As I walk through my gym, I cannot help but notice the typical trends regarding the female population. First of all the majority of them are on the cardio machines despite not even being the slightest bit overweight. I rarely see these same women doing anything else but cardio. Every once in a while I notice them venture over to the machines for a few leg curls or to perform the abductor/adductor exercises. I also witness them doing lots of high rep bicep curls and tricep kickbacks with the tiny pink dumbbells. Month after month goes by and they still look the same.
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My Little Chat With The Aspiring Figure Model
I mustered up the courage one day to interrupt a particular female’s routine. It’s not normal for me to randomly pull someone aside in the gym to interrogate them, however I sincerely wanted to help and my suspicions were that she most likely had been misinformed. After our workouts were over, we went out for a post workout bite.
I explained that I had noticed her efforts in the gym over the past 2-3 months. I then asked her what sparked her interest to begin training. She replied by saying she found a copy of her roommates Oxygen magazine and scanned it front to back. She mentioned that she did not particularly read the articles, but stared jealously at the models on every other page. She began to tell me about this fear of getting big bulky muscles and that in order to prevent this, she must do lots of high rep workouts to build long, lean muscle. I also recall her mentioning she did 6 cardio sessions a week to ward off any fat gain. I must say she was far from being overweight at all. She alluded that all of her previous trainers had given the same advice over and over again. Yet, after months of training she’s still not any closer to achieving that sexy, toned physique she envied in the publication.
I jotted down her email address in my phone so I could send her a few pointers to get her going in the right direction. I explained she needed to:
Lift Like A Man
I broke down the importance of strength training and how it would help her build the body like those she admired in the magazine. I explained that she would not get bulky like males do as she has roughly 10% of the testosterone that males possess. I then reassured her that it’s nearly impossible for her to build the amount of muscle mass of a man unless she is one of the genetic elite or decides to take drugs. I advised she focus on:
- Full Body Training 3 times per week
- Making Strength Gains on the compound movements (bench press, overhead press, squats, deadlifts).
- Challenging Herself with weights that are heavy(for her). The last few reps of each set should be intense.
Limit Her Cardio
Cardio is great when you are dieting or if you are looking to improve your heart health. However many females tend to be obsessed and usually overdo it. I recommended she:
- Perform Cardio No More than two days per week.
- Only Do Low Impact cardio on two of her four rest days. Cardio tends to cut into our recovery ability that we wholly need after intense strength training sessions.
Focus On Healthy Eating Habits
This is a no brainer, but I figured I would bring it up after we ordered our lunch. She asked the server to hold the fruit as she was extremely anal about carbohydrate consumption. I then learned she was eating like a bird daily which was doing nothing for her in terms of health and recovery. I then encouraged her to:
- Eat At Least Maintenance Calories on Rest Days. – I told her to start at about 14-15x bodyweight in pounds as she was fairly active. For a 120 pound female this would put her at about 1680 to 1800 calories per day.
- Eat Slightly Above Maintenance Calories on Training Days. – I explained that the extra calories would go towards building that sexy muscle she wanted so badly. I advised no more than about 300 calories over maintenance as females build muscle more slowly than males do.
- Eat Carbs If She Wants To. – I explained that carbohydrates do not make a person fat, only excess calories over time will make one fat. I then shared with her the importance of carbs in the recovery process.
- Aim for 1 gram of Protein Per Pound of Bodyweight – To fuel muscle growth and recovery.
- Consume Fat + EFA’s – To maintain hormonal levels, promote satiety and to make sure about 30% of her calories come from fat.
For any females reading this, I hope you take these tips to heart. Again, I want to reemphasize that lifting heavy weights will not make you big and bulky. Doing high rep isolation movements will do nothing for the long, lean look and lots of cardio will not magically make one thin and sexy. The process is a combination of a sound exercise program, healthy eating habits and a nice balance between rest and activity. How many of you females out there are lifting like your counterparts? How many of you are actually out lifting them?
Model: Jean Jitomir .
I too stared at the models in Oxygen magazine for years, and spent mind numbing hours on the cardio machines and lifted in the high rep range like a idiot for over 10 years and got nowhere except skinny fat! I would eventually get sick of eating 800 to 1000 calories a day, then gorge myself and blow up like a balloon; literally packing on 20 pounds of fat in a month. This last go round (2010) for some reason I miraculously started doing it right. I did less cardio; 20 min max – 4 days a week, gave it my all throwing challenging weight around in the gym at 8-10 reps, and ate 1700 to 1900 calories a day and BAM! I was rocking my muscles like nobody’s business. Every woman at work commented on my muscles but God forbid they wanted to look like me. GOOD I say because I like being unique!
Damn me for falling off the wagon again. I’m day 2 back on the wagon – time for leg training! See ya and thanks for your awesome website.
I keep sharing it with all my female co-workers who are afraid of bulking up. Pfft, please…. a size 4 woman is not bulky!
thanks for sharing. I’ve got a particularly good piece coming out about the woes of fitness marketing to the female masses. Be sure you share that one with them.
I also used to believe that cardio was the answer to my prayers for weight loss but since discovering weights and body weights cardio is almost an ex. I like intervals but short and sweet .
I also love being able to eat more now I know what I should eat an when I should eat it, plus I don’t have to eat rabbit food because it doesn’t help build up my muscles.
Great post JC lots more females should read this and take your advice.
I need to write for the ladies more often.
I for one would love you to write more
Have you spoken with this woman recently? Was just curious as to whether or not she took the sage advice and saw results.
Sadly, I haven’t. She moved back to school shortly after we had our chat.
This is a really good article! I’m fairly new to weight training and wonder where I could learn more about coming up with a full body routine?? Can you recommend any good books or websites to get me started?
Thanks. Starting Strength and New Rules of Lifting for Women are great to get you started.
Thanks,I emailed you back:)
@Kx: Yea, I try to keep most of my writing related to looking sexy in one way or another.
When I get these types of questions in the gym(like “why are you doing a full body workout”), I usually do the same as you and just smile. I don’t really have the time nor desire to explain myself intra-workout. Most of the time these people are not generally interested in the real reason I am training the way I do, they just want a chance to tell me that I am doing things wrong and that I will never be able to grow by working more than on muscle group per session. However, I just go on my merry way and tell them I am going to feast on pudding, cake and cereal when I get home. That usually ends the conversation abruptly.
Thanks for this post, love to read things relating to lifting and looking sexy
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I was at the gym the other day, doing same sets as my male friend (unfortunately can’t do as heavy, yet). A girl comes up to me and says “it’s not clever to copy a guy’s workout”. “Ummm, I mean why?” I asked. “They have different goals” the girl replied. I just smiled at her (though wanted to ask “what you think my goals are” and explain the basics of biology to her).
More good stuff. I adding to you to my blogroll. Thanks.
I think cardio is fine as long as it’s within the context of your goals and that you are not overdoing it. I like to listen to RATM when I am training – that is a stress reliever in itself!
It’s good to read you are strength training – far too many women are still hung up on all the hype and BS out there about how a woman should train.
I started “lifting like a man” 10/27/08. I love it. But I could never give up my cardio either. It’s stress relief. And, yes, I am afraid of gaining fat (again.) But mostly I just love the cardio session. I like the music and being “within myself” for that time. (I never listen to music when lifting b/c I”m clumsy enough without it)
@Mickey: yes I completely agree. It’s all about education and I am all about results.
@James: yes, to look like the women in the oxygen mags, one needs muscle. Jean is definitely a very attractive woman indeed.
Great post!
I love it how these days the sexy “look” requires some muscle.
God damn Jean is a goddess!
Great post, JC!
Hopefully, if enough of us keep dispelling the myths, women will start getting some real results for their time at the gym.