Women and Weights

It never fails. Every time I tell a woman that she should lift weights, the first comment to come out of her mouth is, “I don’t want to look like a man.” My reply is always the same as well, “You are not a man.” This is very basic genetics, and I have to wonder where the idea came from that if women started to lift weights, their body would begin to change and start to resemble a man’s. Perhaps it has something to do with the freakish women of the bodybuilding world? Let me clear one thing up right away. Those women are pumped full of synthetic drugs to attain that look. There are plenty of men in this world who would never look that way simply from lifting weights, and natural women will never attain that look either.

The fact is that women have muscles, and in order to develop those muscles, they need to be stimulated. Weight lifting (and exercise in general) is an excellent way to train your muscles. Yes ladies, your muscles will get bigger if you lift weights, but there is a limit, and that has to do with hormones. There are two dominant sex hormones present in male and female bodies. Testosterone is the dominant male hormone, and estrogen is the dominant female hormone.

Men have a greater abundance of testosterone, and that is what gives us our characteristics such as more muscle mass, generally a lower body fat (I know that one’s not fair), and facial hair. We still have estrogen, but the level is a fraction of the amount of testosterone we produce. In women, the hormone levels are the opposite; a greater amount of estrogen than testosterone. It is because of your lower testosterone levels that it is generally much more difficult for women to gain muscle mass.

You see ladies, your muscles are limited in their growth potential simply because you are female. Unless you start pumping yourselves full of steroids, more than likely you’ll never begin to resemble a man. Take a look at the women in the gym with the best bodies or the one you would most like to look like. Look at any women-specific health magazine. These women all have beautiful bodies that came from proper nutrition and weight training. They’re not bulky or manly. They have beautiful curves, a tight butt and shapely thighs.

Trust me ladies, I don’t want women to get bulky any more than you yourselves do, but lifting weights is not only going to improve your body, it will also improve your self-esteem. When you once again fit back into your favorite old jeans or random men in the streets start giving you a second look, you’ll be glad you got over the misconception of women and weight training.