In my last blog I spoke about how women don’t need to worry about bulking up from training with weights. However, you may be wondering about female bodybuilders and if training with weights will make you look like one.
Here’s what you need to know:
3 Reasons Why Women Shouldn’t Fear That Weights Will Bulk Them Up.
Strength training has many benefits for both men and women, including increased metabolism, stronger bones, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, increased self-esteem and anti-aging benefits to name just a few. However, many women are put off by strength training because they fear that training with weights will make them bulk up.
Here’s three reasons why they don’t need to worry:
Read moreHave You Ever Given Up On Yourself Too Soon?
The journey to success is often a long one, they say it takes years of hard work to become an overnight success. Resist being someone who gives up on themselves too soon by recognising every time you make an improvement and treating it as a signpost that you’re heading in the right direction.
Read moreBreathe energy into yourself
Strength training is one of the most important things you can do to offset the effects of the aging process. But, at any given heart rate you achieve during strength training, you'll be taking in and using a lot less oxygen than if you achieved that same heart rate while doing cardio activity, some research suggests the difference could be as much as 70%.
Read moreThe Barbell Squat is Dead, Long Live the Trap Bar Deadlift
The shape of the Trap Bar and the position that you are in when gripping the handles puts you in a more upright, knee dominant position than you would be in the “hinged” hip dominant position you are in when doing a conventional deadlift where the bar is in front of you. This upright position shifts the emphasis of the exercise from the muscles that extend the hip, to the muscles that extend the knee-just like a squat. Additionally, standing within the bar reduces the back-stress problems that are experienced during squats as the bar is now in your hands rather than on your shoulders.
Read moreA few things you need to know about HIIT……
I’ve been hearing a few misconceptions about HIIT recently, so I thought I would write an article to give you a well-rounded view of what HIIT is, it’s benefits and its drawbacks. A couple of the misconceptions I came across recently, was that HIIT can be done for hours at a time, multiple times per day and it can be done without any prior experience or fitness base.
Read moreTop 5 underestimated benefits of stretching
One of the fitness qualities that people loose as part of the aging process is flexibility. This can be offset by flexibility exercise, much in the same way that losses in strength can be offset by strength training. Not all parts of the aging process are out of our control, and choosing to stretch regularly is choosing to take control over part of the aging process that you can influence, helping to keep you physically young.
Read moreDispelling Ab Training Myths….
If you want visible abs, for your own self esteem, to look good on the beach or just because you want a challenge, then I want you to be aware of the myths of ab training, and to understand what is realistic for you based on what you are willing to do. For most people, if you genuinely want visible abs and have been frustrated by poor results, the reality is that you probably need to be willing to unlearn some things that you have picked up over the years.
Read moreAre squat jumps and lunge jumps overused, and should you be doing them?
Something I often see is lunge jumps and/or squat jumps (also referred to interchangeably as jump lunges and jump squats) being shown as great exercises for HIIT training and circuit training, particularly when these styles of training are recommended for weight loss. You may have done these exercises as part of a class, or seen an online video, magazine article or part of a TV show recommending these exercises.
I often disagree with how these exercises are used in these situations though and think that for some people they may have the potential to do more harm than good.