Should women ever lift weights ? Wouldn’t it make them big and bulky ?
No it won’t and to save you the time of reading the article : yes women should lift weights , actually they must lift weight , so if you came here to know the answer you have it but if you want to know why they should and the facts to debunk this myth about women and strength training then keep reading.
Since long ago big muscular men and strength training bonded together quite well which led people to believe that strength training is exlusive for men and if women would attempt it it would make them big and bulky.
All of that pushed away most of women from the weight room in the fear of losing their feminine side , which in reality is far away from the truth and people teaching those ideas have no studies or scientific literature to back up their claimes, also no real life experiences to do so because simply the statement isn’t true.
Luckily , for the bit informed of us we do know that the increase in strength can be associated with neural factors as well as muscular factors,what that mean in plain English is that just because a women gains a lot of strength doesn’t mean that she’ll look like jay cutler with hooters. And let me tell you the reason why this is not gonna happen:
- women have much lower testosterone levels than their male counterparts ( roughly around 10 times less than the average male) and testosterone my friends is the hormone responsible for the increase of protein synthesis inside the muscle cells and the gain of size. So technically speaking , women have 10 times less chance to build muscle mass than their male counterparts.
And if you have been around gyms for a while you will already notice that men themselves are struggling with adding tiny bits of muscle mass to their frames so I think it would make sense to say women are less likely to get big.
Men usually gain between 15-30 lbs of lean muscle mass in their first year of training , while women will approximately gain between 7-12 lbs of lean muscle in their first year , after that they may be able to add between 2-3 lbs per year if they are lucky enough , also we all can agree that every women will look better if she add 10 lbs of lean muscle to her frame , especially if they happen to settle on certain areas of the body , and am talking about the legs and hips area , she certainly will have a noticeable visual change that will make her much more attractive.
Now , that we debunked the myth that strength training will make women big and bulky let’s talk about the benefits that strength training has to offer to women , beside making them sexier.
I personally believe that neural factors in women beginner trainees are lower than their male counterparts and that is most likely due to the fact that males tend to be more active in their younger adult years. But you may think about that as a disadvantage while in reality it is quite the opposite since women tend to develop that quality to a greater extent and thus making faster strength gains. And I will quote famous fitness trainer Jennifer Bloomquist when she was asked about the fact that women can gain strength at a faster rate then males “ I found this to be true , especially when the women get passed the “ I don’t want to get huge” mindset and they finally give it their all.”
Also I like to debunk another myth where some trainers claim that women are more prone to injury then males , which is not true unless we are talking about female sport athletes which is somewhat true but not because they are just women, no it is mostly because they train less in their off season compared to their male counterpart , so it really have nothing to do with women and why they should not strength train , actually strength training will strengthen their muscle tendons and make them less prone to injuries in and outside the gym.
Also , before I forget let me present you with the benefits of strength training for women :
1- Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis As Women Ages: If you are not familiar with those , they are a condition where bones start to lose their density and become weak and they may break from a little fall , sometimes even from sneezing or little bumps in severe cases which is no fun. What strength training will do is that it will increase your bone density and keep it from falling as you age so you keep your bones strong and happy and you stay away from wheelchairs. An offer you want to take I assume , right?
2-reduced Risk of Sport Injuries: We kinda talked about that but I like to insist on it because it is really important to strength train if you are a female athlete because a women who is involved in sports will have a much lower chance of getting injured if she trains seriously at the gym.
3- Change in Body Composition : Strength training will dramatically change your body composition , you will add some muscle and get rid of that cardio bunny look , and also you will be able to maintain a good level of bodyfat because muscle burn calories , and even though you will not burn an extra 50 calories par day for each lb of muscle you gain as you might hear around the fitness word , you will increase your RMR significantly.
4- You Will Have More Strength to Use in Your Daily Life : I mean you will be able to lift stuff , move things around the house by yourself and you will not need the help of your neighbours. So if you want to be a truly free independent women you have to strength train so you no longer rely on people for your daily chores.
5- Increased Levels of Confidence and Self Esteem : I mean when you look good you will feel good , and having a firm round butt with a nice toned legs is surely good looking. I mean lets not kid ourselves , Victoria secret models aren’t a trend anymore, people just got sick of this skinny skeleton models , men love curves let me tell you and they think it looks good , now a properly developed glutes with a nice set of legs and you are way ahead of all other girls. Just quite the treadmill and go do some squats , okey.
I hope by now you are convinced that as a women you should strength train and make it a priority on your go to workout list.
In the next instalment we will talk about how women should strength train because even though that there isn’t a lot o difference overall there are still a few adjustments that need to be made so we are able to design a training program that take advantage of women qualities and limit unnecessary strain on the body , just don’t expect me to tell you to lift those light pink dumbbells because I won’t because here at the fitness coach we love women and we consider them as equally strong as males and our job is to help them reach their true potential and put aside all society expectations and myths.
Until then I hope you enjoyed reading this article and I hope that I explained the facts in a good manner and next time we will put things in action. Stay tuned.
