After enjoying a great weekend of hockey with some super fun ladies I thought about addressing some of the thoughts that came up over conversations. I always chuckle at the competitiveness of women in sports because emotions can get in the way of fun, hard work and innocent aggression. The different levels of strength, power and skill can be impressive but I always love how guys can duke it out and be best friends as soon as the game is over. Women need to take note of that!
The difference in size and strength is always a topic of conversation. What I always remind females about is to enjoy that strength and power, to stop focusing on the size and shape and push yourself to get as strong as possible.
During a recent fitness course I attended I overheard a woman speak about her next visit to the gym. I was supporting an overpriced fitness clothing company as the employee talked about her guilt of not hitting the gym, so her next visit would probably be at least two hours long: first hitting the treadmill then the elliptical and maybe back to the treadmill. I almost fell on my face! Is this still really happening? So, what I keep hearing is how women tend to be shocked at a strong female and others think they still need to be spending countless hours on cardio equipment. It’s time for women to get serious about strength and power and be proud of it.
Those skinny jeans need to be renamed power jeans. Do you want to be skinny or do you want to be able to support your body, jump when you need to jump, sprint if you need to sprint, push or pull when you need to? Who cares how skinny you are! Those muscles that you work so hard on creating are your icing on the cake! Those muscles will lean you out, utilize more fat and calories. They will create a stronger body and mind and will help protect you as much as possible against injuries. Muscle does not weigh more than fat! The more muscle you have the stronger and leaner you will be. Toss this old myth out the window along with the excessive cardio and fear of lifting heavy.
It’s time for females to take charge of being strong. Why does it have to be so shocking to see a strong woman, a powerful woman? Step up, ladies! Start being the one they talk about…the one they say “wow…she sure is strong!”
Strong Points is written by Rhonda Catt, a certified personal trainer in the North Okanagan. If you have any questions, e-mail rhonda@cattconditioning.com
