Stop babying yourselves! Pick up some weight, ladies! You’re stronger than you think you are!
The number one thing that I consistently see women do incorrectly at the gym is lift without enough resistance. There is no reason a healthy adult should be performing a bent over row with a 5 pound dumbbell.
I have heard it a thousand times before: “You must be crazy!” or “Ok, so I see your weight, now where’s mine?” Female clients love to say things like this to me if I hand them a dumbbell that weighs more than 15 lbs. I usually just laugh and tell them to stop crying and get to work. The fact is most women grossly underestimate their own strength. As a trainer, this common misconception is one of the most fun for me to overturn. It’s fast and easy to reverse–and all it takes is a little tutelage and confidence. I love when a woman realizes how strong she really is! It’s empowering for both client and trainer!
Some women use small weights because they don’t want to get big, bulky muscles. Please do not worry–as long as you are doing 12-15 reps per set, you will not be taxing your body in the right way to trigger a gain in muscle mass. Besides, you probably aren’t eating a diet conducive to muscle gain, you don’t have the correct hormone balance to gain a ton of muscle, and you probably don’t have the genetic predisposition for big bulky muscles. Look around the gym. 90% of the young men you see have been lifting weights since they were 18 years old with the intention of gaining those same big, bulky muscles that you are trying to avoid. And guess what… even with their hormones and their genetics and their high protein diets and their competitive nature, most of them still don’t have those big bulky muscles.
It takes a specific program of lifting, eating and supplementation to achieve rapid muscle gain, even for the manliest of men. So don’t worry ladies–your arms will stay small and pretty, even with bigger dumbbells. So challenge yourselves!
As long as you can do at least 12 reps for the first 2 sets, you are not holding too much weight. Conversely, If you can do 20 or more reps during the first set, you are not holding enough weight. Aim for 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps for each exercise; and try to fit at least 5 total exercises into your workout. This rule of thumb can be applied to virtually any resistance training exercise, regardless of the equipment used. It works with curls, presses, rows, extensions, lunges, squats, and also bands, dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, and sandbags.
Remember: Technique is always most important! If you don’t have a trainer to show you how to properly execute the exercise, don’t just take your boyfriend’s word for it–ask a professional to show you proper form.
