Myths and Misconceptions. They’re everywhere.
Chatting with a lovely woman, we’ll call her Kelly Anne, who works at Natural Grocers (we chat a lot, mostly about politics and my parrot) about the many customers who come through the store and are looking for magic diet pills, poop (detox) teas, calcium, because…bones.
This particular calcium-seeking customer, who’s in the store quite often, was telling Kelly Anne about her sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle mass specifically related to aging. Sarcopenia can lead to loss of strength and mobility as we age.
Gaining lean muscle puts you "ahead of the game", so to speak. If you strength train, you can greatly reduce the negative side effects associated with sarcopenia and stay strong, mobile, and healthy for a long time.
The thing is – sarcopenia can be reversed with resistance training and a healthy diet.
Kelly Anne, who is in her 60’s (around the same age as this customer), put on her coach hat and recommended strength training.
The customer’s response was, “No, I won’t do that. I don’t want to get bulky.”
Kelly Anne said, “I do strength training. Am I bulky?” (She’s not, at all)
In my experience, through many conversations over the years, women hear STRENGTH TRAINING and they picture giant, oiled people who can lift trucks with one hand.
Hell, I thought the same thing many years ago.
However, it’s impossible to define what “too bulky” means.
“Bulky” is relative, and it’s no one’s business to push a particular body type on anyone else. We all get to choose what type of body shape, size, leanness, and muscularity level we strive for.
And every BODY responds differently to strength training.
And by “strength training” I mean whatever weight is challenging FOR YOU. If that’s 5 or 10 or 35 lbs, work with those.
Another important factor that is often ignored in the “bulky” discussion is body fat.
Over the years, I’ve had a number of female clients who started strength training for the first time when they began working with me. Within just a few weeks, they would complain about feeling “bulky.”
They’d report that their clothes were fitting more snuggly and that the number on the scale was going up instead of down. When I asked about their nutrition, they would admit that it hadn’t been great and that they’d actually been eating more because the training had increased their appetite.
In this instance, of course, they were going to gain size. They were eating more calories and gaining something without losing anything else.
The fix, in this case, is to make sure your diet is mostly healthy and to be in a slight caloric deficit.
It’s also important to note that one pound of lean mass takes up approximately 20% less space than one pound of fat. So, if you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 5 pounds of muscle, the scale will look the same, but you will be smaller.
Now, let me point out why strength training for women is such a good idea.
• Major confidence boost. Nearly every woman I've ever spoken with about the benefits of strength training has mentioned improved confidence as a side effect.
• Gaining muscle. Gaining muscle is beneficial in maintaining healthy body weight and body fat levels because muscle is metabolically expensive tissue (read: it burns a lot of calories). Buh-bye, sarcopenia.
• Increased bone density. Strength training also increases bone density and prevents bone loss as we age. Low bone mass increases your chance of breaking or fracturing your bones, which is no fun when you're young and can be devastating as you get older.
• Remove self-imposed limitations. This is similar to #1 (improved confidence) but slightly different. Often times women categorize themselves as "un-athletic" or "weak" or "clumsy" before they start strength training. Once they get started, they begin to realize that they aren't any of those things at all! In fact, they realize that they are strong, athletic, and move beautifully. Then they start to wonder, "What other self-limiting beliefs am I holding?"
• Because it's awesome. Imagine hoisting your 60lb black Lab into your car, carrying all your groceries into the house in one trip, and moving your own furniture without asking for help? All of this is empowering, and it's all a side effect of strength training.
So cut the BS about getting bulky and pick up some weights, or bands, or jugs of wine. No judgment here!
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