Women want a body similar to this:

(Yes.. I used myself as an example.)

But think if they lift a weight heavier than 25 lbs they’ll look like this:

Yeon Woo Jhi

So they end up doing endless hours of cardio on the treadmill and going on yet another extremely restrictive diet.

But if they followed a resistance strength program, ate a diet that works for them (which you can find yours here, they’d actually end up looking more like this:

             

After centuries of women being told to stay away from weights, the importance of lifting heavy is finally being accepted. In fact, strength training has proven itself time and time again as a valuable addition to any woman’s workout.

Big and bulky? Nah! 

The truth is — women simply don’t have the testosterone to build huge muscles. Women like Yeon Woo Jhi (who by the way, is a  GORGEOUS queen) train incredibly hard and is (extremely) likely not natural and takes enhancements to have higher levels of testosterone. Women like you and I, on the other hand, can actually lose body fat, increase muscle mass, and sculpt our muscles through weight training. You can also increase bone density and gain more endurance by lifting weights!

Burn more calories with more muscle

But wait, let me go on – you’ll not only build muscle by lifting weights but you’ll build long, lean muscles that will make your arms and legs look great in whatever outfit you choose to rock. Combine that with the ever-increasing caloric burn and you have the perfect fat loss combo.

Muscle is metabolically active. The more of it you have, the more calories you’ll be able to burn throughout the day. And who doesn’t want to be able to burn more calories whenever you can when it comes to fat loss!?

You’ll actually get ‘toned’ 

I’m not a huge fan of the word “tone” but if buzzwords like this it makes it easier for you to understand what I’m getting at, so be it! “Toning” a muscle is simply losing enough body fat to show more of the muscle mass that you’ve built. This can ONLY be done through lifting heavy weights.

The best place to start lifting heavy weights is to use basic progressive overload and focus on compound movements such as squats, bench, and deadlifts. A good rep range to start at is 6-8 reps. Ideally start with an actual program to follow so that you can maximize your gains. There’s plenty of free programs online (and we will have some soon here at Powerwolf!). Don’t overthink it. There is no “perfect” program. Just find one and stick to it!

Oh, and, if you want to find the right nutrition plan for you that doesn’t involve selling your soul to chicken and broccoli 24/7, take my free fitness personality quiz.  It’ll help you discover what exactly you need to do (and give up) to get to the leanness that you want.

You’ll  feel so confident in yourself

Lifting heavy weights is one of the most empowering things a woman can do for herself. Strong is really the new ‘skinny’ and the bonus is that it helps you become a stronger person inside and out.

If you keep putting in the work and push past your comfort zone, then a seemingly impossible goal will feel like a walk in the park.

Of course it would be remiss not to mention that some cardio is still important but weight training should be the focus. Building muscle takes a long time, and remember that you won’t get bulky!