MUSCLES and Curves (Why I lift weights).

So far, I've focused almost exclusively on the "Curves" portion of this blog because that's what I've been actively thinking about lately, but I'd like to talk about weight training, too. Weight training has played such a big role in my life for the past few years, that it's become "standard" and not necessarily something I need to think about anymore-- and therefore, it has taken me a while to discuss it here.

I've also received a few comments (much appreciated!) expressing interest in weight training, and man, have I ever slurped down that weight-training koolaid. I love it! But I didn't always feel that way. There's no one routine that is perfect for everybody, so this is an introductory post to discuss a bit on the why and how I became interested in weight training, and why I still make it a priority.

Weight-training was a journey for me, just like weight loss. I remember when I was 18, taking fitness center as my gym requirement in college. Because I didn't want to "bulk up" I did one set of 18-20 reps on each machine, and then I'd get on the treadmill for 15 minutes and call it a work out. Don't misinterpret my meaning: I think ANY exercise that people choose to get is much better than none, but on the other hand, I get really angry at the myth of "bulking up" that is so pervasively espoused among women. Not strength training, with heavy weights and relatively lower reps, is generally not going to give as much in terms of visual, or effective (being stronger) results.

Those women that look rather uncomfortably like men, that you sometimes see in non-tested weight lifting competitions? Those women are taking steroids. Some women will build  muscle more easily than others-- but no woman is going to look like a male body builder without steroids and a hell of a lot of really hard work, in an attempt to get there. It cannot happen. Women do not have enough testosterone to build muscle that looks like it does on a man (or a woman on major doses of steroids).

There is a fantastic book about weight lifting for women, called The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift like a Man, Look like a Goddess, full of fantastic and informative advice, which I would highly recommend. It's totally not necessary, but it was the original stimulus that really got me over the weight training hump, and convinced me that it was something that I really, truly wanted to do, and that would give me the results that I wanted. Lou Schuler has a way with words that is equally engaging, amusing, and down to earth, and Alwyn Cosgrove (who wrote the exercise regimes featured in the book) provides some truly bad-ass workouts. (I recommend this book for reading from the library because it's tailored for a female audience, but I'd actually recommend looking at The New Rules of Lifting for Life a new book by the same authors, if you are looking for an exercise routine-- more on that later, though I'm not sure I have time to go into it now).

As a brief summary, there are rules (NEW rules!) listed in the book, like these (but with a lot more detail and discussion):

1. The purpose of lifting weights is to build muscle. 2. Muscle is hard to build. [...] 5. No workout will make you taller.

Well, duh. All of those are really obvious... but let's think about the words used to market exercise to women: you see a lot of "toning" promised. And sculpting, and shaping, and lengthening.That is... bull. Bull sheet.

Why?

You know what exercise can't do? Change your anatomy. Muscles are connected to tendons, that attach to bones. Exercise can't change where your muscle is inserting-- so if, like me, you have a quadricep tendon that attaches right above your knee, you aren't going to be able to shift where that tendon is attached, no matter how much yoga or pilates you do. Likewise, exercise will not change the overall size, shape, or length of your bones. It will never make me taller, no matter how much I would enjoy being taller.

Muscle does help to make women look healthy and fit. You know what else it does, longer term and more importantly? It keeps your quality of life higher, especially as you age.

I almost ended up spending a few hours looking up and reading peer-reviewed papers on aging women, but it's not the best way to spend my time right now. Generally, increased grip strength is correlated with increased survival in older women. Being stronger reduces the risk of osteoporosis, and increased lean body mass is also correlated with decreased risk of osteoporosis.

Much like weight loss, when I thought about what I had to gain from strength training, versus what I would gain from not doing it and doing other more traditionally "female" exercises, it was such an obvious decision that there was no choice at all.

I feel like I've spent a lot of my life feeling self-conscious and awkward in my own skin, because I wasn't athletic, and I wasn't strong. I couldn't climb that rope in grade school. I still can't really throw a ball really far (that's more related to coordination than strength and physical ability now, though). 

For me, weight training is one way to make myself feel capable of doing what I want when the spirit hits me-- whether climbing a tree; going up 6 flights of stairs, two at a time, without gasping for breath at the top; or even when we tiled the basement laundry room floor. I was able to pick up that 60 pound bag of grout and pour it into the bucket, and mix it, without anyone else's help. (I still dropped that bag of grout on my toe, though-- no amount of weight training will completely resolve that I am a bit of a klutz). 

I want to be strong so I will be a healthy old lady someday, who still loves life. I want to strength train so I'm a healthy adult, who can enjoy to the fullest extent my time now, without feeling tired because I'm in bad shape. I want my muscles to be balanced and healthy, so I don't suffer from injuries. That's a lot more important to me than pursuing an impossible dream, in which I am 5'10" with "long, lean muscles" and have low body fat with no extra muscle anywhere on my body.

I also want maximum bang for my time, when I'm in the gym-- and steady state cardio (like biking, walking, running, or plodding on an elliptical) bores the tar out of me, unless I'm outside and enjoying nature. Weight training gives me the best results for my time spent in the gym (which is normally about 2-3 days a week for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on whether I need to shower there or not). Since I want to exercise to improve my quality of life, it doesn't make sense to me to spend a great portion of this life in the gym.

I don't have any "strength training" before and after pictures, because I started strength training about 20 pounds into my weight loss.

After looking through old and more current pictures (I really wish I had a before picture that included my legs-- My legs are one of my favorite attributes post weight-training), I think they might be helpful for showing what weight loss and increased muscle can do, while also demonstrating what it can't do:

You can see how I've slimmed down, and how much better my posture is (posture: made possible by weight-training, but daily vigilance in correcting bad posture is also vital). But my arms and body still have the same essential shape. I'm still me, just a smaller, stronger version of myself-- and that's why I think it's important to learn to like yourself and your body now, because you can never leave yourself behind, for the rest of your life. I'll never look like Audrey Hepburn, but I can look like a healthy, happy version of me. Part of that, for me, is taking the best care of myself and my body that I can.

Strength training does that for me.

Edited to Add: I'm having some issues with allergies and rashes right now, so I'm trying to wait until I'm looking and feeling a little better to take pictures of my Urkye order. You can, however, see the Dwulicowa zielona tuba top (in size 36oo/ooo) in the "after" pictures above. I've been wearing my new Urkye clothing as much as possible, and I will try to get up a review within a week!

I hope the brief preview will help!