When women tell me they’re scared to lift weights because it will bulk them up and make them look like NFL linebackers, I bring them into my office and show them one of my favorite pictures. It’s a shot of Marilyn Monroe lying on a bench doing dumbbell chest presses. You can see the definition around her shoulders, triceps, and pecs and the sexy way her upper body tapers down to a slim waist. Yes, Marilyn Monroe—one of the most beautiful women ever—lifted.Muscle is your best weapon when it comes to burning fat. The fat on your body doesn’t do a whole lot. It’s like your kids when they’re on school vacation, just sitting around doing nothing. Muscle, on the other hand, is living, breathing tissue. It needs nutrients to survive. For every pound of sexy lean muscle that you add to your body, you will burn an extra 35 to 50 calories per day. But muscle does more than merely increase your day-to-day calorie burn. Contrary to what you may think, when you lift weights, you don’t build your muscles; you tear them down. It’s over the next 24 to 48 hours that the actual building takes place. Your body has to fix the damage you did and make your muscles stronger so that they will be better able to handle your workouts. All that rebuilding burns even more calories. All of my workouts are full-body workouts. They’re designed to work as many of your body’s muscles as possible to take full advantage of this residual calorie burn. Weight training will turn your body into a calorie-burning—and fat-burning— machine. Marilyn knew what she was doing! For women, the strength training that we will do won’t turn you into a behemoth. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, we will be doing a fitness weight routine and not a bodybuilding weight routine. You’ll lift lighter weights and do more repetitions. If I was preparing you for a pro wrestling career, which I’m not, you would be lifting far heavier weights and doing fewer reps. Second, women are not men. Chemically, your bodies are not designed to develop large muscles. Men have much more testosterone flowing through their bodies than you do. As a result, you won’t develop the body and the musculature of a man. And here are a couple of other things that men do but you won’t because of your lower testosterone levels: you won’t get insanely mad because the cable isn’t working, you won’t throw your 6-iron into the woods because you sliced your fairway shot, and you won’t get into an argument with someone who gets in the “eight items or fewer” line at the supermarket with nine items. In summary, my weightlifting program will not turn you into a hulk. Be thankful you’re not a man.
