News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
It used to be that there was a kind of de facto segregation at the gym. Women stuck to the treadmill, the stairclimber, the aerobics class, and the men hit the weights. A woman who ventured into the weight room was, um... unusual.
All that is changing, and for very good reasons. Strength training, whether it's with weights or bodyweight, is vital to women's health and fitness. Resistance training not only increases your physical strength, joint stability and flexibility, it can increase bone density, offsetting the dangers of osteoporosis.
Many women work out to lose weight - and tend to associate weight loss with hours of "cardio" work. Weight training offers an important alternative. Weight training stimulates the metabolism and, as Sue Coxen of Cascade Fitness notes, "more muscle means increased metabolism."
But the idea of "more muscle" is a turnoff to many women.
"They think they don't want to (do weight training) because they don't want to 'bulk up,'" says Khiva Beckwith, who teaches a weight training class for women at Sisters Athletic Club. "Which really can't happen, because they don't produce as much testosterone as men."
Coxen notes that athletic women may look bulked up to the average woman, but that's usually because they have more lean muscle and a lower body fat percentage than the average woman.
The health benefits of strength training are legion.
"Combined with cardio, it helps lower your blood pressure and your cholesterol - providing you're also eating well," Coxen says.
A good mix of strength training and cardio is probably the goal to shoot for. Beckwith makes weight training a significant part of her own workout routine.
"I do weights 2-3 days a week; I do cardio 3-5 days a week," she says. "I cross train. I don't do the same thing every day."
Beckwith also recommends a somewhat more aggressive approach to cardio work.
"Interval training burns a lot more calories than if you were to just be at a steady state," she says.
Mixing things up keeps workouts interesting and avoids overuse injuries. Sometimes it's fun - and very beneficial - to combine strength training with cardio through circuit training, either on your own, with a trainer, or in a class.
Victoria Adelus and Josh Field use the class environment to pull together a variety of fitness elements in their Bend Adventure Boot Camp at Sisters Park & Recreation District.
"We're trying to bring all the workout pieces of the puzzle together," Field said.
Participants use dumbbells and bodyweight exercises in resistance training that is paced fast enough to also provide a good cardio workout.
"You need both to work together to get the results that women want," Adelus said.
The program also focuses on agility, flexibility, and good eating habits as well as strength and cardiovascular fitness.
Participants are often surprised at the effect of bodyweight exercises.
"What people don't understand is that bodyweight exercises can be more challenging than weights," Adelus said.
Gauged in terms of effects, using bodyweight exercises or free weights is better than using machines. But that remains a tough sell to a lot of women.
Coxen laughs as she recounts the reaction of many women to being taken into "The Doghouse," the free weights room at Cascade Fitness.
"They just freak out," she says. "They associate it with a bunch of ... dudes sweating, grunting and making a lot of noise."
Women need to get over it. The use of free weights has a lot of benefits. Coxen notes that many machines are built on a scale for men and don't fit women well. And free weights give a better workout.
"Free weights help you strengthen your small stabilizers...more than machines do," Coxen says.
As a trainer, Coxen uses free weights to craft customized routines that help clients work around and rehabilitate problem areas or injuries.
Beckwith believes machines have their place.
"The machines are great for beginners," she says. "They're really self-explanatory, they're easy to use and they're safe. Using free weights, you do need to have more experience. I usually do the free weight stuff for the more advanced clients."
Beckwith says that a lot of women are more comfortable hitting the weights as part of a class.
"They like the support, the camaraderie of other women," she says. "They're all in the same position, being unsure and intimidated going into the weight room."
Whether you're using machines, free weights or the weight of your own body, resistance training is the key to creating a strong, fit, and attractive body.
As myths are busted and health professionals come to recognize the importance of strength training to a healthy lifestyle, more and more women are venturing into the realm of iron, and finding out it's not so intimidating after all.
Strength is good.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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