Seven Strength Superstitions Women Believe

Listen up ladies! This is Coach Meagan and I recently read an article by Sohee Lee about heavy weights and us – you know, women. I thought it was fantastic so I wrote my own version for all you ladies at Get Fit NH.  Let’s squash some rumors that may be holding you back or may be holding someone you know back from starting to train for their life.

Superstition number 1: If I lift heavy weights I will look like a man

Wow! I can’t even tell you how many times I have heard women say this. Let’s talk about testosterone really quick. Testosterone is the hormone primarily responsible for muscle gain. Ladies, I can tell you that you do not have enough testosterone floating around in your body to ever look like The Hulk. Women possess roughly 5% of the testosterone men possess which means men have about 20 times as much testosterone in their body than the average woman. With that being said, pick up something heavy- you won’t wake up looking like a female body builder, I promise!

Superstition number 2: Women can’t be good at pull-ups.

Well, we all know that isn’t true as most of us have seen some ladies around Get Fit NH cranking out some pull ups. Are pull ups hard? Of course they are! I have never seen a woman get up on the bar for their first time and be able to bust out pull ups. Naturally, women have less upper body strength then men. I have, however, seen women work their tail off to earn those pull ups.  Why do you think we train assisted pull ups, negatives, and rows? So that we can build up those latissimus dorsi muscles (also referred to as lats) so that we can eventually do unassisted pull ups.  Why do we do farmer walk variations? Not only are they training core stability (and so much more), but they are also training our grip strength. When we encourage you not to use chalk or gloves there really is a reason! We want you to build the grip strength to hold on to the bar and pull yourself over it!

Superstition number 3: Protein supplements aren’t necessary for women.

FALSE!  Protein powder is the fastest and most convenient source to get in to your body within a few minutes post training. Our muscles are craving that protein to not only kick start the recovery process, but also to promote muscle growth. Just like any other food, if protein is consumed in excess then it can certainly make you gain weight, but we rarely see anyone, man or women, who eats too much protein. Ladies, we know that we should be consuming a minimum of 20-30 grams of protein every time we eat, so don’t be afraid to supplement when necessary.

Superstition number 4: Abs are just not achievable for me. After all I have two kids and I’m over 18.

Not the case at all. We all have a six pack. Yes it’s true, even me, even you.  It is up to us to train our bodies to let those abs come into the sunlight rather than be coated with a layer of fat. Most of you train with us 4 hours per week. It is up to you to maintain healthy habits those other 164 hours per week that you are not training. Proper nutrition, recovery, adequate sleep, and so on are all habits necessary to meet your goals. Besides have you seen Coach Nancy? And she has six kids!

Superstition number 5: When you work out your fat will transform into muscle.

If only it was that easy! First off let’s learn to appreciate some fat. Sometimes when we use the word “fat” it gives people the chills like it is a terrible thing, but it isn’t! If you had 0% bodyfat you would not be alive. Bodyfat serves as an energy reserve for your body and it helps cushions our joints and organs as well as maintain the integrity of healthy skin and nails. When we train we build muscles and lose excess bodyfat at the same time, which is why your body weight may remain relatively static. The best way to find out is to make an appointment to get your bodyfat tested regularly.

Superstition number 6: You have to keep your muscles guessing.

I did some additional research on this myth, because there are so many different “opinions” out there on this subject. The fact is that your muscles do not have a brain therefore it is impossible to confuse them.  You must give your body the chance to develop skill or neural adaptions so that your muscles increase. I know most of us have short attention spans and like to do different stuff all the time. However there is greater benefit to repeating the same movement patterns than to just doing different to be different. That is why training phases at Get Fit NH are designed the way they are. We can (and do) have variety, and the basic patterns of movement can be trained many different ways with many different tools, as you have experienced. However there are always going to be some “big rocks” that we focus on. Deadlifts anyone?

Superstition number 7: To lose fat, you need to crank up the cardio.

This is a huge myth that causes your coaches heartburn! Forget the treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper, and all of those other knee buster machines. Maybe you like that you can visually see how many calories are burned during your “cardio session.” Here is some scientific fun factual advice for you- Stop focusing so much on calories burned at the gym and think about what is happening when you leave the gym. When you run on the treadmill you burn calories and shortly after you stop you return to a normal metabolic rate. With strength training you build muscle and burn more fat. More muscles means the more fuel you are constantly burning therefore even when you are not at the gym you are still burning.

Look we all have a certain idea of how we want to look, but most of us would agree that strong and lean, no bulk added, would fit us pretty well.  Hopefully I have helped convince you that being strong will help you reach the look you have always wanted.

Meet you at the Hex Bars?

Make It Happen,

Coach Meagan