Strong is the New Sexy (INSANITY Day 3)

...It's not a blog without a GIF right? haha

Anyway, today's INSANITY video was called, "Power Cardio and Resistance"... aka, strength training! It was a lot of push-ups, dips, and squats. I'm going to be even MORE sore tomorrow, I can feel it. Strength Training is just as important as cardio when it comes to losing weight.

Why should you strength train? If a lean, sexy body and strong muscles aren't enough for you, these answers come STRAIGHT from the Center of Disease Control (CDC):

Here are numerous benefits to strength training regularly, particularly as you grow older. It can be very powerful in reducing the signs and symptoms of numerous diseases and chronic conditions, among them:

• Arthritis- The effectiveness of strength training to ease the pain of osteoarthritis was just as potent, if not more potent, as medications in clinical study. Similar effects of strength training have been seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Diabetes- studies now show that lifestyle changes such as strength training have a profound impact on helping older adults manage their diabetes. In a recent study of Hispanic men and women, 16 weeks of strength training produced dramatic improvements in glucose control that are comparable to taking diabetes medication. Additionally, the study volunteers were stronger, gained muscle, lost body fat, had less depression, and felt much more self-confident.
• Osteoporosis- esults from a study conducted at Tufts University, which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1994, showed that strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk for fractures among women aged 50-70.
• Obesity-Strength training is crucial to weight control, because individuals who have more muscle mass have a higher metabolic rate. Muscle is active tissue that consumes calories while stored fat uses very little energy. Strength training can provide up to a 15% increase in metabolic rate, which is enormously helpful for weight loss and long-term weight control.
• Back pain- Stronger core and supporting muscles mean less strain on the back.
• Depression- Currently, it is not known if this is because people feel better when they are stronger or if strength training produces a helpful biochemical change in the brain. It is most likely a combination of the two. When older adults participate in strength training programs, their self-confidence and self-esteem improve, which has a strong impact on their overall quality of life.

I decided that today's entry could address the issues with women and their fear of strength training.
There are so many misconceptions about lifting heavy weights that women always say that drive me CRAZY!!!
"I don't wanna get bulky, I just wanna get toned"
"I don't want to look like those freaky bodybuilders"
"Cardio will make me lose more fat"
"I just want a six pack"

Pretty much summed up in this picture:

  

The following is an excerpt from Jamie Eason's website on Bodybuilding.com:

"The primary concern women have when it comes to weight training is, "I don't want to get big or bulky." We are here to tell you that you won't! The hormone testosterone is responsible for the large increases in muscle mass seen when men lift weights. Women's testosterone levels are a fraction of men's testosterone levels.
Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in women. As you can see, men's testosterone levels are significantly higher than women's. Even if a man is at the low end of the men's normal testosterone range (200 ng/dl), he still has more than twice the amount of testosterone as a woman at the high end of the women's normal testosterone range (70 ng/dl)."

Basically, if you want to look like the girl on the top, you probably need a testosterone booster or anabolic steroids (and a bad tan) to achieve that look. The sexy, toned girl on the bottom though, probably strength trains with heavy weights 3-4 times a week and eats a clean diet.

Heavy weights are the only way to get the toned sexy body that you are looking for. It's okay to start small, at maybe 5-10 pounds. But once you can do a set and not almost fail on the last lift, you are not lifting heavy enough weights. I can curl a 20lb weight and my arms are skinny little noodle arms. Doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps of a weight where on the last rep you REALLY have to struggle is perfect for looking like pretty girl #2 :)