Women and weights

WHY do you go for weight-training? You will become a female hulk — so ugly!

This is the common response from people when asked about women and weight-training.

In fact, most women shun the weights room and only concentrate on doing cardio on the treadmill, stationary bicycle and epileptical or they sign up for aerobics, zumba or yoga class.

Full-time mum, Debbie, 39, used to have the misconception that weight-training will drastically muscle up a woman. This was until she read an article by a fitness trainer and bodybuilder, Ang Soon Boon, debunking the myth on Facebook.

The pictures which accompanied the article convinced Debbie and she decided to sign up with Ang.

“I have been doing exercises like cardio, zumba and belly dancing but found none has helped me reach my goal.

“I have been dancing for seven years but am still left with a flabby body — skinny-fat. In other words — looking skinny but has higher fats percentage,” she said.

Food the culprit

Debbie discovered uncontrolled eating was ultimately the culprit as previously, she ate as she pleased and compensated that by exercising more to burn the excess calories. But this method was not it even though it sounded logical.

“It’s very hard for me to lose even 1kg a month. I tried slimming centres, costing me a bomb, and it didn’t help. I did hot blanket treatment. Yes, I did lose weight but it was water weight as I sweated during the treatment.

“I then went to a beautician who recommended a slimming course, using fat-burning injections on specific body parts like the belly. They too cost a bomb but I did not improve much.

“I learned the expensive way — there is no shortcut to a toned body except through strict dieting (eating right) and weight-training. I also read an article that years of cardio does not strengthen the muscles,” she said.

Debbie trained 40 sessions over a month with Ang, never missing a workout, and going through double sessions on some days. She lost 5kg.

Although it may not sound like a big weight loss, she was more toned and her health also improved.

She did not use any slimming pills but had tried them before and they made her lethargic — and even hungry.

She also realised too much cardio without toning would result in muscle loss. So she added weight-training to her regiment, besides zumba.

“To achieve any goal in life, we must have great discipline and will power,” she said.

When Debbie first told her husband she wanted to try weight-training, his immediate response was: “Are you serious?”

Most men do not want their spouses to be too muscular. But Debbie proved hubby wrong as she became even more feminine after her training. Now he is asking: “Where’s your body kit?”

Debbie found that weight-training would not cause a woman to lose her shape.

“There is this misconception that aerobics is for women and weights are for men,” she noted.

“For mothers, it’s hard to lose weight compared to the pre-pregnancy days. But weight-training can help mothers look good and have a good body after having a child or more.”

Taking the first step

Before training with Ang, Debbie said she had never lifted weights in her life.

It was a struggle at first. She did not have the strength to even do the lightest exercise but she believed things would fall into place eventually. True enough, working out became easier after a while.

“I felt nervous the first time I came to the gym. I had no confidence I could do it. But everything starts with the first step. If you don’t take that first step, you will not get anywhere.”

As she finds the training programme effective, she plans to continue on and reach her goal of having nice abs and getting lean.

No female Hulk

Another mother, Francesca Tan, is proof that weight-training has not turned her into a female hulk.

The slim-looking mum of two shed 16kg — from 70kg to 54kg — with just six months of training.

She had tried everything in battling the bulge, especially after giving birth to her second child. She used to weigh 49kg before her marriage but ballooned to 70kg post baby number two.

She did dieting programmes, home exercises and almost signed up for a slimming session but for the high cost — and the fact that it might not even work for her.

“I learned from a friend how weight-training can help in weight loss and true enough, I dropped to 54kg in just six months. The constant support and encouragement from my trainer, Ang Soo Boon, gave me confidence and motivated me to stick to the training programme,” Francesca said.

“There were times I thought of giving up but I am glad I presevered. I have never been in better shape than now. I gained muscle tone and can now fit into the clothes I wore before I got married.”

She said this was possible because despite being heavier, muscle mass is smaller than fat mass. In fact, her clothes are now looser than before.

“I’m now smaller than when I weighed 49kg,” she enthused.

Francesca said with a good trainer, she had benefitted from both the workout and the dietiary advice provided.

“What goes into the body is important in helping to develop muscles as well,” she added.

Amazing results

Six months ago, Francesca could not have imagined having such amazing results from her training programme. In the process, she also discovered she is a very determined person not easily swayed from her goal.

“Back then, my husband told me I would not be able to do it and I would not last. Now, he’s telling me to continue — don’t stop,” she smiled.

Even her family is surprised as she used to be ‘very big size’ but is now very slim even after just three months into her training.

Dietwise, she said she was afraid she would not make it through the day and she also got gastric very easily.

“In the beginning, when I saw the meal plan, I was worried it wasn’t enough to sustain me. But even if the meals were small, I ate five times a day — once every three hours.”

One other surprising benefit is that she is now off migraine medication. She used to be on it long term but has slowly weaned off it, and now, does not need it anymore.

She even showed her husband a video of her in the gym and he was surprised she could do all that training.

Francesca plans to continue until she rids her tummy, arms and back of accumulated fats. She wants to get as lean as she can.

On the hardest part of her journey, she said it was the craving for sweet things like cakes and chocolate drinks, adding that the temptation to snack was always present.

She also learned to taste food without swallowing it. The trick is to spit it out immediately after tasting it. She does this ‘food tasting’ to make sure her cooking for the family tastes good.

For family gatherings, she plays it by ear, nibbling pieces of raw vegetable like carrots, and avoids over-indulging.

Struggling with weight

Bakery student, Yenni Septian Tjoe also had a long battle with the bulge.

The 21-year-old from Indonesia weighed a whopping 70kg at 14 but plateaued off at 55kg through dieting.

To lose more weight, she turned to dieting pills and wasted RM2,000 on a slimming centre — without any result.

Then she found trainer Ang on Facebook and decided to give his training programme a try. She started last August at 55kg but now weights 42kg.

Before this, her problem was over-dieting — like having plain oat cooked with water and a bun for the whole day, leaving herself with virtually no energy.

“I was very scared at first because I had to eat five meals and couldn’t miss any. I had to be consistent with my meals. My main worry was I would put on instead of losing weight.”

Meal plan aside, Yenni found the training programme ‘very enjoyable’, despite having a malformed hand.

She was worried Ang would not take her in due to her handicap. Instead, she said Ang took it as a challenge and this, in turn, gave her the confidence to train.

She never skipped a training session. Ang would always be on hand to help her.

“I was worried when I first started — that the weight was too heavy for me but with strong motivation, I managed 80 pounds for leg press and 90 pounds for two-dumbell squats.

During workouts, Ang always makes sure I have the proper form and support.

“My goal is to work on my glut and legs as I have lost the mass through my previous harsh dieting. I want to start bulking up those parts.”

As she travels back home during holidays, Ang makes sure she sticks to her diet so that all the hard work is not be wasted and will keep her healthy.

Despite the strict dieting, Yenni is allowed to have ‘cheat days’ — with Ang’s permission. Notwithstanding such days, she usually can resist delicious food with ‘strong self-control’.

A career in baking and making pastries means she has to constantly taste her products and in this, she follows Francesca Tan’s method — don’t swallow the food; spit it out immediately after tasting it.

She does go out with friends for drinks and meals but will order water or tea kosong (without sugar) and bring her own food.

Impressive record

Ang has been running his fitness training programme since 2007. He has trained some 300 people from different backgrounds, including Malay, Chinese and Eurasians.

In his experience, women above 30 will lose their natural body curve, and one way to slow this down is by doing weight training.

“All that myth about weight-training making women ‘big’ or muscular is not true because it is not in a female hormonal makeup. It’s a stupid urban legend that is not present just here but also in Australia and other countries.

“Weight-training is anti-aging and helps preserve feminine curve. It is coupled with cardio and eating to complement the training.”

Ang also stressed it is not possible to out-train a ‘shitty’ diet, thus watching food intake is also vital.

“Achieving the perfect body faster means putting in more effort and keeping it up — don’t slack,” he stressed.

There is a physical condition often referred to as ‘skinny-fat’ where the person is both skinny and fat at the same time.

To get rid of unwanted fats, weight training is necessary because the weighing scale may indicate the weight is all right but it does not reveal a person’s fats and muscle mass.

For a person to be lean, the body fat percentage for men is below 10 per cent and 12-15 per cent for women.

“Rather than using the scale to measure, use a mirror or clothing as a guide. The scale is just a general indicator.”

Ang can be reached on his Facebook page Soo Boon Ang.