One of the biggest concerns I deal with when discussing a fitness plan for women all go back to myths that scare women away from strength training.

The myths just won’t die and I have to set women’s mind at ease everyday.

I have been a trainer a very very long time.

I followed all the guru’s in the 90’s who claimed that women should only do very high reps with very low weights and do hours of steady state cardio.

BORING!

Not to mention the results from that type of training are minimal and slower than a week in jail.

I began training athletes and became an avid student of strength and fitness and discovered the truth!

I can tell you these facts:

I train women who can do pullups, correctly.

They can deadlift and squat as much as some men in the gym…

I have trained women who won strongman contests , powerlifting competitions and  world champion boxers.

I can also tell you that all of these women had one thing in common…

They were small…

They were feminine…

They were not masculine or bulky at all…

In the last 5 to 10 years women have been embracing getting strong and lifting heavier weights.

Nothing has me more excited! I have known all along that strength training is critical for women. When it comes to overall fat loss and more importantly to prevent poor posture, osteoporosis and many other threats to the quality of life for women.

However many women have been misinformed and made to believe that any form of strength training is harmful to their goals.

Well I am here to bust those myths once and for all.

Myth #1- Lifting Weights Makes Women Big And Bulky

We may as well start with the oldest myth that I am afraid will never die. I often get questions from women concerned that lifting anything heavier than a 10 pound dumbbell will having them looking masculine and large.

• • • • The truth is if a woman

      wanted to put on large amounts of muscle, nature and hormones are stacked against the ladies.

• Women only possess about 5% of the hormone testosterone (the hormone responsible for adding muscle) that men do.

• While I know there are exceptions, in the hundreds of women I have trained I have only known 2 or 3 women who put on large amounts of muscle exceptionally fast.

The overwhelming majority of women will develop muscle at a much slower rate than men and will not get huge muscles.

Myth #2 – Women Should Only Lift Light Weights For 15 to 20 Reps For Definition

While it doesn’t hurt to do some high rep exercises in High Intensity Cardio Sessions, it will not improve muscular definition.

The amount of reps you do does not affect definition. Muscular definition is determined by how low your body fat levels are. We all have the muscle underneath the fat, we just have to lower our body fat levels low enough to see those muscles.

What’s the quickest way to lower that body fat?

You guessed it…strength training. Muscle is metabolic. That means that the more lean muscle you add the more calories your body burns every day.

Myth #3 – Women’s Bones And Joints Are Not Strong Enough To Support Lifting Heavier Weight

This one is as old as exercise itself…

The same thinking that was actually responsible for the belief that women are physically incapable of doing pushups or pullups.

One key benefit of strength training for women is improved BONE DENSITY!

Women’s risk of osteoporosis increases as their estrogen levels decrease. This can lead to softer more brittle bones that can negatively impact a woman’s quality of life.

Strength training improves bone density and will decrease the chances of breaks, fractures and other problems associated with osteoporosis.

Women are also more prone to back and neck pain due to pregnancy and hormonal changes. Building strong joints and muscles in the back and shoulders early on can help prevent this pain and discomfort.

I hope I answered your questions with the real facts about these myths. If you have any questions or want to discuss beginning a strength training program feel free to message or call me anytime.

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