Why Women Must Do Weight Training

A lot of the people I talk to about fitness have a lot of major misconceptions about fitness: Biceps curls should be done in the squat rack, squats are bad for your knees, the more instability you introduce the better, and my personal favorite --->  there are workouts for men and workouts for women. It blows my mind that there is a huge majority of women who think that they need to do 1000 reps at 2 pounds and it will make them sexy. For guys, well that's another story for a different post, but mostly it involves a disbelief in stretching, core work, and cardio.

I listen to a lot of fitness professionals radio programs and podcasts, and the range of advice ranges from excellent, to terrible, to dangerous, to just plain silly. A common theme in the questions that are asked by women is about how to lose weight without bulking up. I want to address some of the concerns and objections women typically have with weight training.

 Objection: I know my body; as soon as I start lifting weights, I get really big really fast.

My Answer: If it's within the first 3 months that you're "bulking up" than don't worry about it. Seriously. What's going on is that your muscles are being torn by weight training and your body, with the intent of repairing your muscles, sends more blood to the area to fix it and get more nutrients to the muscle. Think about sports injuries, when you twist your ankle it swells up, right? Same crap. Your body is adapting to a new input. Stick with your weight program for a minimum of three months.

If you've been working out for a while and are still afraid of increasing the weight that you're lifting I'm going to share a BIG secret with you

Gain Weight Fast

As crazy as it sounds gaining weight fast is very hard for some people. It all depends on your body type, and genetics. Some people eat a little and get fat, when others eat a lot and get skinnier. If you are reading this article then you are probably someone who often asks themselves "How can I gain weight Fast?" I am here to tell you how.

People who can't gain weight fast or easily are called Ectomorphs. This means you are a typical skinny guy who has long limbs, and some lean muscle. Many people call them Hardgainers. You work your butt of at the gym, but you don't see any improvements. Unfortunately, you can never change your body type, but you can change the way you look.

If you want to gain weight fast then you have to eat like a horse, literally. You should be eating around 4000 Calories a day. Without a surplus of calories, you cannot gain muscle. I know, this seems like a lot but, it's not too hard. The most important thing is planning your meals. Try to eat 6 smaller meals instead of 3 large meals. Eating smaller meals helps your body absorb the food better. It digests your food faster, resulting in less fat, and more muscle.

Protein is a big part of bulking up. You should have between 200-300 grams of protein a day, depending on your body weight. If you do this it will help you to gain weight fast. Make sure you have about 35 grams of protein per meal. You can buy protein supplements to get quick easy protein. Lean meats contain large amounts of proteins, and are very healthy for you. Try to eat lots of chicken, beef, turkey, and fish every day.

 Taking vitamins everyday is important when bulking up, let alone living a healthy lifestyle. Take a good multivitamin everyday. Be sure to take vitamin C also. Fish Oils, and flaxseed oils are essential. They are great for your heart, and help you gain weight fast.