Many women refuse to lift weights or even exercise at all because they do not want to look like a man with big biceps. So instead they usually look fat and out of shape. The good news is women will not build those big muscles no matter how much weight you lift in the gym. It is just not in the female physiology.
First, it is important to understand, it is never about lifting weights but resistance. Whether this is done with dumbells, barbells, weight machines, resistance bands, or exercises (pushups, squats, lunges, etc.) using your own body weight, it is all resistance. The amount of resistance can often be increased with weights of various types.
For the girls who want to get those big muscles, you need to take some kind of dangerous supplements not made for a women’s body. It is not worth your health. Men have large amounts (especially when younger) of the male hormone, testosterone, that encourage muscles to grow. Women have some, but just ten to thirty times LESS testosterone, than men.
Many women ask then if resistance training or lifting weight will not build muscles at all then. This is also wrong. We said it won’t build big man-type muscles. You will build shapely, tight, firm muscles. What do you think guys are looking at on those bikini models? Those girls’ muscles! Shapely, tight, firm, muscles. Women tone their muscles with training and not build manly muscles.
If you do resistance training, one thing you will need to learn is to avoid reading your bathroom scale. Muscles are denser than body fat. That means, while you lose body fat and gain tight muscle definition, you may gain some body weight. But you will still look thinner as if you have lost weight! Ignore the scale as it does not tell the truth. Muscle is always better than fat. No need to worry when you take a break from exercise either. Muscle will never turn into fat.
For women there are several benefits they receive that are more important than weight-loss.
- Muscles burn calories. They burn calories for doing nothing even when sleeping. Where aerobic exercise stops burning calories & fat when your heart rate returns to normal, muscles continue for days after resistance exercise.
- Resistance Training & weight lifting reduces effects of osteoporosis and increases bone density. As women age osteoporosis becomes a bigger issue and later in life fractures can be serious or even fatal. As muscles get stronger, bones try to keep up by increasing density.
Some women may find certain muscles (usually legs) gain a little more size. Often simply adjusting your routine by decreasing the resistance (or weights) and increasing the repetitions per set will make them look very sexy. Not to worry.
All you girls need to do is pick up some weights or resistance bands and start working on those muscles!