Okay everyone, I have a bone to pick with you, well, especially the females in the crowd today.
I’ve been traveling and no matter where I go, what ever gym I hit, I see the same thing.
Whenever I walk into a gym, the number of women I see pounding away on a treadmill or worse, sitting on some machine hoping the fat will ‘vibrate’ away, overwhelms me. And men, do you really think lifting that heavy weight ONE TIME is doing you any favors? It’s more than likely just going to put your back out. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re picking weights you’re at least on the right track – but I see very few people using them properly. Usually, I see them lollygagging between machinery, with no focus or structure to their workout. Most people look just as pretty after their workout as they did when they started – a telltale sign that you’re doing something wrong.
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to spend your time getting in shape, you might as well make good use of your time, wouldn’t you say? Women, how do we melt fat and get toned sexy curves? And men, how do you get definition? I can assure you that the ways I just mentioned are not the right answer.
Now, before I start talking about resistance training, let me make it clear that women will NEVER be able to get ‘bulky’ like men do. This is because women don’t produce enough of the male hormone, testosterone. Often, when I talk to women about resistance or weight training, they tell me the reason they don’t do it is because they fear they will look like a beefy male bodybuilder if they pick up a weight. PLEASE ERASE THIS MYTH FROM YOUR MIND! Yes, it is possible for women to look manly; as I’m sure many of you have seen in muscle mags. However, this is only possible with a little…’help.’ Trust me when I say that that won’t be your end result if you just try to add some curve enhancing muscle to your physique.
Now that I’ve made that clear…
Let’s talk about challenging training.
Muscle growth occurs when muscle tissue is damaged through challenging weight training. Your muscle rips and tears, and as your body repairs these rips and tears your muscles become bigger and stronger. When it comes to sculpting a great figure, it is vital to progressively overload your muscles in order to see progress. One way to do this is to increase the amount of weight you lift as often as possible (ps lose the pink 5 lb dumb bells girls). This is why many people find is useful to keep a notebook with records of all your weights and progress so that you’re accountable.
Ideally, you want your last 2-3 reps to be a struggle. It shouldn’t be impossible, but it should be very difficult. These 2-3 reps are where the most ripping and tearing of muscles fibres occurs, and therefore where you’ll yield the most results. At the end of the day, the most important rule to follow is to remember that the higher the intensity of your workout, the more your body will respond and change. That being said, although the actual weight that you’re lifting is important, the sequence of exercises, rest periods, and volume work are all equally important, and all ways to make your workout more challenging.
So now that I’ve covered how women get toned, sexy curves, let’s move onto you men…
Ready for the secret? It’s the same thing. Putting your body through challenging workouts like I mentioned above is the key to building muscle and definition. Interesting that the same kind of training can have different effects on men and women, isn’t it? Like I mentioned before, that is where hormones play a big part ensuring women need not fear looking like men, and vice versa. Men will gain muscularity and size and women will gain sexy curves and toned muscles.
Don’t let me kid you into thinking that I”m all about JUST doing pull ups and challenging workouts. If I looked like a brick as a result of the workouts I do, I’d probably change my training. I love challenging workouts, but I also love the way they shape my physique. I basically can wear the same size clothes I wore in high school, I don’t think many women can say that after 30+ years they can still fit into the same jeans. I don’t mean to brag here, I’m just pointing out that proper training can sculpt your body no matter what your age.
If you haven’t been using the correct training methods or you’re not getting results, don’t worry. A lot of people are simply unaware of the most effective training methods to use and that’s why they spend their time pounding away on a treadmill or copying what other uninformed people are doing in the gym. BUT now that you understand how your muscles respond to proper training, I hope you’ll put this info to good use and incorporate challenging training into your regime. Trust me when I say you won’t be disappointed, but maybe a little sore…
If you need an example of some challenges, of course, you can find lots of workouts on my blog. Go here, here, here and here.
And, for the ultimate challenge, go here.
Rant over 😉