Many female body-builders and their Personal Trainers dismiss the term “strength and power” as something unpleasant and unnecessary; something with which they do not wish to be associated to. They do not wish to be seen as participants in strength routines, but more hypertrophy / superficial routines to elaborate and glorify the female body – sorry, “the diminishing female body”. And really in all honesty they do it to uphold and honour their sponsor’s contracts. These women are the most unfit and most unhealthy specimens of women I know. They are terribly under-functional, over-dieted and ladies, trust me, even though they look strong and athletic, they are at the shallow end of the dream-pool when it comes to being functionally strong and anaerobically fit. Its called smoke and mirrors.
Most of them though, including the Personal Trainers are reluctant to advocate strength training because they are uncertain about the meaning of the term and what type of training elicits and builds strength. Large numbers of women and Personal Trainers see Olympic weight-lifting synonymous with overweight grotesque looking women; their cacomorphobia (fear of big people) lead them to reject associations with any group identified as “large” – such as power-lifters or weight-lifters. They shun the word “strength” or “heavy” and shun any identification with these training modalities. Little did they know (this proves to show you that they know diddly squat) that women compete from 48k to 95k. You ever seen 45k weightlifter. Glorious specimen. What about a 53k weight-lifter? You seen one of them. They got more muscle then 5 body-builders put together. No-one has seen them. Because the Public Press continue to perpetuate such BS about women and weights.
You then have another breed of women. The women editors who do not wish to be associated with women training heavy in any form so they reject, oppose and spread BS about “heavy” weight-training. Most women are more familiar with negative perspectives on strength training than the positive influences and significance of what it can actually do to you. It is this positive significance and power that I must struggle to communicate and ensure that women do not miss out on this vital part of your overall exercise regimen.
When they try to do it, they fuck it up badly.
When they do try and mimic strength and power training, I call this “namby-pamby” strength training. Their routines are nothing but another crop of disappointments as they have you lifting nothing heavier then a cheesecake or have you jumping any higher then 12 inches. They have totally ruined the definition of true strength and power training, mistaken the intelligence of true athletes and ruined the magic these movements elicit.
What do I mean by “namby-pamby”? Well usually it is a woman and her Personal Trainer or worse, just a Personal Trainer or even more tragic a body-builder who tries to achieve a sense of “gym-equality” and as a result they label work-outs that look and read like strength training. For example, take this work-out recently publicised. “Legs of Steel”. There was a 50k woman holding no more weight then a new born baby. And doing squats. I held this stare of deprecating horror when I was reading this article. I loved the exercises that they were demonstrating, but lady you’ve forgotten to hold 50k? This is by far one of my favourite titles – written by none other than that wanker from Shabby and Soul – “Have power like an athlete” I mean how can anyone label these workouts as a paradigm of strength and power is beyond me, when the woman is jumping on and off a half-chopped up Bosu Ball. I know its laughable. Part of the theory behind power is strength. With no basic strength behind you, how can you possibly build or obtain power. How heavy can this woman back-squat? How much can she dead-lift? If she can’t do both in body-weight, Huston we have a problem. How does one build power without basic strength? The routine completely misses its marks to fail to even discuss countermovements with compound exercises.
These “namby-pamby” workouts evoke nothing but a romantic notion that women can be strong and powerful by depicting the workouts within a framework far more acceptable in terms of women’s health and fitness. Sadly, it is nothing but a misrepresentation and an emphasis on sub-par programming for women.
FEB