Women Need Muscle Too — Time to Get Toned!

Here’s something you may not know about me:  I was a personal trainer my first year after graduating college.

It was actually one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had. I’ve always had a passion for fitness and nutrition and that job allowed me to pay the bills doing something I really enjoyed. During my time personal training, I garnered a good size clientele which was comprised of quite a few women. Without fail, I would hear the same thing from every one of them… “I don’t want to lift heavy weights and become big and muscular like a man.” To that I would reply, “you don’t have the testosterone to become big and muscular like a man.”  

So many women are afraid of the word “muscle” because they have images of giant female bodybuilders who look more like NFL linebackers in their mind. Let me tell you, those women look that way because they’re on some things that aren’t so natural. The truth is, to create a lean and toned physique, everyone must acquire muscle. 

Muscle growth occurs during rest after you have broken down your muscle fibers in the gym through exercise. During that rest period, the muscle fibers (myofibrils) will grow back stronger and thicker with the help of the protein and nutrients you supply your body. 

So what should you be doing in the gym to create a lean and toned physique? You should be killing it! You want to take your body to an uncomfortable place. If your muscles aren’t burning, you’re not going hard enough. So many people stroll around the gym, doing a few exercises, chat with their friends, grab a smoothie and call it a day. That’s not going to get it done. You have to put in the work if you truly want to see results.  How much weight should you use? As much as you can as long you are hitting the rep range you’re shooting for. If you’re hitting the rep range easily, it’s time to increase the weight. Again, make it uncomfortable.

As a general guideline, I tell people to keep their rep range around 10-20 and their sets to around 3-5. Each body part should require anywhere from 12-16 sets during a given workout.

For example: if you’re working legs, you may want to do 4 sets of squats, 4 sets of walking lunges, 3 sets of leg extensions and 3 sets of leg curls. Combined, you’ve worked your legs for a total of 14 sets (10-20 reps each set).

While lifting weights, you want to make sure you’re also getting a cardiovascular workout as well. I recommend 30-45 seconds rest between each set. This will be a pace that will keep your heart rate up throughout the workout and it will also keep your muscles burning the entire time. Cardio=calorie burn=fat loss. Fat loss+muscle=lean and toned.

I’ll post specific workout routines in the coming days but until then, get in the gym and kill it!

Summer is just around the corner.

To read more about my life and how I met Catherine, buy my New York Times best selling book “For the Right Reasons.”