by Holly Ridgeway

Created on: November 03, 2009

Ladies, Don't Worry About Bulking-Up When You Lift Weights

There are many women who still believe that if they lift heavy weights, they will bulk up just like men, and they avoid resistance training for fear that it is true. How pervasive is this myth? Well, when you go to the gym, how many ladies do you see on the weight room floor? And I mean the section with the Hex dumbbells and Smith machines. It's a veritable no woman's land! So how do we bust this myth once and for all and help encourage female weight training?

First, forget about those East German swim teams. We all know how they got big muscles. And forget about the competitive female bodybuilders you may have seen. If they look like men, it is likely that they too are taking anabolic steroids. And even if they are not, they are so tanned, well-oiled, and pumped up that their muscle-size is greatly exaggerated.

Second, stop thinking that pumping iron is a masculine way to exercise. Even women who do engage in resistance training usually use machines and not free weights. After all, it looks pretty sexy to be working it on the hip abductor, right? But curling a 20-pound dumbbell is viewed as a bit too mannish. However, you'll get a much better workout with the latter. Free weights use more stabilizer muscles. They can assist in evening out imbalances as well. An iron-pumping regimen will thus help you look more toned and shapely. In other words, more like a woman! So don't be intimidated; just step over the line.

Finally, understand that unless you are a woman who has an unnatural excess of testosterone, you are not going to get big lifting heavy weights. I repeat: You are not going to get big lifting heavy weights. Instead, your muscles will become leaner and more defined. And better yet, those muscles will burn more calories.

Still not convinced? Take a look at me. I weighed 105 pounds the year that I graduated from high school and was a size 3/4. Now, after about 10 years of heavy resistance training, I weigh 115 pounds and am a size 1/2. The reason? I have lost fat and gained muscle. The latter weighs more, but it does not add bulk. The body is more muscular, but its measurements have decreased.

So, don't fear the iron, ladies. Embrace it.

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