Myths Girls Hold About Strength Training

[HomoFuge]

So, I see a lot of girls often staying away from strength training because they get put off due to misconceptions. This myTake will hopefully clear up misconceptions.

Misconception 1: Lifting weights will make me look like a man

This is a very common belief and so many girls state it as a reason for why they do not lift weights. It is impossible for you to look like the woman above after just a year of training. The woman above probably was training for at least 10 years and is clearly on steroids to look like that. As long as you stay away from drugs, lifting weights will actually help you look more feminine, giving you that big booty that you desire. Exercise also helps keep your breasts perky as well. So, lift if you don’t want saggy tits.

Misconception 2: Running a lot will help me build muscle

Running is a cardiovascular activity. It strengthens your heart and is great for weight loss. However, that is all it is good for. Running will burn calories and fat. If you don’t have much fat, you will start burning muscle instead. By all means, do running if you are overweight and need to lose some extra pounds. But don’t just run, expecting to make muscle gains that way. You need dumbbells and barbells for that.

Misconception 3: Doing 100 crunches a day and Russian twists will burn belly fat and give me abs

This won’t work because it is based upon the belief that we can spot reduce fat. It has been scientifically proven that we cannot spot reduce fat. If you want to reduce belly fat you need to lower your overall body fat percentage. This can be achieved through cardio activities like running which specifies burn fat and extra calories. Also, please do not do Russian twists. They are a useless exercise that will mess up your lumbar spine.

Misconception 4: I need to live on salads to lose weight

Obviously, salads are really good for you and you should eat them. However, losing weight is more about eating less calories than you burn. If you eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. This is called a calorie deficit. To gain weight, you need to eat more than you burn. This is called a calorie surplus. It is really as simple as that.

Misconception 5: I can’t do cardio and strength train at the same time

There is no reason why you can’t do both. You will be saving yourself time doing both at the same time. It takes a while to learn the proper form for lifting exercises. Having a balance of cardio and strength training is important unless you are underweight, in which case stay away from cardio all together.

[Torari]

Thank you. You are doing gods work.

I would however like to add this.
Lift heavy. Use weights that you can lift 10-15 reps on. Lifting weights that don't take effort to move (if you can do 15+ reps with them) is pretty much just cardio. It is not effective weight training.

Working with women in the gym, its clear to me that most of them are lifting about 20-50% lighter than they should be. Don't be afraid of the big weights.

[HomoFuge]

That is true. People should be aiming to increase the weight with each workout.

[HereIbe]

One rule of thumb:
Bulking up: Lift weight that you barely can't do 3 sets of 5 reps (2 minute rest between sets).
Strength: Lift weight that you barely can't do 3 sets of 10 reps (1 minute rest).
Tone: Lift weight that you barely can't do 3 sets of 15 reps (30 second rest).
Goofing off: Lift less weight than that (chit chat for 10 minutes).

When you are able to do 3 sets of your number of reps at a given weight, then add weight the next time you work out.

[jgokgotit]

Another one I notice, especially among couples, is that a woman can't spot a man on a bench press. First, a spotter is not taking on the bulk of the weight. Most men cannot lift beyond 250lbs, which a woman can easily use her leg power to hold the weight long enough for her partner to get out from under the weight, which is all the spotter is really for. When I was 17 I actually surprised my girlfriend. I was a stick who could only bench about 100lbs at that time. My girlfriend's squat was at about 300lbs. I pulled a little stunt where I pretended to struggle with my 90lb bench press. She was sure she could not successfully spot me so I decided to act like I couldn't handle the weight, which made her spring into action and she pretty successfully spotted me. The gym staff was in on it and watching in case things went wrong. She was amazed she spotted me, but pissed at my stunt lol. After that though she felt more comfortable.

[Inneedofusername]

The saddest myth about working out is that people think it will make your body that perfect hourglass that you see on the instagram. Especially guys are like: every girl who works out can have a hot body.
But then, they look only at those fake bodies after surgeries. The woman on the first picture has been training a lot. But her body is still ugly because thats just the body shape she was born with and she can't change it. The one on the second is just after surgeries.
Yet men jerk off to the second one. And then tell women that it's their fault that their bodies are square shape.

[Twenty2]

I don't jerk off to second one! I like chubby. But chubby is considered fat nowadays. Girls due to high estrogen accumulate fat in thighs and boobs. It's sexy as fuck.

[HomoFuge]

@Ineedofusername
The woman in the bottom picture looks freaky. That tiny waist looks abnormal. Kind of reminds me of an apple core lol.

[esotericstory]

Women should not work out according to men's training programs because these are for male proportions. Women should work out according to a program that suits their body. The same for the diet. Men's training diets are tailored to men's production of testosterone and the rest of their hormone balance. Women need this for their hormone balance too. Lastly, women apply less for scientific research about workout and diet effectiveness than men. This means that there is less scientific data for women to achieve their goal bodies than for men.

[Inneedofusername]

@esotericstory
How is that relevant to the fact that you can't change your body type from square shape to hourglass shape with exercises?

[esotericstory]

The girl in the picture above has clearly not worked out her lower body to maximum capacity, but you can see he shoulders are very broad and developed.

[Inneedofusername]

@esotericstory
She has narrow hips, she won't change her bone structure. She also have a naturally small bust. The girl on the bottom just has fake tits and very probably a lot of other surgeries to get waist THAT small as she is rich and very centered on posting her look in the internet

[0112358]

I honestly feel like girls are even more unrealistic about what body types are possible with exercise, but we're probably both right and it's perspective.

But most girls seem to think any guy who works out a bit can have significant muscle (think swimmer build, I don't even mean huge).

And a lot of guys can't, they just don't have the hormones/frame to add muscle like that.

[esotericstory]

@0112358 Its true that your hormones are determined at birth, if the mother had an unhealthy lifestyle it severely limits to your capacity to grow a good bone structure and muscle mass. Its basic fertility.

[Torari]

Pretty sure most guys would choose the girl in the middle over the girl on the right. The girl on the right looks sickly, and is clearly edited.

Lifting won't give every girl an hourglass figure, in fact. The hourglass is more about diet than resistance training. Its caused by hormones which dictate fat distribution. Á poorly balanced, lacking diet causes hormonal imbalance.
But lifting can definitely help, especially back, shoulder, and thigh exercises.

Lats and delts make the top look wider, and thighs make the bottom look wider. Which causes an hourglass appearance. It won't be as significant as a well balanced diet, but it can definitely help.

As with everything to do with the body, its not just one thing responsible for everything. Everything factors in. Weight training, diet, sleep, they all matter equally. Ignore one, and you will not see the desired results.

[Torari]

I'm not saying you can change your body type significantly. But you definitely can make a difference. Muscular thighs, Lats and delts make a bigger difference to a womans figure than you seem to think. You won't go from a 10/10/10 to a 9/7/10 proportion. But you can go from a 10/10/10 to a 10/9/10 reasonably

[HereIbe]

The woman in the first photo looks hot. The second photo looks like some kind of freakish circus mutant.

[esotericstory]

@HereIbe Okay homo.

[genericname85]

good take. i do feel like those are issues many women have. like you think you'll look like hulk over night? it takes years adn you have plenty of time to tone the workout down if it gets too much xD

though i would have added in the nutritional section: "just cutting calories" isn't most efficient depending on your metabolism. cutting sugar and carbs will benefit you greatly, cause if you don't do that, you will severely cripple your bodies ability to actually burn fat. cause in order to burn fat you need low blood sugar and carbs and sugar cause high blood sugar.

[genericname85]

and a little addition to the cardio vs strength workout topic: combining strenth training and cardio is always optimal. however if you have to choose due to time constraints or whatever, cut cardio. strength training burns more calories.

[Robertcw]

It's amazing how much misinformation is out there. Especially for girls.

Good take! Body fat is 90% diet. Clean up your food intake and the body will take care of the rest as one lifts. It's so important that it cannot be overstated. Eating cleanly and in large enough quantities is critical.

People who don't lift or care about their fitness seriously won't understand your obession with food. Ignore them and don't takd their advice. Follow a meal plan and stick to it. Profit.

[Wally48]

Totally the right answer.

[Ellie-V]

I stay away from strength training because I don’t want to build strength or muscle 😂 I’ve got enough to move my own furniture solo. So I’m good.

I liked your take though. I’m sure it will be very helpful to a lot of girls.

[HomoFuge]

Thanks!

[HereIbe]

Unless you're taking steroids, you won't "build muscle". You have too much estrogen for that.

[Ellie-V]

I do not care. I have no good reason to do strength training.

[ChurchOfIron]

You're awesome. I agree with everything. But also how'd you steal my golden rule? "lift if you don’t want saggy tits."

Although, I recall reading something about being able to spot reduce fat when you're in a prolonged fast. Working out the area you want to shed fat from results in burning fat from that area. Dunno if it's legit, but it came from a reputable source of which I cannot cite and do not remember. So definitely fact. Because this is the internet; everything I say is fact.

[rylielovessoftball]

I've always been athletic but I never really got into stregnth training. I had always thought playing some softball, basketball, volleyball and doing a little bit of yoga was enough. I guess as a girl I really should try doing some stregnth training. Maybe I'd do better in sports and look better otherwise if I built some muscle. I just can't get past the look of the bikini model body builder photos and think all that muscle looks ugly on a girl.

[nathanp97]

As long as you stay away from steroids you should be fine. Also if you want more of a toned look go for higher reps and shorter rest time.

[rylielovessoftball]

@nathanp97 I'm going to try to do some strength training. I'm going to keep what your saying in mind. At 5'9 and 135 pounds, I could stand to gain a little bit of weight. If I could put on like 5 or 10 pounds and gain some muscle while doing because I look like a stick now and have some abs... I'd be really happy. Also, it helps I'm 17.

[nathanp97]

You probably know this, but just incase you may want to increase your protien intake. It will help you build the muscle mass when you work out. Additionally, focus more on compound movements and dont just use the mechines. I hope you reach your goal, and if you ever need help with form or a work out routine hire a personal trainer for a few sessions. It can help a lot

[rylielovessoftball]

@nathanp97 Thank you so much for this. I did know about eating more protein to help with building muscle. I usually have either a post workout, game or practice protein shake to help repair muscle and to help heal my body after working out. I had my first strength training session and I was sore in my arms. But I liked it.

[derek2017]

Finally someone who undestands!! Especially the first misconception! I've heard it like 200 times till now and I always tell them it's really hard to build that, you need to take supplements and workout really hard and the answer is always, it doesn't matter cause I don't want that and then I tell them even if you wanted it you couldn't achieve it, like they thing muscle builds over night!

[DDpsy]

The first one is really my favorite. It is amazing how many girls think they will buff up instantly if they touch a dumbbell. Considering how much time, effort and dedication a guy needs to put into getting any significant amount of mass as a natural, it is pretty obvious no women will become She-Hulk by mistake.

[D_Bone_Steak]

I would add that miserable obsession many women seem to have with the weight scale. They'll get flustered about gaining weight despite looking better in the mirror. MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN ALL THAT FAT DID!

[Anonymous]

Disagree
Not all types of exercise are suitable for all body shapes. For example, I already have genetically muscular calves (muscular hypertrophy) that I don't like and want to get rid of (one day if I have the money, I might get Botox injections and/or calf reduction surgery). I don't want to increase my leg mass. This type of exercise better suits girls with bony legs.
Swimming (tones your upper body and decreases your overall fat percentage), zumba, walking and parkour are better for me

[HomoFuge]

It is true that swimming is a resistance exercise like weightlifting but you can't go heavy on swimming like weightlifting and it is only putting one type of strain on your body. You won't put on a lot of muscle mass from swimming alone. Professional Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps lifted weights. His body didn't become 'toned' just from swimming.

Even though Zumba advertises itself as a class where you can build muscle and gain a booty, you will actually gain minimal muscle mass. Zumba is really a cardio activity and will burn a lot of calories, probably the same amount you would burn if you ran in a park and which you can do for free. People want to believe there is an easy way to gain muscle and Zumba basically markets itself as that easy/fun way to get muscle.

[Opinion Owner]

Actually swimming is one of the few sports that gives you a full body workout as it engages nearly all of your muscle groups.
Freestyle and backstroke engaged your core abdominal and obliques, which are important in rotating the torso for a longer stroke as well as, your hip flexors.
Butterfly engages your core abdominal and lower back muscles to lift the body out of the water when breathing, your glutes to ensure the legs move fast, as well as your pecs, lasts, quads, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
Breaststroke engages your pectoral and latissimus dorsi muscles to sweep the arms inwards against the water, and glutes and quadriceps. It also, improves your posture, breathing and keeps your heart pumping but without the impact stress as opposed to running.
How much muscle you'll gain, depends on training intensity, technique and your diet.
Depends on your goals and age. As I said, I don't want to tone my legs too much, as I already have genetically muscular calves. Not all types of exercise are suitable for all body shapes.

Jennifer Lopez only recently added weight training to her workout routine to reverse muscle loss that comes with ageing. Most of her life, she maintained her figure by dancing

[Opinion Owner]

Phelps' body look abnormal, to be honest.. I suspect it's a result of steroids. The American swimming team has a reputation of doing that. If Lochte did take steroids, how do I know Phelps didn't do the same?

[HomoFuge]

Swimming is a full body *cardio* workout. In order to put on muscle mass, you actually have to be eating enough food to aid muscle recovery. Swimming will burn through your calories quickly, which is great for weight loss but for women trying to put on weight and gain muscle it is the worst sport to do.

If you want to lose muscle then it makes sense for you to do activities where you will burn through muscle. However, a lot of women on this site tend to ask questions about how to build muscle and believe things that will never help them gain muscle.

Will swimming build muscle? Yes but up to a certain limit and once you reach that threshold you will basically hit a plateau and need to start lifting weights if you want to gain more muscle.

My friend did 12 months of intense swimming and the maximum amount of muscle he gained from that was 4kg. He switched to weight lifting and after 14 months he had gained 12kg of muscle.

What this shows is that weightlifting is the quickest and most effective way to build muscle. Fitness companies try to pretend this isn’t the case because they want to make money through advertising their vitamin supplements and pointless classes.

[Wally48]

So the United States Olympic team doesn't have to submit urine samples?

[Britantic]

I dont want muscular arms or legs because I'm short and that would make me look like a small tank. I prefer cardio and swimming

[HomoFuge]

I am also short. 5'3. You shouldn't let your height put you off weight-lifting. If you enjoy doing cardio/swimming then carry on doing it. But for ladies wanting muscle it isn't a good option.

[HereIbe]

You would only "look like a small tank" if you are taking steroids.

[Dav1ss]

I wish I could still have kept that body I had I used to be able to life quite a bit now can't lift much at all I just don't think it's worth it for me to get back in so that's that but great take

[hellacray]

I think the biggest one is they think they will bulk up too much.

Which is pretty ridiculous. I have a friend that's really skinny and benches 185 which is a little over his body weight.

You need strength training to build muscle to burn fat.

[Billybob643]

Great take. Just look at gymnasts. They are totally ripped and look nothing like men. Girls should enjoy all types of exercise including strength training!

[CasaNorba]

good article sis!

finally someone points this out. is too bad a lot of women in america will still not comply to this at times because they feel like "you have to accept them for who they are"

[Browneye57]

Well sure, but a ton of real concepts missed. Consider seeking the help of a trainer.

[HomoFuge]

Personal training is not suitable for everyone, especially for people who have unpredictable schedules or go to the gym late at night. I've covered the main misconceptions that I have seen girls constantly asking about on here. It would take writing a whole book to cover all the myths people hold about fitness.

[Browneye57]

Ah, a typical female response... you simply have no choices. Sure.

[HomoFuge]

Not everyone has a high flying job that they can afford a personal trainer. Suggesting that personal training is essential to be able to do effective workouts is ridiculous.

[Browneye57]

More excuses. Oh well.

[HomoFuge]

You haven’t really offered any constructive comments besides ‘get a personal trainer’ which is pretty useless advice for multiple reasons, namely that there isn’t anything a personal trainer can tell that you wouldn’t be able to find for free on the internet.

[Browneye57]

Well there ya go - everything you need in life is on the internet. Bravo!

[HomoFuge]

Scorns at the internet whilst on an Internet forum. Makes perfect sense.

[1828avaava1828]

Lmfao Brownie, you calm down Lad!!

[1828avaava1828]

Take it easy on these kids

[HomoFuge]

@1828avaava1828
Kid? You are only two years older than me lmao.

[Browneye57]

Yeah, they'er barely past childhood. At least they're not 15yo's on this stupid forum. Geesh.

Typical woman response when you give them options they'll argue against every one of them and then say they have no options. LOL

[Thatsamazing]

THANK you. Your message here really really needs to be read by more females.

[GreatnessBack]

Too bad most are too stubborn to listen. Some won't stop even seeing there is no results.
Sad.

[GraveDoll]

Loved it!!!