A lot of people, quite often men, call on their ‘expert knowledge’ when giving advice to women and this usually involves a set of weight loss exercises for women that have been developed ‘specifically for women’. Despite this being the case it probably isn’t true; yes researchers may have found some exercises that are easier or more effective for certain women, but that doesn’t mean they are a fantastic option for every woman despite her goals. There certainly aren’t any exercises that are just for men and you won’t start sprouting chest hair if you try them.
The exercises that are best for you will differ from everyone else, this is true regardless of gender and happens because of the different lifestyles, diets and bodies we all have. The way your body deals with muscle development and fat burning varies from person to person; the diet you have and lifestyle you have impact on this, but it is your goals that are most important. If your overall aim is to lose weight and increase physical fitness then you probably won’t be sitting on the weights for a long period of time, you’d be better off doing a variety of different things to accomplish this. However, if you’re aiming to enter your local amateur strong woman’s contest then you might find yourself doing more of those ‘man exercises’ than most of the guys at your gym do; everything from weight training to bench presses.
There are plenty of people out there who insist diet supplements for women are only for weight loss, this is plain, outright completely false. Not all women are trying to lose weight, just like men they each exercise for different reasons and have different goals. You might think that because you’ve seen a tub of pink, nicely decorated protein powder that was marketed specifically towards women that women really have their own protein powder that they can take. It’s not true; it’s just marketing, like any other product it is used to attract customers and encourage them to buy it, it has all the same stuff as any ‘mans’ protein powder. Protein is important for building muscle and can increase the effectiveness of your workouts regardless of your gender, so there is no reason you should be avoiding it just because of what you think is true.
Another supplement rumour surrounds creatine; with many people insisting that women simply shouldn’t use creatine. The fact of the matter is your body, male or female, produces creatine on its own, this is a chemical that provides essential fuel to your body when performing short-term but high-intensity exercise. Although your body is already making creatine it does not make a great deal, it isn’t something you often need, but if you’re doing a lot of hard exercise and regular, high-intensity resistance training then there is a good possibility you’re using up all the creatine you have naturally, the use of a creatine supplement can replenish this. One of the reasons that creatine is often not recommended for women is that it is associated with weight gain; this is in fact very minor and occurs as a result of your muscles becoming more voluminous, rather than a result of extra fat in the body.
Another reason women tend to avoid the world of fierce exercise is that they have come to believe lifting and heavy levels of exercise cause you to have a masculine body. This is not really the case; the types of exercises you do, the muscles you focus on and the way your body deals with those exercises and develops will all have a big impact. Yes – you could end up looking a bit more masculine, but this is usually because of your DNA more than anything else. Women come in all shapes and sizes, and they certainly don’t come about as a result of ‘man exercises’.
Women are softer than men and shouldn’t be pushing themselves as hard in exercise – you might have heard this one somewhere, but it is completely false. Sadly women’s metabolism is, as a result of all our female hormones, not as good as men’s. If it takes your guy forty minutes of exercise each day to get the result he wanted then it will probably take you fifty or even sixty minutes to get that same result. If women want the same results as men they have to work harder, sadly that is just the way a woman’s body works. However, regular exercise and a healthy diet can improve your metabolism a little and of course the more exercise you do the less difficult it feels. Of course – you might not even want the same results as a man, so doing the same amount of time they do and having less of an effect might be ideal for your targets.
Author Bio:Kate is a keen writer who has a particular interest in health and fitness. She currently writes for Deep Blue Fightwear providers of MMA equipment.
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