Does playing up sex appeal hurt women's mixed martial arts?: Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

Does playing up sex appeal hurt women's mixed martial arts?: Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

According to an Oct. 17 post from The Guardian, there are few role models for girls that have as much substance as style.

Enter WMMA, a sport that features plenty of female athletes who are just as talented as they are attractive. But does playing up sex appeal hurt their sport, or is it helping to reel in casual fans who might not have ever given the sport a chance in the first place?

On Episode One of ProWMMA Now!, Sam Wilson, a respected voice in the WMMA community, opened up about the growth of the sport and why it's wrong for promotions to play up sex appeal when it comes to female fighters.

And this could affect female fighters and Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York.

"Back then it was like a side show, let's bring the pretty women out there and have them fight and have all the men go frickin' crazy like 'ohhh yeahh yeahh,' so it was more of a side show back then," Wilson said of the early days of WMMA. "To see it form backstage as opposed to what the fans see and see what the women had to go through to get to where they are, it's like 'wow you know?' It's about time they do get center stage through the cards, Invicta being like one of the elite places because they are there as athletes and fighters as opposed to women and sex symbols and side shows.

"So I'm glad it is where it is and I'm glad some of the promotions are actually seeing the females as athletes and not the side show and not the sexy females out there fighting, ring girl status or whatever you want to call it. So yeah I do enjoy seeing that part of it. Promotions still have to grow and accept that these are women athletes first, think your mom, your daughter, your aunt, your sister or whatever. To think they are up there as sex symbols and have the guys go 'oh yeah' and what's going through their minds as opposed to seeing them as athletes, so there's still a little bit of growth needs for that as opposed to being the sexier side of female MMA and seeing them as athletes, female athletes."

And we sure do have plenty of female athletes in Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York.

Wilson makes some great points, but her viewpoint isn't widely embraced in the WMMA community. Some agree with it, while other female fighters point out that playing up sex appeal helps them make sponsor money so that they can focus on MMA training.

"I have sponsors that pay me monthly just to train," said Invicta FC fighter Felice Herrig. "So people can knock it, they can say 'Oh you shouldn't use your sex appeal.' Why not? If it brings me the opportunity to get paid to do what I love to do, so I don't have to work a 9-5 job so I can focus on my training … I've worked every angle of just trying to get my name out there, you know, and here I am."

Additionally, many casual fans are initially drawn in by the good looks, only to eventually get hooked on the skill and talent. It's up to the fighters, as well as the media, to create that initial interest to get fans to tune in. Once they do tune in, they'll become fans of the talent and not just the good looks.

"Being a woman and it’s kind of sad to say, but you have to do more just to get that attention," Muay Thai champ Tiffany Van Soest said. "My whole thing is people say that I’m so pretty and they ask if I get mad about that. I tell them they can come for my looks, but once they see me compete they become a fan for the way that I fight. Come for my looks, but stay for my skill!”

At this point, it's clear that female MMA fighters can play up their sex appeal without costing themselves respect as a talented athlete. 

UFC champ Ronda Rousey posed artistically nude for ESPN the Magazine, as did UFC bantamweight contender Miesha Tate, but all that did was elevate brand awareness for WMMA. Both fighters are "sexy" and have no problem using their looks to enhance their own brands, but they are also both respected, talented athletes.

Female fighters can be "sexy" and use sex appeal to enhance their careers without costing themselves the opportunity to be considered a respected athlete by fight fans. Do you believe this to be the case for our women fighters in Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York?

5 Strength Training Truths Every Woman Should Know: Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

5 Strength Training Truths Every Woman Should Know

Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

article from Huffington Post

Women, let's face it. We're fed so much BS regarding our health and fitness, and especially what our health and fitness is supposed to be. According to most women's fitness magazines (and sadly many "coaches" and personal trainers), the epitome of women's fitness is remaining purposely weak and frail (yes, it's a choice, not an inevitability). Look into any issue of Women's Health and it's decked out with full-color photos of women standing one-legged on a Bosu ball lifting a 5-pound dumbbell while holding a yoga pose.

This is not the workout you need. It isn't going to get you in shape, make you toned, lose fat, or lose weight. It's just going to make you a little bit better at standing one-legged on a Bosu ball -- maybe improve your balance a bit. But if your aim is to lose fat, build muscle and look great, there is a far more effective solution to accomplishing this.

Women: To achieve maximal health, you need to get stronger. Get under some weights and lift. ANYTHING you read in any women's fitness magazine is suspect. Actually, it's not just suspect -- you can be guaranteed that they're feeding you inaccurate trash.

What Is the Best Strength Training Program Out There for Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York?

Is there one best strength program out there for women today? I don't believe in any one "best," most bullet-proof training program for anyone; it really depends on your own personal goals. No cookie cutters need apply. However, there are certainly standards that separate the GREAT programs from the mediocre, and the mediocre from the downright ugly. Today, we will review the top five standards that your strength training program should include:

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1. Lift Heavy Weights Every Week for Maximum Strength, Fitness and Health

If you get nothing else from this post, this is the one thing you need to absorb. You MUST train heavy lifts. Put the 5-pound dumbbells away, just put them back in the corner where you found them. Light them on fire while you're at it. I'm talking about loading several 45-pound plates on a 45-pound barbell and deadlifting and squatting. Of course, heavy is relative and everyone is at a different stage in their strength development. But whether you squat 100 pounds or 400 (and yes ladies, it is highly possible), you need to routinely hit heavy lifts that are heavy for you.

"But what's the advantage to lifting heavy, for Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York ?"

Lifting heavy weight, for both women and men, will cause a flurry of positive systemic changes throughout your body. Your muscles respond by growing (which will also increase metabolism), bones become denser, hormonal regulation improves (that means a much more manageable menstrual period for women, among many other positive benefits), your central nervous system responds by learning how to recruit more muscle fibers to contract on demand and it becomes more resilient to physical stress. Not to mention the real-life benefits of just being stronger. And these are just a few of the reasons why you should lift heavy.

Bonus Benefit of Lifting Heavy: want an awesome looking bodacious butt? Squat and deadlift heavy, end of story.

On the flip side, lifting super light weights cannot provide the same benefits because the ultra-light weight does not cause enough of a systemic stress on your body (albeit a good stress) to affect these same changes. Which means no "toning" like it promises (after all ladies, toning is muscle -- let's just own that fact right now). The grocery bags that you carry in from the grocery store are heavier than what most women lift in the weight room today, or at least as much. The only exception here is for someone who just recently healed from a serious injury and must start with a light weight while they rehab. Which should serve as a hint: If a guy who just got over a severe car accident a few weeks ago can kill your workout, maybe you should change your workout.

---Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

2. Variety Is Key

If you want to consistently get stronger and develop muscle, you must mix in variety in your training. For the first 6-7 months of barbell strength training, you can get away with learning and focusing on the basics: the bench press, overhead press, squat, deadlift, and power clean. But after this period of time, the body needs more variety to achieve maximum strength gains. None of the training sessions I do are ever quite the same -- there's a certain formula I follow, but I have yet to follow the exact same training day in a long time. Not only is this a treat for the mind and keeps you mentally engaged, but you will continue to make big strength gains without plateauing. This is the basis of the conjugate system, and it works.

---Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

3. You Must Fill in Your Weaknesses With Accessory Work

Everyone, both men and women alike, have their own unique muscular weaknesses and strengths. While it's fun to work on your strengths, you MUST train up your weaknesses. You are only as strong as your weakest link. Women are often weakest in these key muscle groups: hip adductors/abductors (inner and outer thighs), triceps, shoulders, and mid-upper back. Most people in general have weak hamstrings as well so make sure to work those too. Fill in your own muscular weaknesses with extra accessory work (e.g., weight exercises that target a specific muscle group) twice a week. There's aesthetic benefits from accessory work as well -- it's quite fun to watch those shoulders, triceps, and hamstrings fill in while looking in the mirror!

---Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

4. Neglecting the Upper Body = No Sexy Arms and Weak Lifts

This goes for everyone, but especially us ladies. Train your upper body at least twice a week for strength and muscle development. Do NOT miss this second day. Since we tend to be weaker in the upper body, we need every workout we can get. Your worst lift (typically the upper body lifts for women) starts to degrade the fastest after a period of inadequate training activity. This goes for anyone, male or female. So if you're having a short training week due to a vacation/moving/a hectic and crazy week, and you can only have two strength training days that week, let BOTH of those days be upper body. It's really that important.

---Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York

5. For Faster Progress: Train With People Who Push You

This is not really a part of any programming per se, but it's a BIG part of your success. Train with other people -- and with a coach -- who care about your goals enough to push you past what you think you're capable of. This will bring out the best in you and will help consistently push you towards new goals. Unfortunately for a lot of women, they train with other people and with coaches who simply don't believe it's necessary for them to lift past a certain weight. Staying at the same weight forever will not benefit you in any way.You won't get stronger. You won't develop more muscle. You won't get more toned. There's usually no ill-intention meant with this poor coaching, it really just stems from a misconception that women should be strength trained differently and handled with kid-gloves. If your training crew consists of people, whether men or women, who patronize you and don't seem to think you need to lift past a certain weight because you're female -- even if the weight is light for you -- then you need to move on to a more ambitious group of folks. There is a big difference in the progress you will make.

For Women's Fitness in Buffalo and Western New York we have added a new strength training class, Fridays at 7pm. Come and try it out!