We all know that lifting weights isn't just a man's game anymore… And it never was! In fact, you HAVE to lift heavy instead of light…It's basically the only way to really gain muscle tone.
Some women think that lifting heavy will cause them to grow big, bulky muscles, so they only do light weights because otherwise they're terrified they'll get huge! I've never understood this way of thinking. First of all, it's like not like you wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and suddenly, "Oh no!" You are the size of The Rock, without even realizing it! If only building muscle was actually that easy, right? 📷
In reality, lifting light weights does not do nearly as much for muscle tone. Why is that? Well, it sounds a little scary, but in order for your muscles to actually grow back bigger and stronger, you have to TEAR the muscle fibers. So when it grows back, the muscle gets a little bigger!
But there's no such thing as just "toning" existing muscles. They either shrink or grow, that's it. Toning is a myth, and the only way to get your muscles to shrink or grow is by tearing those muscle fibers!!
Now, as I mentioned in a previous article, it is possible to tear those muscle fibers with several, several reps of light weights, but the main point is, you'd better make sure that your muscles are sore the next day! (Well, actually, now that I'm busting myths, it's not always a bad thing if your muscles don't hurt the next day. Sometimes it just doesn't happen and that doesn't mean you're workout was worse, as shown by studies where people told their pain levels,) So if you are going to do just stand there and look cute with the little dumbbells like in an 80s aerobic video, don't expect anything to happen, right?
Well, the ladies I'm going to talk about today definitely don't do that, and it shows! But I'd also like you to pay special attention to the fact that these women don't have extremely muscular physiques (not that there's anything wrong with that)! They just look, well, toned!
1. Alison Brie
As you can see, Brie can do more pull-ups than it seems should be humanly possible! How did she get to that point? By doing barbell curl after curl! Lift heavy!
2. Jessica Biel
You can see that she's not lifting heavy here, but that just proves my point that many reps of light weights, and also STRUGGLING with what you're doing, is just as important. Plus, split squats WITHOUT putting your back leg on anything, and with weights on top of that, is super difficult!
3. Halle Berry
Halle Berry is in her 50s and I feel like she could kick my butt any day, haha! But I love reading her #FitnessFriday posts since not only does this woman talk about things like how to lift heavy, but she also talks about how to motivate yourself to work out when you don't really feel up to it. And she is so nice about giving credit where it's due, like to her trainer and stuntwoman!
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