Women, Weights and Bulking: What? How? Who?
Get the skinny on all the misconceptions women have about using weights.
Myth 1: Women shouldn't lift heavy weights because it's dangerous.
"Anything is dangerous if you're doing it incorrectly. In fact, women of all ages and backgrounds can safely learn weightlifting with the help of a good coach
Elite women athletes are, pound for pound, some of the strongest in the world.
Increases overall strength and durability of muscles
Increases bone density. Muscle and tendons apply tension to the bone stimulating it to produce more bone tissue. Increases osteoblast or the cell production that helps bone growth and density. Osteoclasts or the removal of bone can occur more in women who do not do resistance training. When Osteoclasts outperform Osteoblasts, bones get weaker and fragility of the bone structure can occur.
Myth 2: Women who lift weights will get bulky.
It's true, that if you lift enough weights over a long enough time, you will gain muscle mass
Building muscle takes significantly longer than burning fat, and years of hard work are required for the lean muscle mass you see on "bulky" athletes. 3-4 time a week would not be considered enough to gain mass
Myth 3: Women can't lose weight through lifting.
"As soon as you stop doing cardio, you stop burning calories. When you lift weights, once you stop, your body starts to recover, and continues to burn calories for a long period of time."
It has another benefit for a lean physique, too, particularly in the long-term. As you build muscle with weightlifting, your body will need to use more energy maintaining all that tissue, which can further increase the number of calories you burn during daily activities.
Myth 4: You should use light weight and lots of reps to "tone" certain muscles.
However, the word "tone" here is misleading because it refers to the idea that you can achieve defined muscles by changing their shape but without bulking up. In reality, you can't gain muscle definition without gaining some muscle mass (or losing body fat).
LW/High Rep triggers type 1 muscles (slow twitch) which is good for endurance but not for building muscle. They take longer to fatigue but can result in poor position over time causing injury.
HW/Low Rep Trigger type 2 muscles (fast twitch) like a sprinter
"Your muscles can get bigger or smaller, you can't change the shape,"
Moreover, toning is sometimes associated with spot reducing, which refers to when you target a specific area of your body — like your stomach or thighs — to make it leaner. However, spot reducing is not real: You can't just tell your body you want to lose weight in a certain area, this is mostly because SR targets relatively smaller muscles which are good for stabilization but relatively insignificant in terms of enhancing overall fitness.
FIT PEOPLE BURN FAT more efficiently than DECONDITIONED PEOPLE.
Fat cells do get released as a source of energy; however, this system doesn’t pull directly from largest concentration of fat on the body.
You can cook a Turkey with a candle, or you can do it with an oven.
Save the smaller Muscles for the end of the workout.
THE BURN: its simply a chemical reaction that takes place during some types of training intensity. Its been sold to us by commercial fitness industry because it a immediate gratification and some positive feedback that an exercise
Myth 5: It's scary or intimidating to learn weightlifting.
As a fitness beginner, walking into a gym can be anxiety-provoking, since it's easy to worry about being judged or fitting in. This can be particularly true for women in weight rooms full of men.
While it can feel overwhelming to know where to start, learning to lift weights doesn't have to be scary. Many gym communities are extremely welcoming to newcomers and are happy to help a newbie learn the ropes (or barbells). And weightlifting increasingly includes women as much as men — today, 47% of USA Weightlifting members are women, compared to just 17% in 2007.
One key toward feeling comfortable in the gym is finding a good coach. Coaching is crucial for beginners, but it's also valuable for even the most experienced athletes to improve their technique and make progress.
"Everybody needs a coach when they start weightlifting,"