8 Reasons Why Girls Should Lift Weights
Feel like you've piled on the pounds over the festive season? Looking for a New Year's resolution that is guaranteed to shape your body and burn away the fat? Personal trainer, Abi Hardy, explains to Reshma Biring why dumbbells should be girls' best friend, and how they can help you say ciao to your Christmas chub.
If you ever needed motivation to start or get back into the gym, Abi Hardy's your girl. A Yorkshire born and bred personal trainer now based in southwest London, Abi is the brainchild behind the Girls Who Lift weight lifting programme. She has parted with her weight lifting wisdom to inspire you to head to the gym and pick up the barbells.
1. It's not all about the treadmill
Do you find your gym routine a little mundane? Speak to women and they all pretty much say the same thing: all they do at the gym is a bit of cardio here and there on various machines, followed by a few abs / bicep curls and maybe the leg abductor machine. Why not enjoy the gym, start feeling strong and take up a variety of exercises you could do rather than just being a slave to the treadmill?
"I want women to start challenging themselves in the gym, enjoy their workouts; see their bodies change for the better and learn to focus on how good, strong and empowered they feel rather than just pray every morning that the number on the scales will be slightly lower than the day before." - Abi
2) There are lots of health / body benefits through weight lifting
These include: an increase in bone density, stronger and denser muscle with more definition. Weight lifting can help increase cardiovascular fitness if programmed in the right way, improve posture, help decrease injury whilst playing sport, and improve performance in other activities such as running. There are also many other benefits that can help in every day life.
3) Weight lifting is more rewarding, mentally and physically
Compared to cardio gym activities e.g. treadmill or bike, lifting weights is often more rewarding. As it can make you stronger and help you build lean muscles, it is also more social and a great way to meet like-minded women. You learn how to activate your muscles to perform the exercises correctly and start to feel your muscles move in ways you haven't done before.
4) The science speaks for itself
Weight lifting does help increase muscle mass. Women won't normally say that they want to build muscle they will say that they want to 'tone up', but essentially this is the same thing. If you don't have any muscle mass then how can you look shapely and toned? It is the muscle that creates the shape of a person. Yes, the fat on top of the muscle adds to this shape admittedly, but once the fat levels are reduced then you will start to see more muscle definition.
5) Lifting weights can encourage fat loss
Lifting weights is hard work if done correctly, and hard work equals more calories burnt! If anyone has lifted heavy enough they know that it can increase their height rate dramatically which can lead to increase cardiovascular fitness and fat loss. Also you have this little gem called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which means you keep burning more calories than normal post workout as your body recovers. Additionally the more muscle mass a person has the more calories one burns at rest, so it's obviously advantageous to have more muscle so that you become a fat/calorie burning machine.
"Mind set is a big factor in fat loss. If someone has just been busting their gut at the gym lifting heavy weights they are less likely to then go out and eat unhealthy food for lunch. They are more likely to be in a healthy mind set and want to nourish their body with their food intake." - Abi
6) You won't turn into a beast
Many women think that they will automatically start to look like a body builder if they lift up a weight heavier than their handbag. This is an insult to women body builders who work damn hard to look like they do with a very specific training method and diet plan. Women see a few images of really muscular women and freak out! It's also a cultural thing: men don't normally associate women with lifting weights and vice-versa, but hopefully this culture is slowly changing. Take a look on Instagram and you'll see more and more women getting into lifting weights. This definitely is a good sign!
7) Don't be put off by the "men's area" of the gym
Many ladies are scared about going into the "men's area" of the gym, by which they mean the free-weights area. It can be intimidating being around all those big, buff muscular guys who are more swole than swoon, but fear not! Women are entitled to go and use the free-weights as the men, so get in there and gain!
8) Still need persuading?!
Specialised weight lifting programmes like Girls Who Lift makes everyday life easier because you are stronger, makes workouts more fun, helps you to meet like-minded people, shapes your body, and challenges you.
With that in mind, now's the time to start bodybuilding the new you! More advice and info can be found on Abi's website: www.abihardypt.co.uk
Abi Hardy with one of her clients.
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