Should women lift weights in the gym? This is one of the oldest questions in fitness and it's amazing how much confusion it still causes today. Today we will give you the lowdown on this often debated topic.
The unfortunate thing about the health and fitness industry is that everybody, even non-professionals, have an opinion on what people should and should not be doing. Many of those opinions don't take any scientific research into consideration and this often leads people down a path of confusion.
If you are old enough to remember the 1970's you will know the origins of this famous fitness myth. This all started during the glory days of bodybuilding. With massive, overly muscled guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger gracing stages around the world it's no wonder that most women were put off the idea of training with heavy barbells and dumbbells. Thanks to the thriving home circuit workout market during the 1980's VHS boom, the notion that women should stick to cardiovascular exercise was set in place.
Why? The belief was that if a woman touched a heavy weight she would grow big muscles and create a bodybuilder physique. Of course, if you have ever known somebody who has taken on a bodybuilding lifestyle you will know that this belief is pure nonsense. Bodybuilding is really a lifestyle and it's not surprising if a bodybuilder takes offence when they overhear somebody saying they don't want to touch a heavier dumbbell because they don't want to get huge. If only it were that easy.
Written below are a few of the major benefits to using resistance workouts as part of your fitness routine. Back in the early days a lot of opinions were based on very little evidence because it was all still relatively new, whereas nowadays we have the massive benefit of hindsight and years of scientific advancements.
* Resistance training is responsible for strengthening and toning your muscles.
* By training with weights you'll build more lean muscle tissue, which will in turn help your body to burn off more unwanted fat.
* Be prepared for a great increase in fitness.
* Resistance training has been shown to have very similar effects to HIIT in terms of it's ability to burn off body fat.
There's four reasons why every lady in your local gym should be working out with barbells and dumbbells. But what about the number one fear - Will it make you bulky? Actually, no. The female body does not release anywhere near as much testosterone as the male body, therefore making it very difficult to get big and bulky unless that is specifically what you are trying to do. The next time you see a female bodybuilder don't presume that she just lifted a slightly heavier dumbbell, she has had to tailor her diet to suit her needs and what supplements to take to help her body grow.
Lifting up a dumbbell is not going to automatically put you on the road to the next Mr. Olympia contest, so don't worry about that at all.
So what is the final verdict? Should women lift weights or should they avoid them? Of course, every lady who wants to lose weight or get leaner should really be performing resistance training at least a couple of times each week. Alongside learning what supplements to take this is probably one of the biggest sticky subjects in gyms around the world. Now you know the facts.
The unfortunate thing about the health and fitness industry is that everybody, even non-professionals, have an opinion on what people should and should not be doing. Many of those opinions don't take any scientific research into consideration and this often leads people down a path of confusion.
If you are old enough to remember the 1970's you will know the origins of this famous fitness myth. This all started during the glory days of bodybuilding. With massive, overly muscled guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger gracing stages around the world it's no wonder that most women were put off the idea of training with heavy barbells and dumbbells. Thanks to the thriving home circuit workout market during the 1980's VHS boom, the notion that women should stick to cardiovascular exercise was set in place.
Why? The belief was that if a woman touched a heavy weight she would grow big muscles and create a bodybuilder physique. Of course, if you have ever known somebody who has taken on a bodybuilding lifestyle you will know that this belief is pure nonsense. Bodybuilding is really a lifestyle and it's not surprising if a bodybuilder takes offence when they overhear somebody saying they don't want to touch a heavier dumbbell because they don't want to get huge. If only it were that easy.
Written below are a few of the major benefits to using resistance workouts as part of your fitness routine. Back in the early days a lot of opinions were based on very little evidence because it was all still relatively new, whereas nowadays we have the massive benefit of hindsight and years of scientific advancements.
* Resistance training is responsible for strengthening and toning your muscles.
* By training with weights you'll build more lean muscle tissue, which will in turn help your body to burn off more unwanted fat.
* Be prepared for a great increase in fitness.
* Resistance training has been shown to have very similar effects to HIIT in terms of it's ability to burn off body fat.
There's four reasons why every lady in your local gym should be working out with barbells and dumbbells. But what about the number one fear - Will it make you bulky? Actually, no. The female body does not release anywhere near as much testosterone as the male body, therefore making it very difficult to get big and bulky unless that is specifically what you are trying to do. The next time you see a female bodybuilder don't presume that she just lifted a slightly heavier dumbbell, she has had to tailor her diet to suit her needs and what supplements to take to help her body grow.
Lifting up a dumbbell is not going to automatically put you on the road to the next Mr. Olympia contest, so don't worry about that at all.
So what is the final verdict? Should women lift weights or should they avoid them? Of course, every lady who wants to lose weight or get leaner should really be performing resistance training at least a couple of times each week. Alongside learning what supplements to take this is probably one of the biggest sticky subjects in gyms around the world. Now you know the facts.
About the Author:
Need Help? Russ Howe PTI answers the query should women lift weights in the gym today. He also teaches you what supplements to take to suit your goal in his latest free guide which is available online.
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