Women’s weightlifting. I’ve never given it too much thought. Unless you count past summer Olympics where my recollection is of very sturdy-looking women of eastern European descent lifting remarkably man-like poundage.
In this month’s feature in Healthy U on women and weightlifting, writer Alexia Severson delves into the reasons 21st century women are casting off the wafer-thin approach to femininity and opting for strength training.
As part of their exercise routine, these women are achieving a new definition of beauty while basking in their new svelte physiques as their hard work starts to show results. Strong is the new skinny.
“Women are looking for that more strong figure rather than being skinny,” said Breanne Umphres, fitness director at Club Fitness, 3850 E. Lohman Ave., in Las Cruces “I think it’s kind of empowering for women to feel a lot stronger and feel like they’re capable of doing more.”
And lifting weights does not mean you’ll begin to look unfeminine, Umphres stressed.
Four years ago, before Gee Gee Pabellon of Las Cruces, 44, a mother of two, discovered CrossFit, lifting weights was not part of her regular fitness routine. CrossFit is a program that includes a variety of Olympic lifts, along with conditioning and strength-training workouts.
Pabellon said lifting weights has made physical activity in her daily life easier.
Doing CrossFit has helped boost her confidence and made her a role model for her 8-year-old daughter, showing her that it’s OK for a woman to be strong and muscular, said Pabellon, who works out at CrossFit Las Cruces, 2305 E. Nevada Ave.
Along with building muscle, lifting weights and other muscle-strengthening exercises help build and maintain bone density, which can prevent osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
Other benefits of strength training include reducing the signs and symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, obesity, back pain and heart disease. It has been shown to improve quality of sleep and fight depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Joselyn Azure, an instructor and trainer at Total Body Bar, 841 S. Main St., a woman-focused fitness studio, notes that strength training also can increase metabolism to burn more calories.
Doris Arciero, 44, who joined CrossFit Las Cruces three years ago, said weightlifting has changed the way the way she views herself.
“I started right after a divorce and that’s always a transition period for people, so it really helped me get my confidence back,” she said. And CrossFit and weightlifting even has improved her posture and the way she walks, Arciero said.
With more women working to achieve that strong female body, the stereotype that women have to be wafer thin is changing.
And that’s a beautiful thing.
Courtesy of: Las Cruces Sun-News