The Misconceptions of Women Lifting Weights

So many women are missing out on the incredible health benefits that come with lifting weights due to misconceptions that come from friends, family and possibly most importantly the media. We are constantly bombarded with images of overly muscular women and so naturally I don’t blame women for thinking that if they lift weights they will turn into something resembling a she-hulk. However what some women don’t realise is that those images we see of women with incredible bums, lean arms and perfect stomachs that we all aspire to look like actually achieve their physics through weight lifting. Through this post I hope to squash some of the rumours surrounding female weight lifting and hopefully encourage some of you to incorporate weight training into your workouts.

Misconception # 1: If I lift weights I will get ‘bulky’

This is the most common misconception and I hear it all the time. Even my own family ask me; aren’t I scared of getting too big? The short answer, no, no, NO! As females we don’t have the levels of testosterone in our bodies that is needed to support a ‘bulky’ physique. The women we see who are incredibly muscular have either achieved that through years and years of targeted and controlled training or most likely through hormone supplementation. However if you go into the gym and pick up a dumbbell you’re not automatically going to develop huge muscles. Muscle growth is slow and achieved by specific training designed to increase muscle size, so if your not aiming to get ‘bulky’ then you won’t.

Misconception # 2: If I stop lifting weights my muscle will turn into fat

The second misconception that I hear on a regular basis is if I stop lifting weights my muscle will turn into fat. This could not be more wrong. Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues and cannot turn from one into the other. Most people if they stop lifting weights will also stop exercise altogether and so naturally will start to lose muscle and gain fat. This therefore leads to the assumption that it is the muscle turning into fat when in fact it isn’t.

So why should you lift weights?

Bone Health

Weight lifting is the best weight bearing activity you can do. Lifting weights over a sustained period of time increases bone density. This may not seem very important if your between 20-30 however as you age, increased bone density helps prevents conditions such as osteoporosis.

Fat Loss

Many women think that running for hours on a treadmill will burn calories far more effectively then lifting weights. This may be true in the short term while you running. However the minute you stop running you stop burning calories. With weight lifting you’re burning calories while you do it but also because lifting weights involves tearing muscle fibres you will still burn calories when you stop as your body repairs the muscle. As you develop more muscle you will also burn more calories at rest as sustaining muscle requires more energy then fat therefore increasing your metabolism.

Confidence

This isn’t strictly a health benefit however there is something about being able to open that jar by yourself or carry something heavy without having to call on your husband/boyfriend. You’ll also notice that as your physique improves your confidence will improve too, as you feel happier about the way you look.

I hope having read this that I have convinced some of you to start incorporating weight training into your workouts. If I have, make sure you subscribe for handy tips and workout programmes to help you get started. Good luck!

Chloe

That Sugar Book by Damon Gameau

I spotted this book a mile off in my local bookshop, the brightness and the 'fun-ness' of the cover just drew me in. There's so much anti-sugar stuff about at the minute I thought why not give it a go. What made it stand out more for me, than all the other anti-sugar books, was how down to earth and fun the book is, inside there's so many bright and interesting pictures and illustrations.

The book is split into 4 parts: Damon's 60 day experiment, sugar science, experiment fallout and turning things around and finally recipes.

The experiment part is a truly fascinating read. He [Damon] wanted to see what effect 60 days of sugar would have on his body. From going from a healthy male who ate no sugar to eating the average amount of sugar a normal Australian would eat on a daily basis. Damon shows us how his mood, his body and his overall health changes. It's just super interesting to see how high (or average really) sugar intake can affect a person, especially it's addictive qualities and effects on the brain.

Not only do you see the affects of sugar on Damon over his 60 day experiment, you see the affect of sugar on different populations, the Aboriginals who consume crazy amounts of fizzy drinks, and those in America who suffer from 'Mountain Dew Mouth'.

The science-y part of the book is also great, not at all 'dumbed-down' but very clear and definitely fun. Every piece of information is reinforced with funky illustrations and data. There's great information about the different forms sugar takes (glucose, sucrose etc), insulin and how sugar can give us non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among other things.

The author follows up his experiment with how he got healthy again, the things he ate, how long it took to get back to normal. His test results were definitely thought provoking, especially finding out that he ate the same amount of calories pre-experiment as he did in just sugar during the experiment and gained weight. I've always understood that sugar is bad for us, but this experiment does make you think a lot more about calories in versus calories out.

The recipes are great, hearty and filling and most of all... without sugar! I must say the stew recipe is amazing and a new favourite in my house.

The book is also twinned with 'That Sugar Film' which I would love to see but has yet to come to the UK, although I have been assured it is coming soon! If you're in Australia or New Zealand do pop over to the website thatsugarfilm.com to see the showing times near you and to watch the trailer.

And to Damon, thanks for this book and for putting your own body on the line for the experiment.

Thanks for reading! Please do subscribe, follow on twitter @NF_Fitness, comment and like this page I really appreciate it. Please do ask any questions, I'm more than happy to help anyone.


See my previous post here: Strength Training Anatomy Review

And read my journey up Kilimanjaro here: Reaching the Top

Strength Training Anatomy by Delavier Review

This book is fantastic and I recommend it highly to everyone. It's drawings, of which there are over 600, are highly accurate and highlight muscle groups that will be targeted from each exercise that the book contains. Highlighted muscle groups are really useful to plan routines, especially if you're new to the gym and not sure which exercises work which muscles. The book is also broken down into different muscle groups, back, legs, chest etc, another useful tool for planning routines.  Not only does this book contain free weight exercises, it also contains resistance machine exercises, so no matter what gym you go to, or even if you workout at home you'll always find exercises in this book to do.  It gives tips on form and safety for each exercise, and this third edition of the book has extra pages on stretching and injury prevention. At the back there are two awesome drawings of Hercules, anterior and posterior, which details muscle names. Extremely useful for any budding fitness enthusiasts, instructors and trainers. I hope you find this review to be of use, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have, just comment below or tweet me @NF_Fitness.

Exodus and African Walking Company Review

http://www.exodus.co.uk/

Exodus 5/5

We did (and by 'we' I mean my partner) a huge amount of research into various different companies we could have booked our Kilimanjaro climb with. Out of them all Exodus just seemed the most professional and with fantastic reviews to boot.

Their website is hugely useful and easy to use. We actually used the website an awful lot in the run up to the trip, checking the route, looking at pictures etc. 

Customer care is amazing and answered any questions we had, either via phone or on online chat. We received a really clear and concise equipment tick list so we could tick off each item we had. This was really handy as it was our first adventure of this kind, so it really gave us a good idea of what we needed to get or what we might have already.

They have a really good set up with the African Walking Company, sending us the Exodus bags, which are the perfect size and shape for the AWC Porters to carry. 

The flights were fine (although I'd not like to venture on an Ethiopian Airlines flight again if I could help it), saying that they were on time and clean enough, and isn't really a reflection on Exodus. All our connections and transportation were on time, and all the stop over hotels and lodges were fantastic. 

Hiring equipment through exodus is super easy and the equipment is of a high quality and clean. It makes sense to hire the big awkward items like walking poles, sleeping bags and big arctic coats etc.

All in all I'd definitely recommend Exodus to go on any trip with, they do some amazing ones, just take your pick. And if you're planning on doing Mt. Kilimanjaro then please read on about the African Walking Company.

The African Walking Company 5/5

What can I say about the African Walking Company? Brilliant, fantastic, amazing. They are the most friendly, upbeat and professional people I've ever met. Each guide was fantastic in their own way, as well as each porter. Lead guide Abraham met us on our first night to go through the climb and hand out any hired equipment. All the guides and porters were all just so easy to talk to and would answer any questions you had about the climb, Africa, their homes, literally anything and would love to hear about England and your home. 

The food, oh the food. The food was incredible, and I was in constant disbelief that the cook could make these amazing meals all the way up a mountain. We had three courses for pretty much every meal, for snacks we had popcorn and fruit to keep our energy up. For really long days we'd have lunch boxes made up with fruit, chocolate and even savoury pancakes or boiled eggs.

The tents and amenities were also great, especially the toilet tents as some of the long drops leave a lot to be desired. Plus the bright blue of the toilets tents were always easy to spot from a while away from camp so you had something to aim for on the last parts of the trek, weird but true.

The African Walking Company was just so friendly, professional and reliable. I can't recommend them highly enough, I would always choose The African Walking company for any trip that they do.

I hope this review helps you make a decision on choosing the companies you'll choose to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with, if you have any questions I am always more than happy to help, just leave a comment below or tweet me @NF_fitness.

Zanzibar

We landed on Zanzibar full of excitement. It was warm, sunny and we all felt so relaxed already. We hopped on the connection bus and made our way to our hotel. On the way the driver randomly stopped by the side of the road and after much deliberation on the price (we guess), handed us a bunch of tiny bananas, they were delicious, sweet and probably one of the best bananas I'd ever eaten. Great ploy by the driver to get a bigger tip, worked.

After a very bumpy ride we came upon the hotel. Wow, what a sight to behold. The hotel lobby is a huge wooden building, with a tall pointed roof, looking out to the sea. The bluest sea I'd ever seen, the beach the whitest beach, palm trees, everything you'd see on TV as the perfect place of paradise.

The 'rooms' were actually little lodges, each split into two sides. Petals laid out on the bed, it looked beautiful. On the porch was a lovely table and seat, and a hanging bed to lounge in.

We dropped off our stuff in the room, and headed straight to the beach to check out the views. The views were absolutely incredible and the hotel hugely comfortable, we felt so spoilt, especially after our gruelling climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. This was pure luxury.

We spent a lot of the time relaxing on the beach, playing beach volleyball with the rest of the group and football on the sand. On one of the days we took a trip to Stone Town, as we'd heard much about it.

Stone Town was beautiful, fantastic architecture and winding streets. This was the perfect souvenir getting expedition, every shop had lovely trinkets, art, scarves and spices. I enjoyed the town but after a while I did find the constant badgering of the street sellers to be a bit of an annoyance. We visited a lovely little restaurant and got munched by mosquitos whilst we munched our food.

Whilst in Stone Town we visited a food market in one of the squares every smell and sight a real treat. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

The staff at the hotel were all really friendly too and would do anything for you. The cocktails at the bar were especially good, but my favourite drink was their ginger beer, Stoney Tangawizi. It's so weird going to other countries and yet the Coca Cola company is everywhere. There was even a hotel dog, a lovely old fella who slept mostly but enjoyed some cuddles every now and then.

In the evenings we'd have a lovely meal and all the group would chillout together playing cards, games and drinking. It was an amazing experience, one I'll never forget.

Exodus Travel Company and African Walking Company reviews coming soon!

Don't forget to like this post, comment and follow me on twitter @NF_fitness.

The Way Down #2

We awoke in a buzzing camp, feeling much warmer than the previous mornings. Following some great grub it was time for the tipping ceremony. It's customary at the end of each climb to tip the guides and porters for all their hard work. A member of the group is nominated to thank each party and give out the tips. Both before and after this all the guides and porters sing to all the climbers.

For the next hours of trekking downwards all that could be heard were the hums of joyous adventurers, humming the tune of their song.

We travelled back down through the forest, even spying a few cheeky monkeys along the way.

After many, many hours we reached a point in the path that was only metres away from the final gate. Some of our group were still a way behind us so the guide with us, Declan, took us on a little detour to a beautiful, dazzling waterfall. The rocks around it and the water itself seemed to shimmer with gold.

Once we'd taken in the awe of the waterfall we made our way back up to reunite with the others. Walking just a few metres around the corner was Marangu gate, the official end to our climb.

We waited at the shop for a while for the others and bought t-shirts and passion fruit fanta. It was incredible how much of a treat a fizzy drink was.

I gave Joseph, the guide who helped us on the final day up the mountain, my hat and buff as I noticed he didn't have either. I hope he still carries them with him. He's a true friend and we still exchange emails together.

A bus greeted us and off we went to a lodge to rest up in preparation for our flights to Zanzibar. Arusha airport is the smallest airport you'd ever see in your life. After being waved through 'security' we boarded our tiny 15 seater plane.

The pilot was a lovely chap and the tininess of the plane made us feel all the more adventurous, Indiana Jones style. After a really short flight we touched down in gorgeous Zanzibar.

To be continued...

The Way Down #1

Uhuru Peak was absolutely amazing. After photo taking and hugging, taking in the view, absorbing the achievement, it was time to go. Up that high the air is super thin so the guides only let you stay up at the top for around 15 minutes. Luckily, when you reach the top, time seems to slow down, the 15 minutes feels double or triple that.

We made our way back to Gilman's Point, the sun high in the sky, beaming down on our faces. After reaching Gilman's Point we began our steady descent down Jamaica Rocks. We thought going up Jamaica Rocks was tough, well, it was even tougher going down. Thank God for walking poles is all I'm gonna say. At the bottom of Jamaica Rocks we reached a place we hadn't actually seen before.

In the blackness of the night we'd shuffled along, meandering like a liquid snake, unable to take in our surroundings. A grey slope appeared before us thick with volcanic dust, a darker grey path slinking down marked out by hundreds of boots.

Walk down the way we came? No, no, no. "We will ski", says Joseph. It took me a while to get the technique, aided by Joseph. Doing your best to stay upright, using your walking poles for support, you take giant strides and slide down the scree. Although making the journey down shorter, it was hugely exhausting, especially after the gruelling ascent we'd already endured. But what goes up, must come down. Nearer to camp we were greeted by the porters who put up our tents everyday. They took our bags from us and helped us the rest of the way, our exhaustion evident.

After reaching camp we went straight to out tents and, fully dressed fell straight to sleep. We could only sleep for around 45 minutes as we had to descend lower to another camp that same day. After waking we had to pack up straight away and have a quick meal in the mess tent.

The next camp was several hours away and I admit I struggled on the journey, especially functioning on such little sleep. Upon reaching camp, after hours of trekking, we signed in and headed to the mess tent to greet the others. We had a fantastic meal that evening of Tanzanian stew and rice. The food on the trip was absolutely amazing the entire time, but this traditional meal was my favourite. That evening we just rested up with the others, playing card games and chatting.

That night, sleep beckoned to us and we were ready to fall into it's warm embrace.