Women and Weight Training – a must – PART 1

Part 1 – My Journey with Resistance Training

NO, you won’t end up looking like a bodybuilder just because you lift weights.

YES, you can definitely train and add other elements to your lifestyle and become a bodybuilder or physique competitor if you want to, BUT….

Resistance Training ≠ Bodybuilder

I started lifting weights, resistance training, in 1992. I was 21 years old. I started going to the weights room at the university gym with my then boyfriend, now husband. At that time I don’t recall many other females lifting weights, in fact I rarely saw another female in the weights area when I was training. It did feel a little strange at first, but over time I don’t think it really bothered me. Since that time, resistance training has been part of my exercise regime.  

When I finished University and moved to the Central Coast in 1993, I joined the Gym at the Central Coast Leagues Club. Again, very few females were ever in the weights room. I must admit, I also went to aerobics classes in leotard outfits that only those of my age will hopefully remember or have been trying to forget (not far from the Borat Style Mankini). Aside from the outfits, the 90s was also the time that weights were introduced to aerobics classes, the Body pump era. Classes advertised to build strength and sculpt the body, and a class that won’t get you big and bulky.  

BIG AND BULKY – no, no, no. I have heard so many women over the years saying that they don’t want to lift weights, or they only lift light weights because they don’t want to “bulk up”. Unfortunately, I still hear this today, although thankfully not as much. In most cases when I have followed up on the “bulk up” comment, it was associated with not wanting to have big muscles like bodybuilders, hence resistance training or lifting anything other than light weights in women = bodybuilder, and in women, this was often seen as unfeminine or masculine. It’s difficult to break a stereotype.

August 1992, Terminator 2 –  Linda Hamilton arms – that was my initial goal. If you’re not familiar with this just do a google search. Well, my Linda Hamilton arms didn’t happen until 2009 and believe me it was not just a matter of lifting weights. Over the years, through my own training and formal study I’ve spent a lot of time looking at resistance training and its numerous benefits and how to program for those benefits. I don’t just pick up some weights and hope for the best, my training has a purpose and at different stages of life, the training has been focussed more to a particular aspect of life or outcome. While I say I had the Linda Hamilton arms goal, initially, my resistance training was simply about keeping healthy and strong, plus it also had the added benefit of spending time with my husband, as we trained together. When I was training in Karate, my resistance training programs had an added focus on elements that would add to my Karate practice.

Yes, I did become a bodybuilder, BUT I chose to become a bodybuilder, it just didn’t happen because I was lifting weights. Additionally, I would never describe myself as big and bulky. In fact, I always felt I was small compared to some of my competitors. In deciding to compete as a bodybuilder my training and lifestyle was designed around that goal. I see bodybuilders as athletes, working hard, with a specific goal in mind. In any case I really didn’t care what others thought of my bodybuilding body, except the judges when I was competing. I became a bodybuilder because I wanted to. I wanted to challenge myself. I will stipulate here for the record – I was a Natural Bodybuilder competing in Natural – i.e., drug tested, competitions from 2009 through to 2015.

Resistance training – lifting weights makes me feel good. I feel strong and powerful, both physically and mentally when I lift, and these are the two biggest benefits for myself.

I have now retired from competing as a bodybuilder, but I will always lift and I am passionate about helping women experience the benefits of resistance training.

FOR ME BODYBUILDING

=

STRICT CLEAN EATING + STRATEGICALLY DESIGNED, APPROPRIATLEY PERIODISED, PERSONALISED RESISTANCE TRAINING + CARDIO TRAINING + CONSISTENCY + MANY WEEKS/YEARS OF HARD WORK