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.
Now that we have the benefit of decades of scientific research we are able to see the many benefits the female body can enjoy if it is trained with weights on a regular basis. Here are just a few:
* If you only perform cardiovascular workouts you will not build the lean physique most women want to achieve. Resistance training plays a major role here.
* 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.
That's a lifestyle you certainly couldn't live by accident. Unless you are deliberately trying to look like a bodybuilder, you will not look like one.
At the end of the day, should women lift weights or should they stick to cardiovascular exercise? By now you know all the facts point towards getting a healthy balance of both because they will each play an integral role in your quest to build a better physique. If you had previously wondered about this subject but never knew what to believe don't worry, you are certainly not alone in this. In fact, alongside learning what supplements to take to suit your goal, this is easily one of the most common myths mentioned in any gym around the world.
