Myth Busters: Women, does Strength
Training make us bulky?!
NO! Nein! Net! Nahi! In any way you ask it, in any language you answer it, the answer will always be: NOPE! Strength training will not make women “bulky”. In fact, strength training will do many amazing things for women, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they may be falling into the webbings of the many false and nasty rumors that are out there. So today, we are going to bust 3 common women-related strength training myths.
Myth 1: “Women should avoid lifting weights because it will make them bulky.”
THIS MYTH MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL. I’ve been working in the fitness industry for 7 years as a Group Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer, and Fitness Director and I can’t count the number of times I’ve corrected people on this very myth. But, as with anything in the world, how can you know the truth if it isn’t brought to your attention? So, here is the truth: Physiologically, women have less testosterone (the muscle-building hormone) than men. We can lift weights every day, twice a day, and we will never develop the muscle mass that men can achieve. Don’t let the women body-builder photo’s scare you—those women are supplementing extremely high-caloric diets (and possibly other things) to get that big.
Myth 2: “If women lift, they need to use light weights for high repetitions or it will make them bulky.”
INCORRECT-O-MUNDO! Now, I’m crazy in love with Group Fitness, but one of my pet peeves about most Group Fitness studios is the lack of heavy weight available, because I think it sends the subliminal message that women shouldn’t lift heavy weights (and the very incorrect message that Group Fitness is just for females). What I LOVE about Four Seasons is that we DO HAVE heavy weights available in our studios! Grab those heavy dumbbells, ladies! AND, barbells, let’s talk about barbells! The great thing about barbell Group Fitness classes, like the class Stronger at Four Seasons, is that you can keep adding more and more weight to your barbell as you get…well, “stronger” (name coincidence, I think not).
Women, this incorrect theory of light-weights/high-reps-only is bogus, and goes back to the testosterone thing—bulky will not happen, beautifully strong WILL happen. If you want to see results, you need to overload your body, and overloading for strength training means to keep increasing weights as we get stronger.
Myth 3: “Women should only do cardio because that’s what helps them lose weight and tone up.”
EWWWW! “Tone”. Why is that word so popular in the fitness industry?! Let’s stop it, right here, right now. Getting “toned” is a silly way of saying “loosing fat so my muscles can show”. How about, instead, we start saying, “let’s get strong”? Okay, glad you agree. Now, every program out there that wants to sell you something is going to tell you they have the latest and greatest way to make you “burn fat”. The science behind it all is simply: your body’s metabolism is getting more bang for its buck when you increase your lean body tissue (aka, muscles). Now, I’m not saying going on the elliptical is bad, steady-state cardiovascular training has many benefits. So does high intensity interval training. But, the research shows that incorporating total-body strength training into your exercise regimen will help you burn more calories while you are exercising and while you are at rest.
Strength training will do so many amazing things for our bodies, our overall health and our lives. Let’s continue to create a culture that empowers women to feel strong, and not worry about “getting bulky”.
Want to talk to Shelby about strength training? Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her today! Check out our Group Fitness page for more information about classes at Four Seasons Health Club.
By Shelby Dietz
Program Manager
Four Seasons Health Club
