Some women look good tall and thin, some look good short and thick, and there are hundreds of combinations in between.  Don’t waste any more time trying to fit into a predetermined category of beauty.  All of the above women are beautiful, yet they look drastically different.  There is no ideal body type.  There is, however, YOUR ideal body type.   This simply refers to the way you look with nice, firm muscles and without excess body fat.

There are three main things you can do to achieve your ideal body.  First on the list is weight training, and there are two main concerns women always ask me about, so let me address those first.  You will NOT look like a man.  Women don’t have the physical makeup to bulk up easily and it just doesn’t happen overnight.  The professional women bodybuilders in magazines have lifestyles dedicated to training and diet, have extremely low body fat percentages, and use steroids.  Also, your breasts will NOT disappear. 

Weight training alone does not decrease breast tissue, loss of body fat does.  Bodybuilding women tend to have body fat levels under 7 percent.  As we all know, that’s not easy, either!  These changes are gradual, so if even if you did notice something happening that you did not want, you would simply adjust your program.  The reason that women SHOULD weight train is because it is the only way to change the shape of your body.  By this I mean, that if you are 300 lbs and shaped like a pear (narrow shoulders and upper back, wide hips), and you lose weight without weight training, you may end up weighing 150 lbs, but still be shaped like a pear.  Through weight training, you can achieve broader shoulders and a wider upper back, which will balance out your figure, giving you more of the hourglass shape many women seek. 

Two exercises that can help accomplish this are lateral raises (for your shoulders) and lat pulldowns (for your back).  Still think it’s for guys?  Think about this: Beyonce Knowles is widely celebrated for having a shapely body.  This was not always the case.  Before she maintained a proper diet and workout plan, she was said to have big hips, and a belly that needed improvement. 

Through weight training, she was able to balance out her lower body with her upper body.  Now she is said to have one of the best bodies in the business!  She could not have done this without weight training.  If you’re still not convinced, try this on for size.  Having more muscle helps increase your metabolism so that you burn more fat – even when you are resting!  One pound of lean body mass burns about 13 calories a day at rest.  Simply having 10 additional pounds of muscle on your body, which looks way better than fat, causes you to burn 130 additional calories a day – without even adjusting your diet!  Imagine the benefits once you do change your lifestyle.

Next is cardiovascular activity, that is, exercise that gets your heart rate up.  By now many women know of the many health benefits of cardio.  And those who want to lose weight know that cardio is the way to shed excess pounds.  A misconception about cardio is that slim women don’t have to do it.  Wrong!  Everyone benefits from lower blood pressure and improved digestion, but cardio also makes you look better, because even slim women can have excess fat.  TRUST ME!

Third is diet.  Proper diet, not to be confused with fad diets, is arguably the most important aspect of looking good.  Stay away from any diet that you do for a limited amount of time.  A proper diet is a way of eating that you can continue for the rest of your life.   It is not restrictive or excessive.  Unless you are training for some type of fitness contest, you are allowed your favorite foods IN MODERATION!  Your specific dietary needs depend a lot on where you are now and what you are trying to achieve.  To sum it up, the more drastically you want to change your look, the more drastically you have to change your diet.  

The most important element to achieving your workout goals is discipline.  There are no magic pills or shortcuts.  If you have a hard time getting a program together and/or staying on a program, consider a personal trainer.  A good trainer can help you establish good habits, and get you on the right path to achieving your ideal body! 

Copyright © 2009 by A.M. Birmingham, ISSA CFT

      

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