Strength Training For Female Fat Loss

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Many women believe that if they start weight training, they will end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger or some other male body builder. 

Due to this belief so many women hold themselves back from achieving the lean, slender and firm body shape that we see from Jessica Ennis or Katrina Johnson-Thompson.

Instead most women become cardio gym champions due to this ridiculous fear that has no truth whatsoever.

In the long run a cardio workout with no weight training to firm and tone the body will help you lose weight, but your body will still be saggy and soft.

If you are serious about changing this you are going to have to accept that you will need to lift dumbbells heavier than 4kgs.

“I just want to tone up my legs, bum and stomach” 

The word tone is always misused. Muscle tone refers to the tension that is in the muscle. Think about a guitar string that gets tightened and loses its slack. That is what true muscle tone is.

For you to improve the muscle tone in your body you are going to need muscle in the first place. 

You need to make sure that your body composition consists of a higher percentage of muscle mass than fat. 

Remember that as we age, we are going to lose muscle anyway. As a woman it is no different for you. All you will be doing is building a little bit of muscle to facilitate the wastage as you age.

However, this will not be large amounts of muscle that you see male body builders put on. To be honest it would be difficult for women to put on large amounts of muscle like men.

This is because men and women’s hormone profiles are different. One of the key hormones for building muscle is testosterone.

Women produce 1/10^th of the testosterone that men produce, and this makes it difficult for women to build muscle.

In order to get big, you would need to take steroids to achieve this!

“But marathon runners aren’t fat!”

Think of Paula Radcliffe and Dina Asher-Smith. Who’s body would you rather have? Their physiques and training methods are great examples of the difference between weight training and cardio training.

Lowering body fat is essential to improving your physique

This is a picture of Julia Rohde. She is a 53kg (116 lb or 8.3 stones) German weightlifter. She is a great example of what your physique can look like when you have low body fat and a high muscle mass.

She has a lean, firm and defined physique without looking like a male body builder.

Learn to love food in the right way!

When women want to lose weight, they often make the mistake of drastically cutting their calorie intake.

This level of starvation only leads to your body trying to get energy from wherever it can. This is usually your own muscles, as your body can use the protein from muscle for energy.

It must be noted that your body will only do this if it is starved of calories, which is why you must choose a diet that provides you with both energy, a high amount of protein and enough GOOD fats to support your hormone production.

In order to do this, you must ensure that your carbohydrate intake is mainly coming from vegetables to ensure that your body gets enough vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Intake of carbohydrates should come from complex carbs like Yams, green banana, plantain, sweet potatoes and potatoes. 

You can also eat whole grain rice, quinoa, etc.

You also need to take a different view of foods. I am not saying that food can not be enjoyable. However, you need to view food as a tool to get the look that you want.

Kate Moss was once said “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” I would like to replace the word skinny with lean and say that she almost hit the nail right on the head with that saying.

The winning combination

Once you combine the right diet with weight training you will be on track to achieving the physique you want. 

If you still want to do cardio, I would say no more then 10-15 minutes of interval training. The heart is a muscle and it is a good idea to train it.

Author bio

Gerald has a bachelor’s degree in Exercise, Nutrition & Health from Roehampton University. He has written articles for the magazines H2Open, Triathlon plus, Trail running and Men’s running. Gerald has achieved outstanding results with clients seeking fast Weight loss, core strengthening, Rehabilitation from injury or improved sports performance for Golf, rowing, badminton, hockey and Triathlon. 

Gerald has a laid back and approachable personality. He is passionate about running performance. After completing his degree in 2007 he worked as a personal trainer before he did an internship in strength and conditioning with Watford football club (FC) in 2008. For more information on female fat loss go you can find Gerald’s blog here  

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