With the current euphoria of the Para Olympic, new world records are being set on events like backstroke swimming by athletes who have no hands! They have stood their ground so to speak and engraved the sayings deep inside our hearts, “disability is not inability!” Proudly adorning their hard earned medals. Raises up question our own commitment to fitness have been so blessed with able hands, legs, and vivid vision.
Our old excuses of time, oh! Work! Oh kids, Oh wife, Oh family, Oh money, hold no value at the sight of such an intense group of people. Makes me question my own abilities being sure that I probably cannot stand their training routine let alone competition.
Talking of training routines, I had the privilege to Google out one outstanding female athletes at the just concluded London Olympics namely Allyson Felix from U.S.A. We can critize her speed and good form by accrediting it to good genetics. But, truth be told good genetics do not get you there. It’s just a misnomer used by lazy people finding excuse as to why they are the way they are. Bill Gates once said, “If you were born poor, it’s not your fault. If you die poor, that’s your fault.” Adding on to that I will say, “If you were born overweight, It’s not your fault, But If you die overweight, that is your fault my friend.”
Revisiting my story of Allyson Felix, I searched out her workout routine to my amazement. Her workout routine consist of majorly weight training. As a matter of fact, heavy weight training. Her records off the track consist of 700lbs dead lift and 250lbs squats. She spends quality time on the gym as much as she does on the tract.
Despite the fact that she is a professional athlete, it is needless to say that weight training for women is very good and recommended. The old myth popularly believe by millions of women across the globe says, “if you lift weight you will look like a man,” is not only false but also old fashioned.
Women can lift weights comfortably without the fear of looking like a man. The female hormones estrogen and progesterone are responsible for suppressing the testosterone in women there by inhibiting any excess muscle even when demand is put on the trained muscle. Furthermore, building muscles require way too much effort, protein and supplementation that would be far a goal to reach even if any women wanted to achieve this deliberately. If building weights was that easy, I’m sure all the men I know would look like super models, wrestlers or those freaks we see on magazines. Just ask your brother. Gaining a kilo of muscle requires great effort, maintaining it requires even more. I urge women to embrace weight training and in corporate it to their aerobics, aqua and cardio sessions at least twice a week. Circuit training has proven to be fun and taxing when done in groups.
Increasing your lean skeleton muscles plays a major role in weight lose. In fact, “the easiest way to lose weight is to use weight.” The science behind it is; the more lean skeleton muscles you have, the high your metabolic rate will raise, this effect ripples down to the well known truth that the higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you will burn, the more calories you burn, the more weight you lose. Running on the tread mill is like driving to the office and then switching off your car until evening. Whereas weight training is like driving to the office and leaving the car engine running. You burn out all fuel, thus it is with weight training. With the treadmill, once you step off it, your calories counter slows down and soon goes back to normal. While with weights, your calories counter stays on for up to 48 hours! Next time you are at the gym, save yourself some years of treadmill running and hit some weights. Ask for assistance from the always present instructors if need be. Upgrade and leave old myths to ignorant people. Be wise enough, try something new. I heard you say you would do anything, anything to lose some weight. There you have it. Use weights to lose the weight.
