Women and Weight Training
By
Juliana Dorman, Personal Trainer and Nutritional Coach at T.O.D Coaching, Fit inc Studio gym
In my role as personal trainer, when taking on a new female client I often come across the same fears and comments at the point of assessment for their programme.
Women want to look good. They want the pert butt, the flat abs and the toned arms, legs and body just as much as any man who goes to the gym and lifts weights.
Will a guy look good if he follows a weight training programme, and follow a healthy diet? Eh yeah, so why does a woman come to the gym thinking that they will look like a bikini model if they run on the treadmill for and hour a day?
Why women don't want to lift weights
Usually a female client will tell me, " but I don't want big muscles! I don't want to look like Arnie", well I can assure you, if it was that easy to look like Mr Swarzenegger, everyone would go around looking buff! It is physiologically impossible for a woman to put on large amounts of muscle mass; their body's hormonal makeup is not one that will allow it to do so.
The hormone testosterone is responsible for the large increases in muscle mass seen when men lift weights. Women’s testosterone levels are a fraction of men’s testosterone levels. Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in women. As you can see, men’s testosterone levels are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than women’s. Even if a man is at the LOW end of the men’s normal testosterone range (200 ng/dl), he still has more than twice the amount of testosterone as a woman at the HIGH end of the women’s normal testosterone range (70 ng/dl).
Over the last decade, research shows the benefits of weight training for women and especially those over the age of forty. Apart from the aesthetics of looking good and being toned, weight training, or any type of resistance training is important for women, this is because any type of resistance training increases bone density. Women over the age of 40 are at increased risk of osteoporosis due to decreasing oestrogen. Many think that taking calcium supplements will stop osteoporosis, but with the absence of oestrogen the body cannot carry out the processes required to use the calcium to strengthen the bones.
Most women who exercise are spending most of their gym time on cardiovascular exercise, and less time using resistance that challenges their bodies.
Research & Studies
Studies have shown that men and women do not need to train differently.
If you are a woman and want to gain muscle and improve your shape and curves, then you are going to have to lift heavy weights.
Diet & Nutrition
Men and women do not need to train differently to see results, but what about diet? Should women eat differently than men? Not really. Men’s and women’s metabolisms are very similar except, interestingly enough, that women burn a greater ratio of fat to carbs than men. This may be one of the reasons women do well on lower carb diets. The main thing that needs to be adjusted is total calorie intake. Women need fewer calories than men because men have more muscle mass and less fat (relative to total bodyweight) than women. The amount of protein, carbs, and fat will be dictated by the amount of calories eaten.
It has been shown that women do not need to train or diet much differently than men. So ladies please stop doing hours of cardio and lifting the lightest dumbbells in the gym for endless reps!
Rather than ask for advice, women will be misinformed (by the media), about how women should train. What about diet? One of the most common breakfast meals recommended to women is yogurt and a banana. Now there is nothing wrong with eating a yogurt and banana, but where is the protein and essential fatty acids? If you are a woman trying to gain lean muscle, you will need to eat adequate protein and good fats (essential fatty acids). It is time to stop listening to the media and misinformed individuals and time to become educated and get results.
Dieting for Women — General Guidelines
Before we get into the recommended diets for women trying to lose fat and gain lean muscle, let’s go over some general diet guidelines.
Calorie Control
The biggest factor in a diet is calories in versus calories out; your total calories will determine if you lose or gain weight. Eating too many calories will lead to fat gain. But if you don’t eat enough calories you will not gain lean muscle. Setting a target calorie intake and counting the amount of calories you eat each day is vital to losing fat and gaining lean muscle.
Macronutrient Manipulation
While your total caloric intake is the most important diet factor, the ratio of protein to carbs to fat can dictate whether the weight you gain/lose is muscle or fat. A diet that contains 80% of calories from carbs, 10% from protein, and 10% from fat will produce different results than a diet containing 40% of calories from carbs, 40% from protein, and 20% from fat. This is very important and will come down to your body type.
Stay Hydrated
You should drink plenty of water every day. The benefits drinking water provides are optimal hydration as well as a feeling of “fullness” without added calories. Sometimes people will mistake thirst for hunger. Because of this, staying hydrated can also prevent overeating.
Quality Control
Choose fresh, wholesome foods over pre-packaged, processed foods. Packaged foods are loaded with preservatives, especially sodium and saturated fats, and often have high amounts of sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup.
You will be amazed at how fast you can lose fat just by packing meals from home rather than purchasing fast food or packaged foods. You also will save a lot of money!
Insulin Control
Insulin is the “storage” hormone. When it is secreted fat burning is blunted. By controlling insulin secretion by choosing low GI carbs you can decrease fat gain/increase fat loss. Stable blood sugar levels also improve energy levels and ones mood. All of our diets as based around insulin control, leading to leaner muscle gains with little to no fat gain.
Adequate Protein
In order to gain lean muscle you need to eat enough protein to sustain the creation of new muscle proteins. You may not be used to eating the amount of protein required to gain muscle, but an increase in your protein, and having lean protein with every meal, is a good starting point.
Essential Fats
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are vital to the proper functioning on your body. EFAs are needed by the body and are part of a healthy diet. Eating fats does not equate to getting fat. In fact, most EFAs help support the fat burning process and maintaining a lean body. Do not be scared to eat good fats. EFAs are not the enemy.
So have I managed to convince you????
See you at the weights section in the gym :)
