FITNESS MATTERS
Women and weight training
DR. SHEELA NAMBIAR, M.D.
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Women who train with weights regularly obtain toned, bodies that help defy gravity as they age.
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Ensure at least eight hours of sleep to gain the maximum benefits of weight training.
Photos: P.V. Sivakumar and C.V.Subrahmanyam
Give it a try: You’ll wind up looking fit and fabulous.
But I don’t want to get “bulky and masculine”, is the common dissent I hear when women are recommended weight training.
Well, here’s the news flash: Testosterone and not Weight Training determines masculinity.
Images evoked when discussing weight training with novices may be those of women body builders but one must keep in mind that a major part of the end result of those muscular women is genetics, heavy and gruelling training schedules and sometimes the addition of anabolic steroids. Women who train with weights regularly without the use of these needless supplements, obtain firm, toned, bodies that go a long way in defying gravity as they age.
Men are essentially more drawn to weight training than women. It’s the macho thing to do. Conventionally, women were portrayed as soft (well endowed with fat,) and curvaceous. Not any more. This is not to say that women who weight train lose out on their feminity. On the contrary, they feel more attractive and confident of their feminity.
Set goals
The human body is such a consummate example of fine architecture that it is sacrilege to allow it to disintegrate into a complex disarray of accumulated fat, poor muscle mass, muscle imbalance, poor gait and posture which in turn result in aches and pains and puts your health at risk, not to mention deteriorating appearance and lower self esteem. Weight training can address all these issues and as part of fitness routine will result in a superior quality body.
Before you start training with weights, set a goal/goals. Are you lifting weights to improve daily functionality, appearance, or sports performance? Once this has been determined, you can better tailor your routine.
Consistency is key. Once you commit to weight training, persist with it. One of the most valuable lessons to learn in the initial stages of your weight training career is proper “form and technique”.
If you have no experience with weights, invest in a couple of months with a personal trainer until you are familiar with the drill and terms like ‘12 Rep max’, ‘super setting’, ‘circuit training’ etc don’t sound like an alien language. Proper alignment of spine and joints, immaculate execution of the movement combined with the proper breathing technique are vital in preventing injury.
Look out for
DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, common following a weight training session, is characterised by an aching sensation in the muscles you have worked appears within 24 to 48 hours and disappears spontaneously.
Rest and nutrition cannot be over emphasised. The building of the muscle occurs not during the actual course of the workout, but during the rest period.
Ensure at least eight hours of sleep to gain the maximum benefits of weight training.
Following a healthy balanced diet is imperative. It is not essential to subscribe to protein supplements unless you are under nourished. Even a hardcore body builder requires only one gm of protein/pound of his weight/day, which can be accommodated in a balanced diet. A recreational weight trainer certainly does not require it.
How many of you have entered the weight room of a gym and felt like you had walked into a Japanese torture chamber with strange gadgets and gizmos? How many of you have felt an excruciating sense of inadequacy and as you watch some gym rat wheeze under the hack squat machine, or another execute some impressive preacher curls?
It’s really not very complicated. The exercises are simple enough to learn and can even be enjoyable! The changing shape of your body is sufficient testimony and encouragement to keep you on the wagon even if the scientific corroboration of the benefits of weight training doesn’t impress you. So do give it a try…
Myth versus Facts
Busting a few common misconceptions
• The masculinity factor: The truth is it is not easy to “bulk up”. It takes hours of advanced exercise routines to get to the body builder status. Recreational weight training cannot achieve such immense proportions.
•“If I stop training, muscle will turn into fat’: Muscle and fat are two entirely different types of tissue. One cannot convert to another. When women (or men) stop weight training, they start to lose muscle mass. The combination of poor eating habits, lower calorie expenditure and a slower metabolism result in an accumulation of fat.
• “As long as I am training I can eat whatever I want”: The nutritional equation is pretty straightforward. Calories consumed need to equate (approximately) the calories expended in order to maintain weight.
• “If I train with weights I don’t need to do Cardio”: Cardio, Strength/Weight training, Flexibility, Rest and Nutrition are five crucial pillars of a sound fitness routine. One cannot substitute another. Cardio trains the heart, lungs and blood vessels (the Cardiovascular System) while weight training addresses the muscles, tendons and ligaments (the Musculoskeletal System). Both are equally important.
•Weight training will make me stiff and ‘muscle bound’: Not if you include stretches with every routine. Modalities like Yoga will further improve flexibility.
How it helps
• Prevents and treats a predominantly women’s disease, Osteoporosis
• Improves muscular strength and protects against back injury, pain and arthritis.
• Gives the body a better shape and structure.
• Firms and tones the body and prevents ungainly sagging of bodily parts, giving it a more youthful appearance.
• Improves self esteem, confidence and mood.
• Delays and even reverses the aging process of the body even if started as late as in the 70s.
• Reduces risk of diabetes and heart disease. These benefits are increased by including cardio in your routine.
Aids fat loss
Women who strength train two to three times a week for two months gain nearly two pounds of muscle and lose 3.5 pounds of fat. For each pound of muscle gained, you burn 35 to 50 more calories each day. This adds up to a formidable number of burnt calories
The writer is a Practising Obgyn, Fitness and Lifestyle Consultant, NAFC (USA) and Director, TFL Fitness Studio, Chennai. E-mail: drsheela@tflinc.net
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