Last week I posted two articles on women and weight training. This be the third article addressing the topic of toning muscle. One of the most commonly-stated myths in women’s health is that you can “tone” your muscle without building muscle. There is no difference in these terms, but the fitness industry and media use these terms to trick women by making them think they don’t have to worry about building bulky muscles. Women are misled into believing they can “tone muscles”. This is an aesthetically-pleasing euphemism that’s very effective in marketing. “Tone” is a term women’s fitness magazines use as an alternative to “building muscle”. To avoid the chance that women will envision images of steroid-induced, huge, bulky women bodybuilders, slick marketers use the “toned muscle” terminology in their advertising. The toning myth has led to another misconception: Women should workout differently than men. The toning misconception is strongly supported by the media and fitness industry for the sole reason of selling gender-targeted activities and gym memberships. This, of course is at the expense of your fitness goals. The marketing gender is powerful and is done so for good reason-profits. Fitness clubs sell memberships to women according to classes that are appealing. Clubs that have the latest treadmills with insulated cup-holders to keep your water cool or high-tech, selectorized weight machines that are stylish are all part of the plan to attract the female client. Statistics indicate that females make up two-thirds (66%) of all gym members. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on appealing to selling to women. Helping you get results is secondary to what’s best for the health clubs. What women need to assess when they’re looking to become a member of a gym are the free weights such as the dumbbells and barbells, number of benches, and area to perform your core-training exercises. Instead, what we observe is the sales person walking a potential gym member through the gym, showing you the fancy equipment. The key point is this: Women don’t have special needs as it relates to a method of training to develop a fit, strong and feminine body. Anyone telling you otherwise is lacking in knowledge and experience. The truth is women need to train using the same type of equipment, applying the same principles of training, and performing the same exercise routines as men. There’s no such concept as exercises for men and exercises for women. All the crap you see in women’s fitness magazines only serves to sabotage women’s effort to making crucial, life-changing progress to shaping the body and getting lean. If you have any doubts about what I’m saying, take the time to do some research and read about the fitness philosophies of some of the foremost strength and conditioning authorities in the nation such as, Alwyn Cosgrove, John Berardi, Shawn Phillips, Tom Venuto or Bret Contreras. It drives me crazy whenever I see personal trainers at the gym, training women using weights so small they could perform 40 repetitions. The usual nonsense remark is this is the way to “tone” their muscles to look “slim and “feminine”. In reality, all they’re doing is wasting their clients’ hard-earned time and money. The only way to see real change in your muscles is to stress them enough and force them to get stronger. Our bodies adapt very quickly to the same stressors. This is where CrossFits philosophy of constantly varied comes into play. CrossFit is unique in that you have both men and women working out together, doing the exact same workout, with the exception of the amount of weight used, which is determined by the individual and not by gender. It creates a feeling of community and team effort unlike anything else in the fitness industry. Its much more than aerobics with weights. My next article will deal with diet, and how to eat based on your fitness goals.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:55:39 +0000
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