Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Do Women Get Big Muscles 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.

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.

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:

* In order to build a toned, lean physique you simply need some kind of resistance training.

* 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.

* Like HIIT, which is great for bringing your body fat percentage down, resistance training also has many fat loss benefits.

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.


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