resistance training because they “don’t want to bulk up”… they only want to “get toned”.

I completely understand. I mean, who wants to be mistaken for a man! But let’s think about what we’re saying here. If you don’t see your muscle definition, it’s because you have a layer(s) of fat covering up those beauties. “Toned” simply means that you have shed enough fat to see your muscle definition. It’s muscle that gives your body a lean, tight, firm shape.

As far as bulking up like a man goes, it ain’t happenin’ sister! Women simply do not have enough testosterone, or spend enough time with massive weights, to get “bulky”. Those images of large-muscled women you have in your brain right now are women who trained, ate and supplemented in a specific way to intentionally look like that. Fear not – once you add the proper, smart resistance training to your workouts, you’ll only look lean, toned and firm!

If you’re not intentionally training to bulk up, the only reason why you would feel or look “bulky” is because you’re still carrying excess body fat while you’re building muscle, Chances are that you may not be working out and/or eating in a way that promotes fat loss. The resistance training is still beneficial, of course, but it won’t get you the results you want if you don’t lose the fat and correct your diet.

Remember, the key in all workouts (including resistance training) is high intensity, variety and short bursts of activity. This challenges your body- your muscles - in such a way to drastically increase your Resting Metabolic Rate for great lengths of time following your workouts. This way, your muscles become the furnace that burns fat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Bonus: muscle takes up less space than fat! The quickest, surefire way to drop a jean size is to incorporate this short burst resistance training into your fitness routine.

Aside from the fabulous improvements you’ll see on the outside of your body when you add proper resistance training, there’s also a tremendous life-giving benefit, especially for women. Resistance training is one of the single most important things you can do to drastically improve the strength and integrity of your bones. The stronger your muscles, the stronger your bones. This gives you lifelong protection against diseases like osteoporosis and serious, debilitating injuries like hip fractures.

But, if you still don’t like the idea of all that beautiful, toned, lean muscle on your body, then you had better get used to a soft and flabby body! Lean, toned, healthy and fit bodies have a low body fat percentage and a lot of lean muscle.

It’s time to step off the treadmill and into the free weights and bands for some beauty building from the inside out!