By: Joshua Yeary - Contributing Author
The world is full of misconceptions about training, nutrition, and injury prevention. Women’s strength training is no different; in fact, it might be one of the areas with the largest number of misconceptions and myths surrounding it. What I am going to do today is bust fifteen of the most popular myths out there; many of them you have probably heard or you have used as an excuse not to do strength training. Not only am I going to bust these myths, but I am going to show you exactly why strength training is just as important for all of you women out there as it is for children and men. Many of these misconceptions, while prominent among women when it comes to training, are also found in the general population of men and children categories as well.
You may be asking what is strength training? Strength training is the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles; often times it includes resistance training, weight training/lifting, or bodyweight exercises. Strength training and the benefits it offers have no age limit, preferred sex, or philosophy. The benefits are for everyone and the goal is the same: to become stronger, faster, more agile, and more flexible while burning away fat and toning up our bodies. So, let’s go ahead and jump into busting the 15 most popular myths out there.
Myth One: I go to the gym and do cardio exercises every time I am there or I bike, run, swim, skate, etc. daily. Isn’t that enough?
No, it is not enough! While cardio (short for cardiovascular) surely has its purpose, it is not intended to be used solely for the purpose of losing weight. Again, cardio exercises are not intended solely for the purpose of losing weight. Now, many of you probably just read that and are now thinking to yourself, ‘This guy has no idea what he’s talking about,’ which is fine but hear me out. We might go to the gym to run on a treadmill or we go on a bike ride or whatever we are doing as a cardio exercise.
The word cardiovascular literally means the heart and blood vessels, in other words, you are doing something that is strengthening and exercising your heart which is a muscle. You may have also heard the term ‘cardio-respiratory system’ which means: heart and lungs. When you are doing cardio, you are working both your cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) and respiratory (lungs) system; the two systems go hand in hand. You are strengthening both systems and are making both more efficient because your heart and lungs are muscles and must be worked just like any muscle in your body if you want it to be healthy and strong and work properly. In terms of weight loss (the main reason people do cardio exercises), you are only burning calories while you are exercising; soon after you stop biking or walking or whatever you chose to do, you quit burning extra calories and your metabolic processes (what controls the amount of calories your body burns naturally) returns to normal.
With strength training, however, you continue burning additional calories throughout the day because for every pound of muscle you have on your body you will burn an additional (on top of your regular metabolic process) 30-50 calories per day. To make it more simple- cardio is a temporary solution to weight loss while building muscle and then maintaining it is a long term solution to weight loss.
Myth Two: As a woman, if I lift weights and lift too often I will become muscular and bulky.
This is another myth that is widely believed and is widely inaccurate but because of the existence of women bodybuilders it is easy to understand why this is a very common misconception. Basically, in the majority of women (there are exceptions to every rule), there are two huge natural fail safes to prevent this from occurring. The first one is the lack of natural testosterone produced by the female body. Testosterone is a primarily male hormone that is responsible for helping to maintain reproductive tissues, stimulate sperm production, stimulate and maintain sexual function, increase and maintain bone density and strength, and increase your muscle mass and strength (which is the topic of this article). Men naturally produce 10-20 times more of this hormone naturally then woman so it is much harder for women to gain large amounts of muscle mass without supplementing it and getting it artificially through various products. A woman that works out naturally and maintains a normal, healthy diet and does not use artificial testosterone boosters will not become big and bulky; it’s impossible!
The second reason that body builder physique that most women are afraid of will not happen from strength training is because the typical female has less type II muscle fibers in their body than men. Type II muscle fibers are the muscle fibers responsible for a person’s muscular strength, speed and power; by having less of these it is harder to gain in these areas though it should be noted that up to a certain point women will gain strength faster than a male but they will not gain size which is what we are concerned about. Increased strength is a benefit and makes everything in your life easier; muscular size is what you want to avoid as a female but, again, as long as you work out and eat healthy and naturally you will not have anything to worry about.
Myth Three: Women should avoid lifting heavy weights.
This pretty much goes back to myth number two (you’ll become big and bulky if you lift). You have nothing to worry about so increase your repetitions and weight as you see fit, as long as you can maintain proper form and technique. Never sacrifice form and technique for weight or speed; always maintain good form to avoid injury. When safely done, heavy lifting develops stronger ligaments, tendons, and bones. Don’t be afraid to increase the amount of resistance or the weight you are lifting as you progress to make sure that you are continuing to achieve your goals.
Myth Four: I am doing a strength training routine but I am not seeing significant loss in my weight; I must be doing something wrong!
First, GET RID OF YOUR SCALE! That’s right ladies-that scale is not your friend and the amount you weigh is not a measure of your success or your failure. More often than not, people use the terms weight loss and fat loss interchangeably and get themselves and others confused on what their actual goal is. Most likely your goal is to lose fat; obviously as you do this you will lose some weight depending on how much fat you have on your body. Let’s pretend, for an easy example, that you weigh 150 pounds in total and that 20 pounds of that is fat. After you to workout, let’s say you lose those 20 pounds of fat but gain 5 pounds of muscle in the process, so your ending weight would be 135 pounds. But, you drastically reduced the amount of fat on your body while toning and shaping up so you are now 135 pounds total (in mathematical terms: (150lbs total-20lbs of fat) + 5lbs of muscle= 135lbs total).
The important thing to remember is you want to lose the fat and tone and shape your body; the number of the scale doesn’t matter. Do you look healthier, slim and fit at 135 pounds because you lost the fat so now you have the slender hips, chiseled abs and defined legs? Then you have reached your goal! The best ways to set a goal is not with numbers but with pictures; find a picture of someone that you want to have a body like and then work toward that goal. You will lose fat, tone and sculpt, increase your strength and lose weight as well.
Myth Five: If I work out a lot I will increase the size of my chest/breasts (for better or worse).
Very simple myth to debunk; breasts are made of fatty tissue and not muscle tissue, so working out will not increase their size. Also, unless you go below 12% body fat, you will not lose any size in your breasts either. So they only way to increase the size of your breasts is through gaining fat or breast implants and the only way to decrease the size is through breast reduction surgery or to go below 12% body fat.
Myth Six: Strength training will make me stiff and muscle bound; my movements will be ungraceful and abrupt.
Wrong! When done correctly and mixed with stretching, strength training is one of the best ways to increase the flexibility of your body. When you are exercising, make sure to go through the full possible range of motion for the exercise you are trying to accomplish. This will ensure that all the muscle fibers are engaged and that all areas of your joints are worked. When done consistently and properly, this will cause you to have more flexibility in your joints and your muscles will feel more relaxed when not being used in the same manner as when you are training.
Myth Seven: If I am training and then stop for a period of time then all my muscle will turn to fat.
What is this-the middle ages where we are trying to turn elements into gold? Muscle tissue and fat tissue are two completely different tissues. It is 100% absolutely impossible to turn one into the other. What really happens in most cases is that the individual stops training and are usually quick to give up on the diet as well. When muscles are not used on a consistent basis for a period of time, they begin to atrophy or weaken and shrink from not being used. As this happens while the person is no longer eating healthy, they begin to put back on the fat that they had lost. This gives the illusion and false impression that muscle turns into fat when it is not used. Again, this is about as wrong as believing you can turn one element like silver into another like gold; if you have figured out how to do that, then please share with me!
Myth Eight: When I am involved in some kind of strength training I am turning my fat into muscle.
Remember myth number seven? Muscle turns into fat… that was wrong and we now know why. Guess what? The same exact rules apply here! Fat cannot and will not turn into muscle because they are two totally different types of tissue. When you train and are eating right, you are simply burning more calories than you are taking in and are burning your fat off. As you work out, you are also strengthening your muscles and increasing your muscle mass so it gives the illusion that your fat is turning into muscle when really you are just melting the fat away and replacing it with lean, sculpted muscle.
Myth Nine: If I exercise everyday then I can eat anything and everything I want to as often as I want to, can’t I?
No, unfortunately that is not the way it is for the majority of us (though I wish this was true)! The majority of us still need to watch what we consume because the majority of us are not able to metabolize calories fast enough. Our metabolism is what controls how fast we burn calories and it differs for each individual. This myth probably came around because of the existence of what we call a hard gainer, which is an individual that has such a high metabolism that they seem to be able to eat anything and still remain healthy and in shape. Your metabolism will catch up to you and as you age and it will become slower and less effective. It’s still important to watch what you consume, whether you are exercising or not, to maintain the results you have achieved.
Myth Ten: If I only train certain areas of my body then I can reduce fat, strengthen or tone and sculpt just that area.
If you have caught onto the trend of all these myths, you know that the answer to this is already false. This is what is commonly known as “spot reduction” and is something that companies have tried, with great success, to capitalize on; unfortunately it doesn’t truly exist (but the companies don’t want you to know this). You cannot lose fat in just one area of your body; the only way to get the results you want is to work each area of your body and by doing so you will increase your fitness and reduce your fat over your entire body. While you can increase muscle mass in one area and not another, as you will sometimes see in people with large upper bodies and chicken legs, it is impossible to burn fat on just one area of your body. Besides, why would you want to do that? Seems like you would look healthier, sexier, leaner and meaner if you improved each area of your body and worked on each part to get a fitter and happier you! As we talked about earlier, it’s all about toning, up, increasing strength, and feeling healthier.
Myth Eleven: Strength training and exercise take too long; I don’t have time for it.
Are you going to sit there and tell me that you do not have at least 30 minutes to spare during your day? That’s all it takes to get a good, solid, effective workout; just 30 minutes, anything extra is a bonus. You can save a lot of time by doing compound exercises instead of singling out each muscle individually; you do not have the time to work out all 600+ muscles in your body; no one does! That’s why trainers and coaches have developed what are known as compound exercises or compound movements. Basically, these are exercises that are working more than one muscle group at the same time such as a squat, push up, lateral pull down, dip, and many others. For examples of compound exercises, simply search “compound exercises” on Google or your preferred search engine or check with us; we will be doing another article or video on various compound exercises (I do not know if you are reading this before or after that has been completed).
Myth Twelve: I don’t have access to a gym and don’t have all the equipment to get a good workout.
You can work out with any amount of equipment and any kind of equipment; you can even get a good result producing workout without any equipment at all! Yes, we will be doing or have already done an article/video (or both) about bodyweight exercises or in simpler terms: exercises you can perform using just your body as resistance. They are a great way to get a workout if you have little time, space, or equipment available. Obviously, the more equipment available the easier it is but sometimes you just have to be a little creative and have a little determination not to let your lack of equipment stop you. Don’t make excuses; make results happen!
Myth Thirteen: Strength training is dangerous and hazardous to my health.
Really? What event, hobby, job, or other activity that you participate in is not dangerous in some way if not done correctly? Strength training is the exact same as all of those; when done properly and in a safe environment then it is perfectly safe and effective. Never sacrifice proper form for additional weight or speed and you can avoid pretty much any injury; go with what you can comfortably perform. If you need help or have a question on how to do something then seek help; there are plenty of resources available from trainers online or in your local gym to assist and teach you so that you can get the results you want from a properly executed exercise and strength training routine.
Myth Fourteen: If I take protein, as a woman, it will help enhance my physique.
Yep, you guessed it, the answer is no, it won’t. As long as you maintain a healthy diet, you are getting the proper amount of protein that you need to fuel your results. Often, women that take additional protein, such as a shake, see it stored in the body as fat, which is, obviously, counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve. Men, on the other hand, absorb the extra protein much faster and easier into their muscles (it gets a lot more scientific than that though) which is what causes it to be such an effective supplement for males.
Myth Fifteen: As I lift more often or engage in strength training exercises more often, I will need to begin taking a lot more vitamins.
As in the case of myth fourteen-no benefit comes from taking excess vitamins. No matter how much you work out, your body can only absorb so much nutrients; the rest is either stored as fat or flushed from your body. All you will have done is successfully wasted your money. As long as you maintain a proper diet (notice how that is a reoccurring theme?) then you will get all the proper nutrients your body requires.
There you have it folks, the top fifteen most popular strength training myths debunked and busted! Only myths two, three, and five are actually solely pertaining to women; the rest of them are myths that exist for any age, sex, or goal. If you have read my strength training article for kids, then you already know some of things that are kid specific. As is talked about in that article, you can find trainers everywhere that can modify any program and adapt it to fit your individual specific needs. We talk several times throughout this article about proper diet and supplements. To make this very clear, supplements are meant for supplementation; basically, you take them to fill in the gaps in your nutrition and diet to maximize your results. They are meant to simply aid you in achieving your results and are not meant to be a magic remedy or a quick fix to make everything instantly better. The reason there are so many different kinds of supplements is because there are so many things your body needs to function effectively. Aside from that, I hope this article has helped to clear up some misconceptions you may have heard, or even had yourself, and I hope that it helps you to think differently about your workout and maximize the results you want. Always remember this simple truth: “I can make excuses or I can make results.”
-Joshua Yeary
Master Trainer
Certified Nutritionist