Thursday, August 22, 2013

Will Women Get Bulky If They Lift Weights?

Will Women Get Bulky If They Lift Weights?


by Howe Russ


There is not a girl in any fitness center who hasn't wondered at least once during a workout, 'Should women lift weights or will it make us big and bulky?' This is one of the most commonly asked questions in the fitness industry and today's article will help you to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

If you are female it is highly likely that you have already encountered several different opinions on this very topic, resulting in you heading online for a more scientific verdict.
Personal Trainer Russ Howe PTI answers the question should women lift weights in the gym today.


This myth originates from the late 1970's, when the sport of bodybuilding suddenly burst into the mainstream and every guy wanted to build bigger arms as quickly as possible. Seeing huge guys such as Arnold Schwarzenegger lifting heavy dumbbells for set after set was a great inspiration for most guys to aspire to, but it had the opposite effect on ladies. The general assumption was that ladies should only do resistance training if they wanted to look like a bodybuilder. The 1980's VHS era made this situation worse, telling ladies that they needed to stick to long, drawn out cardio workouts and avoid resistance training completely.

Why did this happen? It was like adding 2 and 2, but getting 5. People presumed that if you touched weights you would automatically end up looking like a bodybuilder, because they famously training regularly with weights. of course, now we know differently, but this myth still exists in gyms today. If it were that easy to pack on lean size, every guy in your local gym would have the Rambo physique.

There have been many scientific studies performed on male and female exercise enthusiasts over the last four decades which confirm that women should indeed be performing regular resistance training for a number of important reasons. They are listed below:

* Resistance training is responsible for strengthening and toning your muscles.

* Not only will your body build more lean muscle, you'll actually burn off more fat in the process.

* Be prepared for a great increase in fitness.

* Resistance training has similar fat burning and lean muscle building effects to high intensity interval training.

The four points above should be enough to get you on the resistance machines the next time you hit the gym, but now we answer the top concern ladies have on this subject. Is it going to make you grow big muscles and appear bulky? No, it is not. Female's simply don't have enough testosterone in their body's to do that, which is why those who become female bodybuilders need to get their diet in check, figure out what supplements to take and consume things like testosterone boosters on a regular basis.

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.




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