I'm a woman, so why would I want muscles?

Hi there,

So, I’m a woman why do I want muscles?

Well, besides the amazing changes in body composition and the myriad of health benefits that we will discuss, being a strong woman means being on top your game mentally, emotionally, and physically.

It's all about feeling powerful and determined and creating a whole new level of confidence you never knew you had before, and you can start building muscle at any age.

We may need to learn some new skills but that makes it exciting!

This is what we will be discussing in the Snack Bar today!

But before we dive in ...

A message from Rhoda Lucas

Is it still possible to live happily ever after?

Maybe, maybe not.

But what’s inevitable is that without mastering our body economy as mature women, we will gain fat, lose muscle, lose bone, and get weak.

And without mastering our body economy our health span will decrease along with our lifespan … but only 100% of the time.

Honestly, there is not one woman alive who won’t benefit from mastering her body economy.

Whether you’re an athlete, a health and fitness enthusiast, or a complete newbie … no one can escape the essential need for body economy mastery.

It’s even more important if your life is already impacted with other health problems, like injuries.

If you don’t fight back now, it’ll just get harder.

This month I have created a free video training series on mastering your body economy.

There is no credit card required and nothing to buy.

All you need to do to access the video training is complete a short quiz.

That’s it.

All that stands between you and a better version of you is some honest answers.

Go now, take the quiz, unlock the free training and edify yourself. The training is only available this week.

Deep Dive: I'm a woman why would I want muscles?

Here are some amazing reasons to start resistance training and building muscle as a woman.

☑️ Look amazing, define your shape and step out as your best beautiful self

☑️ Great for an increase in confidence, self-control and willpower

☑️ Longevity - helps you age youthfully

☑️ Increases lean body mass so that you burn more energy even at rest

☑️ Better metabolic health as it changes the way your body uses protein, fat and carbohydrates to power your mitochondria and burn fat more efficiently

☑️ Scientifically shown to increase your bone health

☑️ Great for decreasing age related cognitive impairment

☑️ Prevents high blood sugar and helps reduce insulin resistance

☑️ Reduces inflammation by producing hormone like compounds known as myokines

☑️ Lifting makes it easy to have a full, enjoyable and flexible diet without stressing about calories

But I don't want to get bulky and look like a man?

People often think that women and muscles don't go together ... they think it makes a woman look 'bulky' or 'masculine'.

There's a big difference between women body builders who compete in the most extreme size category, and women who simply develop lean and natural muscles for optimal function in everyday life.

If a woman wants to develop huge muscles ... then I say go for it ... but most women will never achieve anything like this unless you are training very hard and take anabolic steroids.

If you're like me, and you train like I do which is 3-4 times a week, then you'll get strong and shapely, not huge.

Over 40 we are already losing muscle mass due to the decline in estrogen and progesterone so when we are building muscle, we are trying to replace what we are losing anyway.  

It is of course possible to build more muscle on top of this, but you are never going to look huge and "manly".

It’s also what muscles represent

When I see a woman who is strong ... I know certain things about her.

For one, this woman is determined.  

She has stamina and persistence.  I know that she has reached what she thinks is her limit ... and learned how to push past it.

A woman who is strong has both willpower and self-control ...

… and what many women don't understand is that you get willpower and self-control by getting strong ... you don't automatically start out with those things.

This is great news for women ... because most of the things you want or are not happy with can be turned around with more willpower and self-control.

Willpower: The strength of will to carry out your decisions, wishes, or plans. Strong determination that allows you to do something difficult.

Self-control: The ability to control yourself, in particular one's emotions and desires, especially in difficult situations.

Forget the outside for a moment and think about the inside

The most important thing about being strong is that you only get to look amazing on the outside, because of all the incredible changes that have happened on the inside.

At its most basic, being strong means you have larger muscles cells.

It also means that your muscles are healthier ... they're more sensitive to insulin which means your blood sugar levels are more stable.

Being strong and increasing your lean muscle means your liver doesn't have to work overtime to turn glucose into fat ... and your fat cells don't have to keep adding more and more fat into storage.

The most common struggle women have during perimenopause and menopause is the immediate large gain in fat around the midsection and decrease in muscle mass as a result of declining estrogen and progesterone.

The relative imbalance of these hormones compared to cortisol exacerbates insulin resistance.

But an excess of fat and decreased muscle mass is not inevitable.

We can change this around through powerful stimuli from dietary changes and resistance training.

Your own internal fat burning furnace

When you have more muscle ... you use up more energy every single minute of every single day.

Having more muscle means you burn more fat when you're not exercising ... and that's the opposite of how most women are living!

While most women are concerned about the calories they burn on the cross trainer, or in their cardio class ...

… I'm relaxed knowing that I burn more calories while I spend the afternoon taking the kids for a relaxing walk along the beach.

The scientific term for all this is your 'Basal Metabolic Rate' or BMR. The more muscle you have, the higher your BMR.

We want muscles because you will burn more fat than you could ever burn by just trying to 'lose weight' through cardio.

I shared this graphic in the last newsletter, and I really want to emphasise the point that times are changing and a woman now in her 50’s looks and feels totally different to a woman in her 50’s decades ago.

Science has shown us the way forward to age as strong as possible.

Thriving instead of coping

Have you had those thoughts ...

"Oh, if I could just drop a dress size ... if I could just lose a bit of weight and keep it off"?

These are the thoughts of someone who is just trying to cope ... and that's because so many of the things they've tried to 'lose weight' just haven't worked.

And so, they give in to this idea that they'll never really lose weight ... and they'd be happy to settle for losing 'just a little bit'.

For the vast majority of women in this situation ... the reason things haven't worked in the past is because:

• they've been given the wrong information, or

• they haven't properly understood the information they've been given, or

• they haven't been taught the skills.

So, we need to upskill or learn new skills and we can!

With the right information, the right understanding, and the right skills ... your body will naturally become strong, muscular and lean.

And maintaining your new physique will become just as easy as maintaining the physique you had before.

I used to do a lot of cardio, mainly aerobics and pump classes.

My shape never changed, I still had cellulite and a flabby bum.

I was hesitant and unconfident about going into the weights room with all the men.

I was unsure of the equipment or how to start lifting.

All I can say is once I decided to step up and learn how to lift, I began to feel more and more confident.

Now I can walk into any gym weights room because I know what I want, and I know what I am doing.

MEME OF THE DAY

Ready to Change the Things You Can Change?

So why does a woman want muscles?

Because a strong woman is fit in mind, emotions and physically powerful. She has developed her willpower and self-control, and she faces the world with a level of internal certainty that she never knew before.

A woman wants muscles because she wants the best for herself.

Reflection

Are you going to start off 2024 strong?

The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project

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