AB: What is the most common misconception about women's fitness?

BS: The biggest issue for most women is the fear of
getting too big or too muscular from weight training,
which should be the least of their worries. As a rule,
women have approximately a twentieth to a fiftieth
testosterone level in contrast to men, and without a
significant amount of testosterone, which is the primary anabolic hormone (anabolic means to build up) it's
impossible to get very big from lifting— and you're not
going to look like a shemale. Because of this, most
women will train with weights that are way too light for
their abilities, and don't burn the necessary calories
to lose weight and develop muscle tone and so their
bodies don't change at all.

Really, the essence of it all is that a woman needs to lift
weights. And she needs to do so, with weights that are
challenging to her body. In the same vain, a lot of times
women gravitate towards cardio rather than lifting weights
to lose weight, because they're afraid that if they lift before
they get down to their desired weight, they're going to look
bulky. Again, this is a misguided strategy. Weight training
is probably more affective and certainly as affective, as
cardiovascular exercise. Not only does it promote weight
loss, but more importantly lasting weight loss. If you don't
lift weights while you're exercising, your body cannibalizes
its own muscle tissue. This leads to a suppression of metabolism that makes it harder to continue losing weight
so you end up reaching a plateau. Also, it becomes harder
in the end because you end up yo-yoing and your body
gains more weight. In the end this constant yo-yoing
effect makes it harder to lose weight in successive
bouts of dieting.

AB: At the gym, it seems that most men refrain from
cardio exercise. What are some of the drawbacks to
this approach?

BS: When you abstain from cardiovascular exercise
you're not going to be as effective in reducing body fat. Generally, men are predisposed to storing fat, especially around their mid-section but more importantly, there's a
health implication to it. The fat stored around your mid-
section tends to be more lethal. It is associated with both
a greater incidence of morbidity and mortality. Reducing
belly fat, will certainly help to improve cardiac function,
a lot more than strength training does. So from a guy's perspective, cardio not only provides a significant health benefit, but is also an effective aesthetic supplement in reaching your desired fitness goal.

AB: For those wishing to jump start a weight loss
program, what initial steps should they take to get
tangible results and prevent the urge to quit?

BS: Well, the first thing you need to do is have a game
plan. You don't just want to go into the gym and say, "I
wanna do a little weights, a little cardio" and expect that
that's going to work. You need to have a real understanding
of what you're going to do when you're in the gym. That
means, planning out your workouts in advance. If it's going
to be 20 minutes of steady state cardio and a total body
weight workout, whatever that is, what I recommend is that
you write down everything you're going to do in advance
before going to the gym. Charting what you are doing, will
help to keep you focus and allow you to make adjustments
as time goes on—which is very effective in terms of getting results. Secondly, set goals. Goal setting should involve
getting S.M.A.R.T. goals, that are specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic and timely. Make sure that your goals
can be achieved in a short enough time frame. As soon
as you achieve those goals make new ones. Having these
goals in place will keep you focused on what you're trying
to do and then by having the game plan, you will focus
on what you should do to achieve success.

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