Women’s fitness science

There is no standard answer to fitness for ordinary women. There is no need to force yourself to pursue low body fat, heavy weight, and standardized training plans. The core is to match your physiological characteristics, life rhythm, and actual needs. The best plan is the plan that can be sustained for a long time and does not put you psychologically burdened.

Last week, I cried while hugging my knees and squatting in the corridor of my house. I said that after following a fitness blogger with millions of followers for three weeks to practice the "Seven Days to Get a Tight Butt and No Thick Legs" program, my buttocks didn't show up, and the meniscus had worn out the fluid first. My aunt postponed it for ten days. I looked through the blogger's comment section and found that there were at least dozens of girls who were in the same trap as her. When it comes to this, there must be people who want to take advantage of it. The professional coaches I met all said that as long as the movements are standard, there will be no injuries, right? This is true, but it is not entirely true - after all, ordinary girls have just started practicing, and no one is watching to correct their movements. If they can align their knees and toes, it is considered good. Where is the absolute standard? Take the question of whether you can exercise during pregnancy. Veterans in the strength circle will tell you that as long as you don’t have dysmenorrhea, it’s absolutely fine to do hip thrusts and deadlifts with light weights. It can also help you metabolize pelvic blood and relieve bloating. ； Yoga teachers may pull you and tell you that you must not do core exercises or lower your waist in the first three days, otherwise you will suffer from uterine prolapse. There are supporting cases for both claims. Who do you want to listen to? I suggest you listen to your own body. I didn’t feel any pain during my pregnancy. I went to ride a spinning bike for 45 minutes the next day. It was much more comfortable to sit down and relax than to lie down for a day. However, the little girl in my department would faint even if she took more than two steps. So she just lay down for three days and drank hot milk tea. There was nothing wrong with her at all, and she couldn’t bear it for the sake of “self-discipline”.

There are also girls who are anxious about their body fat percentage when talking about fitness. It seems that they are not worthy of saying they are working out unless it drops below 20%. When I applied for a fitness card last year and took my first physical test, the coach pointed at the report and said that my body fat was 24% and I had to reach 19% to have a clear waistline. He asked me to buy a personal training class worth RMB 20,000. I turned around and went next door to have a butter hot pot meal - anyone who has checked the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" and exercise physiology information knows that the normal body fat range for women is 20% to 28%. If it is less than 17%, it will most likely affect estrogen secretion, which may cause aunt disorder in the least, or affect fertility in the worst case. If you are not a professional athlete competing in bodybuilding competitions, you don’t have to stick to those one or two kilograms of fat. My body fat is still about 23% now. I can see a shallow vest line when I am fasting in the morning. I am chubby when I am full. I usually climb the fifth floor without panting. I rarely catch a cold when the season changes. Is it no better than those "good figures" who are so hungry that they lose their hair and haven't visited their aunt in three months?

Many people ask me whether girls who practice strength will become as muscular as women. In fact, both opinions are valid. On the other hand, women’s testosterone levels are only one-twentieth of men’s, and it is difficult to build exaggerated muscles even if they train hard.； On the other hand, some girls are born with high muscle mass, and they will indeed become bigger after training. But if you think about it carefully, ordinary girls train two or three times a week, using two kilograms of dumbbells each time. That amount of training does not even reach the threshold of muscle gain. The so-called "strengthening" is most likely due to congestion or tight muscles that have not been stretched. If they really can build muscle mass through casual training, why do those female athletes who compete in competitions eat boiled meals and train for four or five hours a day? For the past two years, I rented a house and had no place to put equipment. I carried a two-liter mineral water bottle every day to do shoulder exercises. After three months of training, my shoulder straps improved a lot. I look great in a sling, and my arms are not so strong that I can't wear clothes? If you just want to improve your hunched back and back pain after sitting for a long time, Pilates, yoga or even mountain climbing twice a week will be enough. If you want obvious buttocks and right-angled shoulder lines, just add a little resistance training. Use dumbbells, elastic bands, or mineral water bottles. It all depends on your convenience. You don’t have to buy tens of thousands of equipment and get a high-end fitness card.

Don’t believe the nonsense that “you have to practice for an hour to burn fat”. I worked overtime until 9 o’clock every day to catch up on projects last month. I went home and changed my clothes and danced for 15 minutes. Pamela’s shoulders and neck were soothed. It was better than lying on the sofa scrolling through mobile phones and eating snacks. The benefits of exercise are cumulative, and you don’t have to make up enough time at one time to be useful. Many people don’t have any exercise habits. They set themselves a goal of practicing for one hour a day and give up after three days. Instead, it is better to exercise for 10 minutes a day, which can last for half a year.

To be honest, I have practiced fitness for five years, and I have stepped on many pitfalls that can circle my community three times. My biggest feeling is that fitness is never a KPI that must be completed for ordinary girls. It is essentially a way for you to take care of your body. If you want to run five kilometers today, go for a run. If you don’t want to move at home and eat cake today, no one will say that you are not self-disciplined. Don’t be bound by those “good body standards” and “self-disciplined personalities”. Exercise that makes you willing to do it all the time and makes you feel happy and comfortable after doing it is the most suitable for you.