Ditch the cardio and start lifting weights: here’s why

Cardio is known to be the holy grail when it comes to losing weight. Everyone swears on it, and because of these strong opinions, people don’t want to hit the weight room. There are a lot of misconceptions with lifting weights for women and many fear it, but I am here to wipe all of these myths away and motivate you to start doing resistance training. It is time to be your strongest self!

The myths of lifting weights

If you are a woman, you have probably been told before that lifting will cause you to bulk up and lose your “feminine figure.” This is completely bogus and I am here to tell you that you will not become too swole if you work on strength. Also, this is just a sexist myth that roots from fragile masculinity that so happened to carry on into this century. Ignore this myth and better yourself the way you want to.

Why would you not want to get stronger? The process of growing through lifting is so rewarding and you will be more in tune with yourself. Last year, I could only curl six pound weights and now I can curl 20’s. The process of getting to that level was very tough for me and there was plenty of self-doubt, but I am so happy I never quit.

Another misconception with lifting weights is that you don’t burn enough calories from it. This is not only false, but I have also burned more calories from lifting than cardio based workouts in the past. And when I say you burn, I truly mean it. Some of the most grueling yet rewarding workouts I have done were in the weight room.

Cardio also does not guarantee muscle growth. In fact, you might be burning the muscle you have gained instead if you are doing an extensive amount of cardio.  To balance this out, lifting weights would be beneficial for you. 

Starting out

Starting off with lifting weights for the first time can be intimidating and I completely acknowledge that. When I started going to a weight room, I feared being the only woman in there and the possible  judgment that can come with that. I was the girl who would go on the treadmill for an hour and barely see any results and wonder what I was doing wrong. Lifting was a foreign thing to me and I was too scared to just go for it. I wanted to gain some type of confidence before I hit the weight. What I did is I started off with group lifting classes. This taught me how to lift properly while being in the presence of other beginners and professionals who were there to guide me. This also built my confidence enough over time for me to go start lifting in a weight room setting.

The next step I took after group classes was that I went to the gym with a friend who had enough experience to correct my form or faults in my newfound activity. It is also very fun to have a friend so this activity with you. It makes the experience overall less intimidating and make sure you are starting this out with a judgement free person that you trust. This is definitely worth doing and will be a great bonding activity for you and that friend.

Finally, after these steps, I built up the courage to hit the weight room and start lifting weights. Something that I learned is that it is all about confidence. If you are confident in the exercises you do and you carry yourself out with barely any care, the looks from people at your gym will mean a lot less. Stepping into the weight room alone for the first time was still intimidating even with the experience I gained beforehand, but you kind of have to rip the bandaid off. Also, at the end of the day, who cares? The gym is about bettering yourself for you. Not for others.

The benefits of lifting

Getting into lifting is a very rewarding experience as I have already mentioned. The benefits are plentiful and once you get into a rhythm, you will be wondering why you didn’t start earlier.

The visible strength you gain.

While it does take a while to see results (around 8 months for women), the journey will be all worth it when you do start seeing them. When I started seeing my biceps and quads getting bigger, I was overjoyed. As someone who was never able to gain muscle and is naturally skinny, seeing these results were life changing for me.

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Increase in stamina

Even though lifting does not necessarily increase heart rate like a cardio workout does, it still helps with endurance for everyday activities. You will find yourself more alert and less tired than if you were before. You will also have stamina for heavier lifting. If you want to feel refreshed, lifting is definitely the way to go.

Boost in self-confidence

Weightlifting is a great way to gain not only strength, but also self love. Seeing your accomplishments through your hard work and dedication is the most rewarding part of it all. The more you do it, the more you will be in tune with yourself both mentally and physically. Looks are not everything and should not be the only reason you are working out, but it is definitely an add on and the results will add to your confidence. Mentally, you will feel so proud of yourself as well.

Now it is your turn to debunk the myths and go on and achieve the things you have always wanted to achieve. I hope that my insight on weightlifting will inspire you to get out of your comfort zone and try new things, but if not, that is perfectly fine too. Gaining the confidence to be comfortable being uncomfortable is tough.

What is your favorite type of way to work out? Let us know in the comments because I am very interested to hear your opinions!