Are you overweight and want to lose body fat?
Then lift heavy. Don’t make the mistake of thinking heavy weightlifting will bulk up your body.
It’s a compelling phenomenon: The fatter a woman at the gym, the lighter the weights she lifts.
I have observed this time and time again over the years.
This isn’t because plus size women are weak. Not at all.
If anything, they’re on an even playing field when compared to thinner women with similar strength training backgrounds.
A very overweight body has adapted to supporting all those extra pounds, which is why obese women should have no difficulty performing most of the same weightlifting routines as thinner women.
The secret to reinventing your body, to shrinking it, to tightening it, to trimming those thighs and shearing inches off the stomach…is to lift heavy weights.
Lifting Heavy Will Not Make Fat Women Bigger
If you actually believe that using heavy weights will make you larger, then ask yourself just how this happens.
For instance, ask yourself: Does lifting a heavy barbell add fat to your fat cells?
Ask this: Just HOW does heavy strength training cause a size 20 woman to balloon to size 24?
Intense Heavy Strength Training Shrinks the Body
Shutterstock/Phat1978
In an obese woman, her fat cells are often overloaded with stored energy, manifesting as excess fat.
Simple cardio exercises, such as endless pedaling on equipment or participating in dance classes, simply are not be sufficient to effectively reduce a large volume of fat.
While these activities can lead to some initial weight loss, they often don’t provide the necessary stimulus to significantly deplete fat reserves stored in cells.
Low-impact group fitness classes and light exercises like walking on a treadmill or performing minimal strength training, such as using a 45-pound lat pull-down, might show some early results.
However, these activities alone will not be enough to create substantial changes in body composition.
For more significant and sustained fat loss, a combination of higher-intensity workouts and strength training is typically required.
Additionally, addressing dietary habits and overall lifestyle changes is a big component.
To force the body to ransack oversized fat cells for their energy, the body needs to get hammered. There’s no other way around this.
Women who have very toned, fit looking, lean and mean physiques work hard — very hard.
They often engage in intense workouts that combine serious strength training, cardiovascular exercises and flexibility routines.
This dedication includes not only challenging exercise regimens but also a commitment to proper nutrition and recovery.
They meticulously plan their workouts, progressively increasing intensity and incorporating a variety of exercises to target different muscle groups.
They don’t dilly-dally around. They don’t just stand there lackadaisically curling 5-pound dumbbells.
They typically do these exercises for optimal fat-burning.
If you’re sick and tired of being fat, you need to change your game plan in the gym and stop sabotaging your workouts.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
.
