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.
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.
Naturally, if building muscle was as easy as simply lifting up a dumbbell a few times per week then most guys would be completely ripped. However, common sense did not prevail at first and for many years there were countless ladies who avoided exercises which could have helped them to reach their goals faster.
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.
* One of the major benefits of building more lean muscle is that your body will burn off unwanted fat more effectively. This will help you to reach your goals faster, as well as making you look even better once you reach them!
* Your metabolism will rise dramatically, which is a good thing for those who are trying to burn off calories and drop pounds.
* Resistance training has similar fat burning and lean muscle building effects to high intensity interval training.
While those 4 points are all great, there is one major concern which almost every woman has. Is it going to make you look bulky? The answer is no. You cannot achieve a bodybuilder physique without living a bodybuilding lifestyle, which means learning what supplements to take and how to structure your diet to match your goal. Female bodybuilders find it even harder, because they need to supplement with testosterone boosting products as they don't have enough natural testosterone in their system to support as much muscle growth as men.
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.
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.
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.
Naturally, if building muscle was as easy as simply lifting up a dumbbell a few times per week then most guys would be completely ripped. However, common sense did not prevail at first and for many years there were countless ladies who avoided exercises which could have helped them to reach their goals faster.
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.
* One of the major benefits of building more lean muscle is that your body will burn off unwanted fat more effectively. This will help you to reach your goals faster, as well as making you look even better once you reach them!
* Your metabolism will rise dramatically, which is a good thing for those who are trying to burn off calories and drop pounds.
* Resistance training has similar fat burning and lean muscle building effects to high intensity interval training.
While those 4 points are all great, there is one major concern which almost every woman has. Is it going to make you look bulky? The answer is no. You cannot achieve a bodybuilder physique without living a bodybuilding lifestyle, which means learning what supplements to take and how to structure your diet to match your goal. Female bodybuilders find it even harder, because they need to supplement with testosterone boosting products as they don't have enough natural testosterone in their system to support as much muscle growth as men.
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 shows you what supplements to take to reach your target physique in his exclusive free guide which is out right now.
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