Girls Best Friends… Weights

Agnieszka, our fitness expert shares a few insights about lifting weights. Ladies only:-)

Diamonds are too but they do not have any proven health benefits:-)

Today’s post is going to be about lifting weights. And I am taking serious weights, not some 1lbs pink dumbbells. There are many benefits, but I am going to list just a few main ones, that made me swap my cardio routine couple of times a week for some serious lifting:

  1. Increased metabolic rate – what it means is that your muscles are like engines burning more fat much longer after your workout is already over. While cardio is a great way to increase your metabolic rate only weight training can permanently do it. With every 1 lb of lean muscle you simply burn 35-50 cal a day, so with 10 lbs it is between 350-500 cal a day. How much cardio do you have to do to burn 500 cal ?
  2. Improves and restores bone density – regularly putting weight on your bones improves their spinal bone mineral density, add an adequate amount of calcium and you have a formula fighting osteoporosis.
  3. Increased strength – it is a great feeling to find out how strong you really are, not to mention all the request from your husband to open a jar:-)
  4. Injury prevention – you body is getting stronger, so there is less possibility for injury.  It becomes even more important as we grow older so take care of yourself… now!
  5. Looking better – it is no secret, that we all want to look our best and why shouldn’t we? It does not take long to see results, only few months of regular training and your self esteem arrow is gonna go up:-)
The above is what the science has to say now the following is my personal experience and observations.
Having 2  almost 9 lbs kids via C section and then nursing them for over a year each left my body far from perfect. I was thin but my boobs looked like deflated baloons, my butt was flat and my tummy …och well I got a lot of “Are you pregnant again?” questions. Everything was hanging:-(I shortly convinced myself that a tummy tuck and a boob job is going to be the only way. The problem was justifying the cost to my cheap husband who said he loves me no matter what:-) I did cardio but only when I switched to training with weights I was able to reshape my body. All I needed was commitment and hard work. My body is not perfect and it will never be because there is no such thing. That was not the goal. I just wanted to feel good in my own body again and I acomplished my mission. I like the way I look but I LOVE the way I feel. It was not only a physical change it was mental, far more important. And the fact that I did it MYSELF makes me feel even better.

The one complaint I hear over and over is „ I do not want to bulk up and look like a man”. It ‘s simply not possible because women do not have enough testosterone to develop such big muscles. Most of the women bodybuilders get testosterone injections and workout 6 hours a day so unless that is what you are planning to do there is nothing to worry about.

I have been on the road for 9 months now and could not take my weights with me for obvious reasons so i made my own:-)

I use plastic beverage bottles and milk jugs instead of dumbbells.

I also use my own body weight doing push-ups and pull-ups on a regular basis. You do not need gym memberships and fancy equipment to workout, you just need to be creative. Be sure to check out older posts: “Playground fitness routine” and “Fitness on the Go” to get more ideas.

Here it is Ladies, lift havy to be healthy, strong and lean.

 

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