5 Myths About Women And Weights

In most regular gyms, a typical stereotype plays out almost without fail: men lift weights while women try to burn fat on the cardio machines. At a women’s only fitness centre, a lot of the intimidation factor of working out next to the men is removed, and yet many women are still afraid to start pumping iron. Here are five common misconceptions about women and weights to help change your mind:

Cardio machines burn more fat.

While it’s true that you burn more fat during exercise when your heart rate elevated, adding more muscle mass means you’ll burn more calories all day, every day. If you want the cardio benefits of an elevated heart rate, check out circuit training with weights.

Lifting weights will build bulky man muscles.

The bulky “man muscles” you see on female bodybuilders come from training for several hours, eating 5,000+ calories and taking very specific supplements to increase muscle mass – EVERY SINGLE DAY. They do not come from lifting weights 2-3 times a week!

My friend’s program will work for me, too!

If your friend is working with a trainer, don’t assume using your friend’s program will help YOU reach YOUR goals. That program wasn’t designed for YOU, it was designed for your friend. If you want the benefits of working out with a trainer, you’ll need to work with one on your own.

This one exercise will get rid of my love handles.

All the side bends and sit ups in the world will not get rid of your love handles, and leg lifts alone will not give you the illustrious thigh gap. Your strength training routine should focus on all of the muscle groups, but you should know the flattest abs are built in the kitchen.

Muscle weighs more than fat.

A pound is a pound, no matter the tissue. But because muscle is denser than fat, it takes up much less room. When you train with heavy weights, you will gain muscle mass while losing fat mass. Even if the number on the scale doesn’t change, your body shape will.

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