Are you hesitant to pick up those weights? Don’t let myths hold you back! Health & wellness coach Jennifer Dietrick is here to unravel the misconceptions surrounding weight training for women. Let’s empower ourselves with the truth and embrace the benefits of strength training together.

This topic is very important to me since I have been talking to women for years about the positive benefits of weight training. Simultaneously, I’ve been advocating against the misconceptions surrounding weight training for women, emphasizing how untrue they are. With over 20 years of personal experience in weight training, I hold a strong belief in its efficacy and benefits.

Cardio is NOT King

One of the biggest misconceptions is that it is not as important as cardio when it comes to changing your body composition. Many women depend on the scale and look for lower numbers which will be reflected if you want to lose a substantial amount of size.

If you don’t have much fat to lose, then the scale may stay the same or even go up when adding muscle but you are still losing inches. When the number on the scale is the main motivator, then women will be deterred from weightlifting. It is also just an old pattern that can be hard for them to break because they believe false information.

Some are also convinced that they need that tired feeling and a lot of sweating after cardio to think that they are losing fat. Weightlifting has a different type of exhaustion when done and typically you are not as sweaty as cardio.

I also emphasize that cardio is great for health and can aid in losing fat, but it doesn’t have nearly as much influence as weightlifting. Lifting weights can often burn more calories than cardio due to its effect on increasing muscle mass. Unlike cardio exercises which primarily burn calories during the workout, weightlifting boosts metabolism and burns calories even after the workout as muscles repair and grow.

Additionally, weightlifting engages more muscle groups, leading to a higher calorie expenditure overall compared to cardio exercises targeting specific muscle groups.

Lifting Does NOT Make You Bulky

Along similar lines, doing light weight with high reps and no break will turn weightlifting into a cardio session. Keep cardio outside of your weightlifting session and make certain you challenge yourself with the weight you choose during weightlifting. Many women feel that they shouldn’t lift heavy because they are not going to look “toned” but instead look big and bulky.

The toned appearance they are referring to comes from building muscle through weightlifting and also from becoming leaner.  If a woman lifts weights and eats more than she did before, you won’t be able to see the muscle definition. If someone is not getting toned, it is due to improper nutrition, not weightlifting. Women don’t have the amount of testosterone as men, so they physically can’t get that big even if they are lifting as heavy as they can handle.

 

Women Can Perform ANY Lift

When lifting weights, a woman can do the same exercises as a man does. There is false information that they need to only perform certain exercises to keep their feminine shape which is completely untrue.

Many times, compound movements such as deadlifts and pull ups are discouraged because they are falsely viewed as exercises only for men. A women’s skeleton such as her hip width is not going to change her feminine curves since it is bone structure.

 

Give Weight Training a GO!

Over the years, I’ve encountered numerous examples of women being hesitant about weightlifting. However, I’ve also successfully persuaded many women to embrace weightlifting as a means to achieve their fat loss goals. Through consistency and trust in the process, they’ve seen the results they desired. It truly works once you dispel misconceptions and adhere to a well-structured training regimen. If you aspire to be leaner, shapelier, healthier, stronger, and feel better overall, then embracing weightlifting is the way to go.

 

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Martial Artist Jennifer Dietrick

Jennifer Dietrick

Jennifer Dietrick is a highly accomplished and successful health & fitness coach.  With 18 years of experience competing in physique sports, Jennifer designs specialized programs for each client to be healthy and strong.  With the desire to continue to learn Jennifer now spends her free time training and competing in martial arts.                
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