Q & A
Q: My girlfriend used to just use the treadmill and do some yoga stuff at the gym, but recently I got her onto a weight lifting routine. She is thin, maybe 5'6", 110-115 pounds, and she could probably stand to add a bit of muscle.
It's going pretty well but she saw some female bodybuilders in magazines and doesn't want to be 'big' like them. It's kind of silly because she seems to think that after doing 15-pound curls for a few weeks she is going to suddenly get huge and look unfeminine. She says things like "I don't want my arms to get bigger than they are now." and "I don't want to end up looking like THAT."
Is there anything I could show her, or any advice how to deal with it?
A:
This is Gea Johnson, former Olympic weightlifter. That means it was essentially her job to lift extremely heavy weights, and to do so repeatedly throughout her career.
This is also Gea Johnson. In addition to being an Olympic weightlifter, she's had a successful modeling career. She does not look terribly huge nor does she look manly, by any stretch of the imagination.
Ask your girlfriend to checkout the website MuscleWithAttitude.com. The gals there are all about incorporating weight training to build a feminine physique. Also, remind your gal of a quote I once heard from author Chris Shugart: "Lifting weights makes men big. It makes women firm."
It takes months and months of dedicated training for a guy to make significant gains in muscle mass. Because of various hormone issues, especially Testosterone, no woman will be mistaken for a guy unless she resorts to taking illegal anabolic steroids (like the majority of female pro bodybuilders get wrapped up in.) The average gal going to the gym and picking up weights is only headed down the right path to her ideal physique.
Best of luck to her. Keep me in the loop, and if she has any more questions, toss me an e-mail (Chris@ColucciTraining.com).
- Chris.
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Q: What would be a good for me before a martial arts tournament? What should I eat and not eat? Someone said to cut out all the salt from my food the week before tourney. Any suggestions?
A: I wouldn't dream of experimenting with sodium restriction that soon to an event. Your body could respond to it poorly, and you may end up cramping and dehydrating. If you're going to make any kind of changes to your normal diet, and I'm not even sure that cutting out salt would be a good idea, try a test run for a week or so but do it at least one month before the actual competition so you won't be surprised at the last minute.
Are you looking to lose bodyfat to make a certain weight class? If so, the next step depends a lot on how much you need to lose and how long do you have until the event. If you're comfortably set in your weight class, you might not even need to make any changes, as long as you aren't noticing any major problems (sluggishness, unusual soreness, etc.)
As I said above, it's definitely not a good idea to make drastic changes to your nutrition plan immediately before an event. You could easily end up doing more harm than good. Shoot me an e-mail so I can get some more info, and we can figure out some details.
- Chris.
It's going pretty well but she saw some female bodybuilders in magazines and doesn't want to be 'big' like them. It's kind of silly because she seems to think that after doing 15-pound curls for a few weeks she is going to suddenly get huge and look unfeminine. She says things like "I don't want my arms to get bigger than they are now." and "I don't want to end up looking like THAT."
Is there anything I could show her, or any advice how to deal with it?
A:
This is Gea Johnson, former Olympic weightlifter. That means it was essentially her job to lift extremely heavy weights, and to do so repeatedly throughout her career.
This is also Gea Johnson. In addition to being an Olympic weightlifter, she's had a successful modeling career. She does not look terribly huge nor does she look manly, by any stretch of the imagination.
Ask your girlfriend to checkout the website MuscleWithAttitude.com. The gals there are all about incorporating weight training to build a feminine physique. Also, remind your gal of a quote I once heard from author Chris Shugart: "Lifting weights makes men big. It makes women firm."
It takes months and months of dedicated training for a guy to make significant gains in muscle mass. Because of various hormone issues, especially Testosterone, no woman will be mistaken for a guy unless she resorts to taking illegal anabolic steroids (like the majority of female pro bodybuilders get wrapped up in.) The average gal going to the gym and picking up weights is only headed down the right path to her ideal physique.
Best of luck to her. Keep me in the loop, and if she has any more questions, toss me an e-mail (Chris@ColucciTraining.com).
- Chris.
--------
Q: What would be a good for me before a martial arts tournament? What should I eat and not eat? Someone said to cut out all the salt from my food the week before tourney. Any suggestions?
A: I wouldn't dream of experimenting with sodium restriction that soon to an event. Your body could respond to it poorly, and you may end up cramping and dehydrating. If you're going to make any kind of changes to your normal diet, and I'm not even sure that cutting out salt would be a good idea, try a test run for a week or so but do it at least one month before the actual competition so you won't be surprised at the last minute.
Are you looking to lose bodyfat to make a certain weight class? If so, the next step depends a lot on how much you need to lose and how long do you have until the event. If you're comfortably set in your weight class, you might not even need to make any changes, as long as you aren't noticing any major problems (sluggishness, unusual soreness, etc.)
As I said above, it's definitely not a good idea to make drastic changes to your nutrition plan immediately before an event. You could easily end up doing more harm than good. Shoot me an e-mail so I can get some more info, and we can figure out some details.
- Chris.
posted by Chris Colucci at 11:43 AM
