I’ve been having lots of conversations with some of the women in the gym about the Functional Fitness classes we offer and there seems to be a lot of confusion (AKA myths) about strength training for women and what embarking on a strength training ‘track’ will do to the body.
Let’s start off by listing a few of the things I am being told:
* I don’t want thunder thighs.
* I don’t want to look like a man.
* I’ll hurt myself if I train with heavyweights.
None of these things are true.
Myth 1 – Lifting weights will cause you to bulk like the HULK.
The cold, hard truth is that women have significantly less testosterone than men, and testosterone is the primary hormone responsible for muscle growth. In short – you are NOT going to look like the HULK (but if you want to look like the hulk, you can get some Green Skin Pigmentation here: https://www.costumebox.com.au/mehron-ogre-green-fantasy-fx-make-up.html)
Myth 2 – I just have to do cardio to lose weight
The reality is the more muscle we have on our bodies the more calories you will burn. The process of lifting weights breaks down the muscle and the repair process (which is why we eat good food and get good sleep!!!) can transform your body composition. It’s why we have an Inbody Scanner so we can track these changes rather than just relying on a set of scales to measure progress.
Myth 3 – Lightweights and lots of reps is the only way to burn fat.
Well – it is ONE way to burn fat and can be a very successful method of losing weight ‘for a while’. Certainly light(er) weight/high rep training will help increase muscular endurance which is fantastic. But if your goal is to lose fat and build muscle definition the varied training schemes we use in Functional Fitness – sometimes as few as ONE maximum effort but more often between THREE (3) and EIGHT (8) repetitions – can help achieve this.
The reality is that we ALL get in our comfort zones at the gym – for example, if you always have used the ‘pink kettlebells’ and automatically grab them every session, well you aren’t growing or progressing. For many people at Round 1, the Boxing classes are their own version of a ‘COMFORT ZONE’ – you have done them before and survived, so you are confident you will be able to ‘do it’ again today. When you think about ‘changing’ your routine it is (of course) going to trigger feelings of uncertainty…that’s OK – once upon a time you were nervous walking through the front door of the gym!
I get it. I also love the Boxing classes. I’ve found from my conversations with the women who do participate in Functional Fitness that a blend of 2x Boxing classes and 2x Functional Fitness each week is a good mix of fitness and strength conditioning. The strength gym was built to supplement what was an already amazing facility. We have amazing trainers who are there to help you with the transition if you want to challenge yourself – and not only that, if you aren’t able to do ‘THAT’ yet (for example, a pull-up) then there is always an alternative there for you to do…AND, if you are worried that ‘EVERYONE’ will be lifting ‘HEAVIER’ weights than you, well, so what??? We all have to start somewhere and as long as you are ‘consistent’ you will feel ‘part of the crew’.
Don’t be ‘scared’ of adding some strength training to your routine – the benefits are amazing and it really can help ‘trigger’ a new stage of body composition changes. The classes are their to help guide you – the coaches are there to assist…if you want to have a go, let one of the coaches know and we will help organise a 2-week trial.
See you in the gym,
Coach Corey.
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