Yeah, that’s not me.
Ahhh, time for some estrogen up in here.
My name is Kelly Turner, I am an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and health and fitness writer. Dave asked me to post on the blog every so often to offer a fresh, female perspective on everything fitness, to which I happily agreed (cause you know you can’t say no to Dave, right?)
To start things off right, I’m going to complain about fitness for a bit. Yes, I have devoted my life and career to fitness and healthy living, but there are a few things about the fitness industry that drive me insane, especially as a woman.
I mainly blame the misinformation about fitness on women’s fitness magazines. You know who you are. First, they assume that every woman wants to lose weight, which I find insulting. I’ve stopped reading you, magazines, because even though I do not need to lose weight, you keep telling me I do. Therefore, you are not allowed in my house. I get enough of that from the TV and internet and I will not let anyone tell me how I should look.
My biggest gripe with those magazines, though, is that they shove all women into a box, and then give them The Perfect Workout and Diet Plan (even though they have no idea what your goals, injuries, health, weight, age and attention span is) which goes against what, you know, actually works. They shout “cardio and cutting calories!” with every article and whisper about strength training, or their version of it, which usually caps at 5 pound dumbbells. Or a towel. How the hell do you work out with a towel?
Ladies, weights are your friends.
Do not be scared of weights.
Weights are what gives you that awesome tricep line that will have you wearing halter tops in the winter. Weights are what will lift your butt higher than any surgery could ever hope to. Weights are what will get your metabolism running it’s fastest, your heart rate up higher than any treadmill, and give you the satsifaction of knowing you can carry your kids, the groceries and your purse all while fighting off a would-be attacker.
And guess what? The heavier the weights, the better. But what about bulking up!? What about building so much muscle I can’t fit through a doorway straight on? Short answer: what crack pot gave you that idea, and anyways you don’t have enough testosterone. For my mildly professional answer: click here.
Here is the truth:
Cardio will burn some calories, which may result in weight loss, but you are just going to be a smaller version of your soft self. Soft is not attractive. Firm and ripped and confident are attractive. I’m 5’6″, 120 pounds but, while I have a smaller frame, I love me some heavy weights and it shows. Not to toot my horn, but I have the 6 pack, I have the Kelly Ripa arms, and I can lift more than most people think- and I can tell you, cardio had nothing to do with it. I fell in love with weights because they are the only way you can truly change your body shape, which is actually what most women who say they want to lose weight are looking for.
I view my job as a personal trainer as being responsible for teaching clients everything I know about fitness so they can weed out the crap information they get other places, go into a gym setting and be comfortable because they know exactly what to do, how to do it, and where to go from there once it becomes too easy. I feel women struggle with this most because they get a watered down version of what true fitness looks like. With my next upcoming posts, I will smash common fitness myths and misconceptions that have women chained to their treadmills and calorie counters with nothing to show for it. Maybe you guys will even learn a little something, too.
Kelly Turner is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and health and fitness writer from Seattle, WA. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines, and she currently blogs for Breathe Magazine, Kidglue.com is the Health and Fitness Expert for Twirlit.com and feature fitness writer for FitPeeps.com. To contact Kelly with any questions, you email her at kellycturner@hotmail.com.