By Howe Russ


One of the most frequently asked questions in gyms today is, "Should women lift weights?" Today you'll get the answer. Many ladies want to put weights into their routine alongside HIIT but are unsure if they're allowed, due to the many myths out there.

This isn't a new phenomenon, and the myths surrounding it were dis-proven many years ago. However, every ten years the fitness industry throws up a new trend which brings the same old methods back into the mainstream. After kettlebells and circuit training in recent years, this year appears to be the return of high intensity cardio alongside pumping iron on a regular basis. [
Personal Trainer Russ Howe PTI answers the question should women lift weights in the gym today.
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While it's fantastic that girls are no longer scared to ask trainers about resistance training, there are still a few old, useless myths which attach a negative stigma to it. This puts a lot of ladies off, despite not having any solid evidence behind it. These myths include:

* Resistance training is meant for men, and will make women bulky.

* Girls should only lift light weights.

* Women tone up from high reps and low resistance. If a lady doesn't follow this rule, she's going to put on size....

* Avoid training your lower body if you do cardiovascular exercise, because it will give you bigger legs...

Despite having no scientific evidence at all to back them up, you'll hear most of those myths in any fitness center around the country. Even today, when we're at a huge advantage with the scientific research carried out in the industry every day, these issues still seem to exist in the mainstream.

To put it bluntly, yes, ladies should be incorporating resistance training into their routine. You cannot achieve a lean physique without making your body work against some sort of resistance.

It would be easy to look at a female fitness competitor and presume that's what will happen to you if you train with barbells and dumbbells. But that would be as foolish as a man looking at Arnold Schwarzenegger and making the same presumption. Female's release much less testosterone than males, causing the muscle building process to be far harder. Female fitness competitors don't just go to the gym, they diet and supplement specifically to add size...

After all, if building muscle really was as simple as just picking up a weight then most men at the gym would look like Sylvester Stallone. But they do not. Do not concern yourself with this myth.

Training with barbells and dumbbells is a fantastic way to burn off more fat, as well as toning the muscles so they look leaner and stronger. You won't be getting bulky unless you're trying to bulk up, i.e. eating a bulking diet. Furthermore, if there is an area of your body which you consider to be too big at the moment, such as legs, then that is an area which would severely benefit from the use of resistance training.

So let's make our final verdict, should women lift weights or avoid them completely? Not only should they be using them, they should be using them regularly! The most recent science in the fitness industry confirms that regular resistance training and HIIT are one of the most effective methods for burning unwanted body fat and getting leaner.




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