By Kyla Cook |Chronicle Blogger|
I’ve talked enough about food, for now (remember, it’s arguably the most important aspect to a healthy lifestyle). So for now, I want to talk about the fun stuff, which is also my favorite part: working out.
I was at the dentist yesterday, in my workout clothes and the dentist (a woman) asked me if I just went running. I said “No, I don’t really care for running but I do it. I prefer to lift weights.” She then had the nerve to tell me, “I can’t lift weights, I bulk easily.”
Biggest pet peeve of all time: women who are afraid to lift weights, or lift heavy weights because they fear of getting bulky and muscular.
You don’t bulk, get that garbage out of you mind. No matter how much you lift, you will not bulk. Sure, you’ll build muscle and maybe put on a few pounds but the results are amazing. You’ll become more defined—muscle may weigh more than fat but it takes up less space, giving you a nice, lean shape.
The only women who bulk are those who are really trying (body builders). Their diets and workouts are drastically different from the typical person.
I understand the weight room can be intimidating, a long time ago I was once intimidated. But if you do your research, you’ll be fine. Now I walk into the weight room with full confidence and find it comical to see all the men in there doing everything wrong.
The current workout I am doing is from The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It’s a 6-month program with several exercise stages and a diet plan. I am almost finished with the first stage.
It’s a program designed to have you lift heavier each workout. As of right now, I have accomplished personal records of squatting 135 lbs (on top of my own body weight), deadlifting 100lbs, rowing and lat pull downs also at 100lbs. It’s honestly a great book that I would recommend to any women.
It focuses on compound movements that work multiple muscle groups with one exercise, that’s what a regular person should strive for.
That brings me to my second biggest pet peeve: bicep curls.
Bicep curls are probably the most useless exercise for the average person and here’s why: the average person wants to be fit, lean but in no way wants to look like a body builder. Compound movements allow you to burn more calories while bicep curls hardly burn any.
People who do bicep curls are already in top physical condition and want to exaggerate that muscle group (mainly for competitions).
If you want defined biceps, do pushups, bench press, rows; there are so many other exercises that provide greater benefits than the bicep curl.
Basically, lifting weights will help you get the body you want. Step off the treadmill every now and then and pass the threshold into the weight room.