Issue 07: Why Girls Need Muscle
Why Girls Need Muscle
There are many myths about muscle building when it comes to female bodies, I’m sure you’ve heard some of them:
- You will bulk up
- If you don’t work out the muscle will turn to fat
- Muscles are ugly on girls
- Eating too much protein is bad for your health
And the list goes on and on… Now let’s debunk some of these myths and look at the truth of why muscles are so important for you.
- It takes a huge amount of focus (hours a day, every day day), high amounts of protein and practically zero carbs to look like the female body builders who compete.
The reality is that you actually get leaner and sleeker by building muscle progressively, one hour a day maybe three times a week. Strength training helps shape and “tighten up” your body, making you look streamlined and fit. It can also correct muscular imbalances and increase awareness of how you carry your body, helping to improve your posture.
- Muscle is muscle, and fat is fat.
The two are made up of completely different cellular matter and are not interchangeable. If you don’t workout, your muscles break down and disappear. If you are eating more calories than you burn, you will gain fat, and that’s when you’ll get flabby.
- In days gone by, the expectation was that females were meant to be submissive and soft, muscles were meant for men.
However, we know the truth of that now. We are not soft, submissive or weak beings (unless we choose to be) – we can pretty much choose to be whoever we want to be. Having a strong body will lift your mood, and increase your self-confidence. Strength training helps to release endorphins and serotonin, the “feel good” hormones.
4. You need protein to build muscle and bones, especially as a teenager, when you’re growing fast.
When you build muscle, you improve fat loss. When lifting weights, you build lean muscle. The more muscle you have, the quicker your metabolism will work. This means that weight training will help to boost your metabolism, and in turn, burn more calories, meaning a reduction in body fat, and aiding weight loss. Research shows that strength training with a protein rich diet builds strong bones, is protective against osteoporosis, slows down the aging process, and reverses your biological age.
And so, to all our girls and young women, I hope this will help you to think about incorporating strength training into your fitness regime. It’s more sustainable than intense cardio workouts, provided you use the right techniques. When you feel good inside and out, you naturally project yourself more confidently in the world.
Stay tuned for more on how you can start to build that strong body in upcoming issues of IMTAC! |
Angelica has run the gamut of growing up in very disciplined environment as an elite Synchronised Swimmer from a young age, to braving teen years of modelling and “thin” expectations to being a strong and purposeful woman who builds up other women, literally and figuratively!
@anhelika23
