Weight training and dieting for the ideal feminine body
Dr. Elesa Argent has a PhD in Sport Management, is a qualified spin, aerobics and Pilates matwork coach and Figure competitor and is a Senior Lecturer in Sport Studies.
When female friends ask me the quickest way to lose a few pounds and get in better shape, I always tell them to hit the weights room and work on increasing their muscular size and volume. I often get a wide-eyed response; then, the inevitable ‘but I don’t want to get really muscly’ comment that tends to follow shortly afterwards. If only it were that simple and quick to put on muscle! In fact, if it were, preparing for Figure competitions would be a whole lot easier!
As a Figure competitor, I’ve reached the British Finals twice and won a regional championship, including the award for Female Best Presentation for my category. In order to win, I need to achieve a feminine, lean, athletic body; the best route to achieving this is by hitting the weights room and cardio 4-5 times a week. I am passionate about attracting more women to the weights room, as it really is the easiest and quickest route to a beautiful physique. But...I get frustrated by popular misconceptions that women shouldn’t hit the weights if they want to look feminine-a total lie! In fact, combined with the right trainer and the right diet, I believe that there is no limit to what a female can achieve by hitting the gym and pumping some iron.
So...here are my top tips for building the most beautiful, feminine body that you can-exploding some myths and providing some diet sips that should get you on your way!
- Myth: Women shouldn’t lift weights
- Myth: Cardio is the best way to shift extra weight
- If you want to lose weight, you need to eat diet products
- Muscle weighs more than fat
- Hire a good trainer
- A good nights’ sleep will help you get fitter...
Women often worry that people will find them ‘masculine’ if they lift weights. From a scientific standpoint, this myth can easily be blown out of the water. Why? Because for muscles to grow big, you need a lot of testosterone in your body, and women have, on average, 40-60 times less than a male! So to begin with, there is no way on earth you can naturally match the muscle gain of a man, in terms of volume and size.
So how exactly does weight training affect the female body? Simply put, it will significantly increase your lean muscle tissue, so that you turn into a tighter version of your own natural female shape (and by tighter, I mean your butt lifts, your waist gets smaller, your bust gets perkier and your thighs get firmer-what’s unfeminine about that?!) AND it will also increase your natural metabolic rate, so it becomes quite literally harder for you to get fat! This is because muscle is metabolically active and requires a lot of calories to keep it going, whereas fat requires very few calories to exist. If you’re a person who thinks ‘I only have to look at a piece of chocolate, and I put on weight!’ then weight training might really be perfect for you!
Science can give us even more ammunition to bust this myth: osteoporosis (brittle bones) is a debilitating disease that affects 7million people in the UK, most of whom are female. The medical community rate weight-bearing exercise as a vital weapon in the fight against the disease. Given that being female puts you in a high risk category for this disease, weight training couldn’t be more perfectly suited to this particular need of the female body in the maintenance of health.
Whilst cardio exercise (Spin, Step, running, etc) is an excellent method of working out, it is FAR more effective when combined with resistance exercise. Why slave away for hours on the treadmill, when combining it with some weight lifting will give you far quicker results? Working out with free weights and using resistance machines will maximise your fat loss.
In my opinion, this is a big no! Diet products are often loaded with salt and sugar, and are often only carbohydrate-based (e.g. low fat cakes and muffins). Carbohydrate only meals will raise your blood sugar, which in turn leads to a peak in your insulin levels (promoting fat storage) and then a corresponding drop in blood sugar (which will make your body crave sugary food). Salt will make you retain water and feel bloated and the hunger pangs you’ll experience from all of this will make it impossible to get food out of your mind! If you cut down your calories too much, your metabolism will slow down and your body will learn to hold on to fat, so when you start eating normally again, your weight will balloon. Disaster!
The simple solution to all this is to instead always have a mix of protein, good fats (oily fish, nuts, etc) and carbohydrate in EVERY meal, plus fibre, lots of water, and, ideally, a source of vitamins and minerals. The protein acts as a natural appetite regulator, too, and will feed your hungry muscles, helping you to attain that lean, athletic look quicker. An added bonus is that this healthy approach will lower cellulite, improve the appearance of your hair, skin and nails and give you more energy. A lean, athletic curvy body and a healthy, energetic, sparkling appearance is the aim of any Figure or Fitness competitor, and couldn’t be more feminine!
Muscle doesn’t actually weigh more than fat, but it is a lot denser: and because it is more dense (20%), it is far more metabolically active, hence the reason why it helps you burn more calories (even at rest), and why you might end up looking leaner, dropping a dress size but finding that the scales change very little! That is to say...a pound of muscle burns more fat than a pound of fat ever could!
On a related note....fat cannot turn into muscle, or vice versa! They are two completely different entities. The only way to get lean is to lose fat and build muscle...
It is really important that you hire a good personal trainer or instructor to help you achieve your goals. Lifting weights, hitting the cardio and maintaining a tough dieting and exercise regime is no mean feat, and you need a specialist to help you achieve your goals. When you start working out, you need to know that what you are doing is effective and safe, and you need motivation and encouragement. There are also so many stupid training myths out there, that you need someone knowledgeable to cut through the crap and concentrate on the hard facts with you.
Science tells us that there are positively significant correlations between a lack of sleep and weight gain, including interruptions to your body’s appetite regulation mechanism. So if you aren’t getting 8 hours sleep or more, per night, then you will be compromising all of your hard gains that you’ve made in the gym!
Dr. Elesa Argent BA (Hons), MSc, PhD is an experienced sports and fitness professional. Having graduated from Loughborough University in 2006 with a PhD in Sport Science, Elesa is currently employed as a Senior Lecturer in Sport Studies at the University of Hertfordshire, in addition to being the Head of Research for BUAFL.
Previous to this, Dr. Argent spent many years working within the sports sector, in positions as diverse as FE and HE Sports Studies lecturer (City of Westminster College, Loughborough College, Loughborough University), Sports Editor and Features Writer, Spin instructor, Pilates instructor, assistant weightlifting coach, aerobics instructor, personal trainer, project support for a global sports challenge (IBM Global Services) and Head of Operations for a South African investment banking consultancy.
Elesa recently qualified as an assistant American football coach and was previously a team member of the 2003 Loughborough Goldrush squad that won the universities national cheerleading title that year. Elesa was also previously a natural bodybuilding regional champion (Figure category) and two-time British finalist.
Dr. Argent has spoken at a number of national and international academic conferences, including the North American Society for Sport Management, the European Association for Sport Management and the British Psychological Society, and published in a number of academic journals. She is also a member of the North American Society for Sport Management. Her research interests include the strategic development of the sport of American football in the UK, development of character and leadership via sport participation, natural bodybuilding and boxing.
