Busting Myths - The Simple Truth About Women and Weights
The myths about women’s weight training are all over the place. Today we will cover some of them and find out the truth.
Myth 1: Lifting heavy weights you look ‘bulky” and “manly”
Due to the fact that women do not, and cannot, naturally produce as much testosterone (one of the main hormones responsible for increasing muscle size) as males do, it is impossible for a woman to gain huge amounts of muscle mass by merely touching some weights.
Unfortunately, the image that may come to your mind is that of professional female bodybuilders. Most of these women, unfortunately, use anabolic steroids along with other drugs in order to achieve that high degree of muscularity.
In addition, most also have good genetics coupled with an unbelievable work ethic that enables them to gain muscle quickly when they spend hours in the gym lifting very heavyweights.
Rest assured they do not look like that by accident.
Myth 2 – Women should only focus on cardio.
This is a HUGE MISTAKE !!!
Women that only concentrate on cardio will have a very hard time achieving the look that they want.
If you only did cardio and restricted your calories then eventually muscle would be burned for fuel. One needs to do weights in order to get the muscle-building machine going and thus prevent any loss of muscle tissue.
Myth 3: Women should stick with light weights only
This is just more nonsense. Muscle responds to resistance and if the resistance is too light, then there will be no reason for the body to change (No progressive overload).
Myth 4: Lifting weights will hurt your flexibility
When you combine weights and dynamic movements, you are not only building your muscles but also lengthening them. When you lift with the correct technique and use your full range of motion, your flexibility will actually increase.
Working and strengthening your muscles will also help support your joints preventing injuries and increase your endurance for your cardio workouts.
Myth 5: If you stop weight training your muscles turn into fat
This is physically impossible due to the fact that muscle and fat are two completely different tissues. One type of tissue cannot be turned into the other.
As you use your muscles and lose fat through both cardio and strength training, your muscles will become more visible and defined. If you stop training, you will lose muscle mass over time.
Myth 6: I don’t want to gain muscle because it won’t help me change my body.
Weight lifting has been shown to improve bone density as well as reduce the symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, and depression. Increasing your lean muscle mass will increase your metabolism and help you to burn more calories while at rest.
To sum up,
Don’t be afraid to start adding resistance and strength training to your routine! It will not cause you to bulk up, or decrease your yoga-built flexibility.
