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All About Women And Weight Training

A terrible incorrect myth that unfortunately a lot of women believe is that weight training (working out with weights) will make them look like a man or they’ll turn out to be really bulky. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Casual strength training, lifting light weights as part of a balanced routine and hitting the gym for an hour a day will not lead you to looking like a female Hulk.

What will result, however, is a more toned, firmer, and "smaller" looking body.

Weight training for women or strength training as it is sometimes called is a program that helps women develop a healthier heart with tougher connective tissue. Not only does it help control weight and make you feel and look trimmer, lifting weights helps protect you against osteoporosis – a common ailment that affects women after menopause. Additionally, lifting weights has major psychological benefits as it provides you with the confidence to take matters upon yourself. The impact can be large or small, as being stronger can make you have an easier time while cleaning and moving furniture around the house, or it can it have a much more serious impact on your life, like making you more able to fight off an attacker.

Some weight training studies have demonstrated that both men and women have a similar increase in strength when involved in resistance training. However, women naturally start off at a lower scale in terms of beginning strength. The reasoning for this is both physiological and hormonal. By nature, men are normally taller and stronger on average than women, thus men are able to generate more force. In addition, men are also able to produce more testosterone than women. This is relevant because testosterone has an impact on the ability to increase muscle size.

Getting started with weight training

As mentioned before, even if you have a sturdy frame and have a higher than normal testosterone level you won’t have to worry about gaining massive muscle sizes unless you go overboard. If you’re starting off lifting weights for the first time, you should strongly consider finding a trainer at your gym or getting the advice of someone who is experienced with lifting weights to show you a proper regime. If you lift weights incorrectly, you may not be receiving the benefits from it – and may even hurt yourself.

As a foundation, though, consider this for a basic strength training program:

• Make sure not to “spot” train. Focusing on your abs won’t make you get a 6-pack – you need to have a variety of exercises, at least 10, that work your lower, upper, and middle body.
• Lift weights in one to three sets involving 8 to 12 repetitions. You want to make sure you rest in between each set, anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds.
• Perform your strength training program 2 or 3 times a week. Never do two consecutive days of weight lifting, as your muscles need time to rest.

And finally, it’s always better to start off easy than to build up. If you lift too much weight too early, it’s detrimental in so many ways – you might hurt yourself, you’ll be come discouraged, your muscles will take 2-4 days to fully heal, etc. Once you have the techniques down and you’ve prepared your muscles by lifting light weights, then you can decide to progress onto heavier lifting and a more serious strength training program.

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