Mini Rant....

I am so sick of hearing that women + heavy weights = bulky!  My husband keeps asking why I need a 'gym' and why I need to lift weights.  My mom friends keep telling me that they have to do low weights and high reps or they get to bulky.  I've been told that deadlifts, squats, and Olympic lifting are going to blow out my back and ruin me.  And I'm SICK of it....

Ladies, if you are overweight, sick of exercising and not losing, can't lift your kid over your head, and think that your Pepsi bottle is heavy then get your head out of your behind!  Weights, heavy ones, will solve your woes!  And here's why:

The female body does not contain the same hormones as the male.  Both sexes have estrogens and androgens but in vastly differing amounts.  Men produce 6-8 mg of testosterone per DAY.  It takes a woman 12-16 days to make that much!  Men have nowhere near as much estrogen because it is produced in the ovaries.  Because of the higher lean mass to fat ratio men have (thanks to that high testosterone!) they lose weight easily and build muscle quickly.  Ever wonder why your husband and you choose to diet together and he loses more despite doing everything wrong?  You eat right, exercise, and drink your water and at the end you've lost 2 lbs and he's lost 20.  Well this is the answer!

So why do you NEED higher weight?  Because you have two types of muscle fiber, myogenic and neurogenic.  Myogenic refers to your muscle tone at rest.  So if you want to look good lounging by the pool in that new bikini you need to work those weights.  Higher reps with lower weights causes micro-tears which results in fluid build up.  You temporarily appear more muscular but your muscle is softer and fades quickly while your strength gains are minimal.  The neurogenic muscle refers to your muscle tone during work.  Heavier weights increase your neurogenic sensitivity so you become more efficient with every movement from walking to driving to picking up your baby.  THIS is why you need those power lifts!

Finally, those isolation movements: bicep curls, leg extensions, etc. are useless.  Know why?  Because you can't use enough weight to cause them to respond and you can't burn enough calories to lose the fat to show them off!  Multi-joint, compound movements with a lot of weight are the only way to get your metabolism to behave like your husband's. 

You know you want to walk into your gym and load up a 45lb. bar in the rack with an additional 50lbs and then squat it for 5 reps and then repeat and repeat again!  That Barbie on the treadmill's eyes will bulge out of her head.  Every guy in the gym will think you are the hottest thing since sliced bread.  And finally you will look and feel sexy and confident.

I'll just leave you with cases in point:

Bulky? NO! Sexy? Yes! 

See you at the gym, by the weight rack!