Women on weights: Why Not?
A closer look at why the weight room is not a place to avoid, no matter what your goals are.
By Jennifer Kelly | Photography Robert Reiff
It’s Saturday and my friend Kathleen and I are doing our usual routine: Late afternoon coffee and then a workout at our favourite gym. Both of us are fitness fanatics and love our Saturday routine. However, once through the doors, we go in different directions. I head to the weight room, while Kathleen goes to “Trim and Tone” class. No matter what she refuses to miss this class, claiming it is her strength-training workout for the week. Curious, I decided to attend. The 45-minute class consists of various leg exercises, biceps curls, and modified push-ups.
I can’t help thinking that all these exercises could have been performed in a weight room with more intensity and resistance, creating a greater challenge and resulting in a better workout. When I suggest this to Kathleen, she looks at me blankly. “Weight room?” she echoes as though I had suggested training in the Amazon. “Why would I go there? I don’t want to look like a man!”
There it is, the biggest fear: Many women won’t train with weights because they fear becoming too muscular and thus masculine looking. Unfortunately, they don’t realise how wrong they may be, nor do they grasp the benefits of traditional weight training. I couldn’t help but wonder how many other women are like Kathleen.
Traditional weight training is performed with dumbbells, barbells, and weight machines. But many women prefer “toning” classes, which feature less intimidating versions of weight training equipment like light dumbbells, body bars, and resistance bands. “Many women think these classes will ‘tone’ their bodies, making them shapelier and defined,” says Gerard Thorne, a certified personal trainer. “What they don’t realise is that the word ‘toning’ is another misconception. ‘Toning’ means that the muscle becomes denser and firmer to the touch. If you want to effectively accomplish this, only traditional weight training can do it.” Thorne adds that the dumbbells used in toning classes are too light and do not offer enough intensity.
For the first couple of weeks, women will find such classes challenging. Over time, however, the muscles adapt, the classes get easy and nothing much happens. Women don’t achieve the results they want or expect, or the small changes that do happen don’t last. I asked Kathleen if she felt this way. She hated to admit it, but she confessed that she is lifting the heaviest body bar now and is not seeing the results she once did. Here’s where traditional weight training could potentially boost her program and create more permanent results.
Besides firming the muscles, weight training provides many benefits for women. It boosts the body’s metabolic rate higher than cardio training does, so that the body continues to burn calories long after your weight workout, promoting greater fat and weight loss.
Weight training also strengthens the joints and bones, decreasing the chance of osteoporosis. “Fear keeps women away,” says Thorne. “They believe weight training is either for men only, or will cause them to look like the female bodybuilders. This is impossible because the female body does not have the testosterone needed to produce large muscles.” I used to think like Kathleen as well. It took a conversation with a trainer friend of mine to make me seriously consider weight training. Another reason women avoid the weight room is because it feels like a male domain and some men have a nasty habit of staring. I know how it feels. But I also know that the only way to get past it is to keep going. The more often you go, the faster you and the men will get over it. Men are often shocked to see women weight training because it is so rare to see women in the weight room! It’s comparable to a man attending an aerobics class. At first everyone is shocked, wondering how it is possible for a man to be in such a class. However, after three or four classes, he blends in just like everyone else.
I finally manage to convince Kathleen to join me in the weight room. To start, I have her do one exercise for each major muscle group for two sets of 10 to 12 reps each. It isn’t long before Kathleen begins inquiring about different exercises to perform. So if you’re one of the “Kathleens” reading this, try venturing into the weight room and performing the following routine two to three times per week. Like Kathleen, I’m sure you’ll quickly become addicted to strength training.
Forward and reverse lunge (legs)
Hold a dumbbell in each hand. (If you want to increase the intensity, use a barbell and lay it across your upper back.) You can do this exercise using a step or on the ground, but try to focus on one leg at a time. With the body held vertical, step forward into the forward lunge position. When you lower down, make sure your knee falls directly over your toes and that you don’t bounce. Pause for only a second, then immediately step up out of the forward lunge and back down into the reverse lunge. Try to step back as far as comfortably possible. Pause for a second, then using your glutes and thighs, propel back into the forward lunge.
Dumbbell kickback (triceps)
Lean forward and brace one hand and knee on a flat bench. Hold a dumbbell in the opposite hand, and with the upper arm held horizontal with the floor, extend your forearm backwards until it is locked out straight. Try not to swing the upper arm or twist the lower back as you extend the dumbbell. Switch sides. To check positioning, set the bench up parallel with a mirror.
Seated pulley rows (back)
You will need a cable machine to do this exercise. Sit on the floor or attached pad and grab the V-shaped pulley attachment. With your legs slightly bent, and your torso leaning just slightly back from the vertical, pull the hands into the lower ribcage. As you do this exercise, try to draw your elbows behind your torso, squeezing the shoulder blades as you do so. Pause for a second and then slowly let your arms stretch forward to the starting position. Try not to rock back and forth as you pull the handle attachment towards your ribcage.
Bench press (chest)
Lie back on a flat bench with a barbell positioned above you on the rack supports. Grab the bar with your hands just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart (your forearms should be perpendicular with the floor). Most large Olympic barbells have a series of lines on them so you can tell if your hands are evenly spaced on the bar. Lift the bar off the rack and slowly lower it down to the middle of the chest. Don’t bounce the bar off the ribcage as this could break a rib or your sternum. Likewise, do not arch your lower back as this could cause a spinal injury. Slowly push the bar back up to just short of locking the elbows.
Machine shoulder press (delts)
Sit on the shoulder machine’s seat or pad and grab the handles. With your back pressed firmly against the vertical back support, push the handles upward until your arms are just short of locked out. Slowly lower the handles until your elbows are just slightly below shoulder level. You may need to adjust the chair height so that your elbows do not go lower than this point. Doing so places extra stress on the shoulder joint.
Seated dumbbell curl (biceps)
Sit on the end of a flat bench with your feet securely positioned on the floor. With a dumbbell held in each hand, palms facing forward, slowly raise the dumbbells upward, stopping 10 to 12 centimetres from your shoulders. Slowly lower back down to just short of a locked out position. If you want to increase intensity, lift your legs up and lean slightly back. For variety, you can alternate lifting and lowering the dumbbells one at a time. Some people find that they get a better biceps’ contraction by starting the dumbbells facing the body and rotating the hands to a palms up position as they lift (called supination).
No guts, no glory
Ultimately, what women need is more confidence when it comes to weight training. To help get you started, here are some tips.
- For your first few visits, go with a friend. The buddy system never fails – you will feel more comfortable and confident with someone there. Just make sure you don’t become dependent on going with him or her all the time.
- Plan ahead. The night before, decide which muscle groups you want to train. You can also visit the weight room to familiarise yourself with the equipment. Planning ahead will help you feel less intimidated when you actually go to work out.
- Consider hiring a personal trainer. A personal trainer will give you an orientation of the weight room and introduce you to new exercises. He or she will ensure you are using proper technique on your exercises, and can even create a program to help get you going.
- Talk to women who already weight train (yes, they do exist!). These women once felt like you, but now realise the benefits of traditional weight training.
- Talk to a health professional or your doctor. Ask about strength training and its benefits. He or she will be more than willing to dispel myths and provide you with the science behind the facts.