Should women strength train? Yup

[omega 616]

You should also eat a lot more fruit and veg but very few people do. People should do all sorts of stuff but all it comes down to is energy or time.

Either your life just has too many demands on your time already, full time job, kids etc or you work your butt off all day and even the thought of working out makes you whimper.

Funny thing about people is, they don't want to die or get a serious disease but they don't do anything to prevent them ... in fact they encourage them to happen, take smoking as the prime example, how many people actually want cancer? And how many people smoke?

We all think we are immortal, till things go wrong.

 

[Charli]

Words used were a bit excessive, but when used in his post... he wasn't really calling YOU those things was he?

No, but since when do I have to be a target to call out abusive behavior. He was attacking people I know, people I love and care about, and given that it's likely a decent portion of the Escapist forum users don't exercise, a good deal of the people that read this board.

Personally, I think that's poor.

He was calling those making excuses and whining about it as those who exercise as some kind of privileged fops that they can't achieve in their wildest dreams.

No, he wasn't. His exact words were: "Every person on the world should exercise. It gets rid of so many issues, from obesity, to low selfesteem, to general flimsiness, to depression, the list goes on.
The problem is, I think people know this, but people just lack either the motivation (aka: are lazy ****s) or lack the discipline (aka: are spoiled brats)."

That clause structure means he was accusing everyone who should exercise (everyone) but who doesn't of being "lazy shits" and "spoiled brats".

As for why this matters? Well, I believe we've had at least one person on this thread talk about not liking the gym because of the hostile, judgmental attitude there. Far, far too many people in the athletics scene aren't there to improve their fitness, they're there to piss on people less fit than them.

Well in my attempt to steer you back onto the topic and off the pissing contest with jimmy-tries hard.
I did imply that I have never been a gym goer... and I still kept fit in my own way. I believe the intent he held was ...simplistic but correct, just keeping a SLIGHTLY healthier lifestyle than many of us keep would solve alot of health issues that are more common in recent history. A gym is not required for general fitness.

 

[rasputin0009]

As a male, I totally agree, if only so I can take a break from opening pickle jars.

I apologize for that blatantly sexist joke. Sometimes I think I'm funny.

But ya, strength training is healthy for anyone, no matter the sex.

 

[Bertylicious]

Strength training can certainly be a means to self actualising. The ability to achieve and set goals is exactly what strength training incorporates. For a lot of people strength training can almost be a spiritual experience, pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do.

Strength training isn't about how you look. Its not body building. I can understand the confusion but it really is spoken out of ignorance. There is room for personal growth in anything you do it just matters how much of yourself you put into it. And it certainly is small compared to some things but so is most everything else. So is being on this site. SO is watching TV. You can make a lot of progressive putting in less than 3 hours a week. Most people certainly waste more time than that.

There are people in the fitness community who are narcissistic but there are a lot of doctors like that as well, especially surgeons. That doesn't mean that the medical field is a terrible thing, it just tends to draw a certain personality type. There have been all kinds of people who have been helped by a good strength training coach.

I saw a video of a woman who was born with one arm and had not been athletic for most of her life. As a grown woman she wanted to get into better shape for her health. In the video she is doing one armed pull ups. That may be small to you but I promise you it wasn't to her or her coach or the people she befriended at her gym that many people may assume were narcissistic because they were in shape. There are numerous stories of veterans maimed by war finding support in a tight knit community of gym goers and ended up accomplishing more with a handicap then they ever thought they were able to do when they were full bodied. I've worked with women who have been self conscious about their weight their whole lives and then came alive with a barbell in their hands. Their self confidence grew so much and it stopped being about how their body looked and became about what their body could do. Once this shift in thinking took place the weight began to come off. It was the byproduct of goal oriented and purposeful training. They didn't just get stronger physically but mentally as well. It changed how they viewed themselves and made them realize how much they were capable of. The action of picking something up and putting it down is small but greatness is what we put into small things to become great.

Ah, well, I'd be inclined to suggest that what your lass had there was a sense of validation from being accepted by a community. I've seen similar effects in people integrating into online communities for instance.

And you know what? That's a marvelous thing, truly. It is nice to have friends, is it not?

The worry I have is that people can use persuits like fitness, or religion or a hobby or any manner of things, to distract themselves from resolving their underlying problems. Truthfully I've always been rather suspicious of using the need for validation as a motivation; it has always struck me as a disingenuous reason to do anything.

I know what you're going to say; that striving to be your best physically is an equal or even neccesary aspect of the path for self improvement. Zen and the art of weightlifting and all that. Yet isn't that a path of acceptance? Of making peace with ones demons? Perhaps fitness can be a signpost to enable one to walk that path, but I do not believe it to be the path itself.

I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it looks like incoherant gibberish.

 

[Tobu]

Yes more women should strength train because exercise is waaaay more than just look but now I'm just blabbering the obvious.

There is an awesome website where I get my fitness tips from, its called Nerd Fitness and its awesome for people who love excise and video games. For me I love levelling up in RPGs and I like to make exercising feel like levelling up, which is what Nerd Fitness talk about.

There are quite a few very helpful articles on strength training which I have found incredibly helpful

Anywho here's the link: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/

 

[blackrave]

Totally
I always had a thing for strong women
2 things though
1)Don't overburn fat
2)Don't use steroids
1st will burn your breasts away, while 2nd will turn you into muscle slab
And there is nothing feminine in breastless meat brick (or in my honest opinion- attractive)

 

[Xan Krieger]

Totally
I always had a thing for strong women
2 things though
1)Don't overburn fat
2)Don't use steroids
1st will burn your breasts away, while 2nd will turn you into muscle slab
And there is nothing feminine in breastless meat brick (or in my honest opinion- attractive)

I have the same opinion of women with muscles, there are few things as hot.

On a personal level (I'm male btw) I've recently started a diet because I was getting a tad...large so I'm starting to get the opinion that everyone should do it, even a little. Just seems to me now that it's part of maintaining your body like showering or brushing your teeth. A week ago I'd have laughed at the thought of me ever saying this but then I got the results of some tests on my blood and according to that I'm kinda really unhealthy despite not feeling like it.

 

[Jarsh82]

Of course its not a path unto itself. Its training; a tool to help you live better. I would say its much more than just acceptance within a community though that is true as well. The point of learning is not just the act of learning. It's gaining knowledge and applying that knowledge to your life. Strength training is the same way. You learn a lot about yourself through physical training and it is impossible to grow physically without growing mentally as well. It may not be intuitive to you but ask any athlete and they will say the same thing. People can become to one dimensional in their training and use it to hide from their problems but that is true of any activity. It could be true of a career or music or art. That doesn't make these things problematic in themselves, only in the execution. If some one is using physical training to exercise their own demons, how is that a bad thing? How is it a waste of time? Physical fitness is a small thing if you make it a small thing, if you make it merely about physical appearance. This is true of everything in your life.

 

[Vivi22]

I've got no problem with muscular women, but that said, many women are afraid of strength training because it can and will make a woman look less feminine if done to excess. This is true,

No it won't. The majority of women can't, and won't, end up looking like body builders because they strength train. They'd have to be specifically training and eating to do nothing but become a body builder for that to even be a real concern, and even then it probably won't happen for most. I know quite a few women who strength train and have deadlifts well past the 300lb mark and the numbers to match in other strength movements and none of them look less feminine. Stronger and healthier sure, but they don't look like men by a long shot. Hell, most of them are pretty tiny to be honest with you.

Secondly you don't do strength training to lose weight

Strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn body fat since it increases metabolism and lean muscle mass. Even accounting for the muscle people tend to put on when they do it, people who include strength training as part of their regular exercise are generally going to have an easier time losing weight than people who don't.

 

[Jarsh82]

It's more than a little curious when people speak about weight training as if it's something to be proud of. It's physical activity for no positive purpose in and of itself, and for reason which typically amounts to vanity ("looking good").

Only for people whose alternative is an irrelevant existence without lifting weights ought to prefer an irrelevant existence with lifting weights, but such people should become a lot more ambitious about their lives than looking to the gym.

As for "self esteem" - vain people always have high self esteem - they think very highly of themselves. Only twisted cultures celebrate such a thing.

Of the hundreds of people I most admire and look up to, not a single one has probably ever lifted weights. It's completely unnecessary.

Strength training isn't about looking good to most people. You're confusing strength training with bodybuilding. I'm am curious about your ambitious life. Apparently you don't have a spare moment in the day as every moment is filled with only really important things. I would say vain people have low self esteem. They are so concerned with how they look because they are afraid of what other people will think of them. Strength training isn't about how you look. Strength is only unnecessary if you choose to have a completely stationary life. If you choose that life then you will be in poor health by your thirties. Anything you do can be worthwhile if you make it so. Strength training, when properly executed, can teach you patience and planning. It can teach you perseverance. As for self esteem, that doesn't mean you think you're "hot." I love to see people come in to the gym, new to training, and say that they aren't the type of person who lifts weights. After months of work and they're jerking their body weight over their head they find out something about themselves. They realize that they are capable of so much more than they ever thought possible. They become ambitious with their life, not just in their training but with everything. That's what I mean when I say self esteem.

 

[LetalisK]

Lastly, if you are in need of losing bodyfat and getting into condition, long slow distance is not the way to go. I mean it works, but it is criminally inefficient and the best way there is for losing useful bodyweight. High intensity interval training is the way to go. Hill sprints, for example.

I would say that long slow distances are, in general, a waste of time unless you're training specifically for such a sport. I've found doing wind sprints increases both my sprinting and long distance cardio capacity while long distance does diddly for my sprinting(though, that may have something to do with doing wind sprints for 6 miles...). Not to mention that long slow distances are so boring I want to eat a bullet doing them. The only thing I use long slow distances for is if my legs are very sore and stiff, in which case it does a magnificent job in loosening them up and speeding along the recovery process.

 

[Jarsh82]

Lastly, if you are in need of losing bodyfat and getting into condition, long slow distance is not the way to go. I mean it works, but it is criminally inefficient and the best way there is for losing useful bodyweight. High intensity interval training is the way to go. Hill sprints, for example.

I would say that long slow distances are, in general, a waste of time unless you're training specifically for such a sport. I've found doing wind sprints increases both my sprinting and long distance cardio capacity while long distance does diddly for my sprinting(though, that may have something to do with doing wind sprints for 6 miles...). Not to mention that long slow distances are so boring I want to eat a bullet doing them. The only thing I use long slow distances for is if my legs are very sore and stiff, in which case it does a magnificent job in loosening them up and speeding along the recovery process.

I cut ten minutes off my half marathon time by ditching running. Instead I did a little bit of sprinting, some strongman routines and barbell complexes. I also did a lot of circuit training. Of course I was never a great runner.

 

[Pieturli]

Lastly, if you are in need of losing bodyfat and getting into condition, long slow distance is not the way to go. I mean it works, but it is criminally inefficient and the best way there is for losing useful bodyweight. High intensity interval training is the way to go. Hill sprints, for example.

I would say that long slow distances are, in general, a waste of time unless you're training specifically for such a sport. I've found doing wind sprints increases both my sprinting and long distance cardio capacity while long distance does diddly for my sprinting(though, that may have something to do with doing wind sprints for 6 miles...). Not to mention that long slow distances are so boring I want to eat a bullet doing them. The only thing I use long slow distances for is if my legs are very sore and stiff, in which case it does a magnificent job in loosening them up and speeding along the recovery process.

Exactly. I have to admit I've been letting my conditioning slide a little bit lately, really should get back to the tire flips and stuff.


I have also found that long slow distance works pretty awesome as recovery. I just go for a reasonable length walk pretty much every evening after training, loosens stuff up really nicely.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Once you've hit a decent running pace and no longer get tired from it, HIIT (high intensity interval trianing) does more for your body than regular running and you don't need to run as far, actually it's best if you keep it under 5 km per run (knees and other joints) max 3 times a week (because the body should be pushed much further if you lead a regular life).

Also I would suggest looking into kettlebells, I've personally grown very fund of it. However get someone who is a kettlebell instructor, rather than somebody who isn't otherwise you might ruin your back.
The core strenght that it has given me has done me good for BJJ.

 

[Saulkar]

Definitely! I know a couple of girls at my gym who are in their late forties who look as if they are still in their early thirties and the 35 year female old gym owner does not look a day over 25.

I myself workout 4 days a week for an hour and a half. 3.5 miles and thirty minutes on the treadmill with a five minute, 3MPH cooldown followed by an hour of a power lifting-bodybuilding hybrid of exercises.

Spoiler: I FRICKEN NEED TO UPDATE THIS 8 MONTH OLD PICTURE!!! RARGH!

Check out those sexeh boobies!

Legs Tomorrow!

Spoiler: UPDATE!!!

 

[Seydaman]

I did some briefly in the past

It was pretty much the most pleasant kind of exercise I've had, cardio is the bane of my existence

But I can't do it right now (or likely ever) because of medical stuff |:

I hear Yoga is good for you...

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Women should do whatever the hell they like. If that's strength training, more power to them.

I'm rocketing toward my late 30's and my left knee is carrying some minor damage so I can't go jogging. My back has taken a fair amount of abuse over the years, so I'm starting to think lifting weights is doing more harm than good. What I am thinking of doing is DDP Yoga. Being a wrestling fan I've been reading about Diamond Dallas Page's variation on yoga and from what I've seen it looks like it would help strength, core conditioning, flexibility and on top of this be easy on the joints. I'm in fairly good shape for my age, but am having difficulty shedding the spare tire. It's not that bad, but considering the rest of me is fairly svelte it's noticeable.