Strength training is an essential component of any fitness routine. It not only improves and develops muscle mass and strength but also enhances bone density, accelerates your metabolism, keeps your brain and heart healthier, increases confidence, and helps you release stress, too. Despite that, it provides numerous benefits, it comes with multiple misconceptions. Being so important, it’s worth pointing out the most common misconceptions women make about lifting weights. Let’s break it down.
Strength Training Makes You Bulky
This is something many women worry about because they don’t want to have bulky muscles but just want to get toned or lose weight. Women have significantly lower testosterone levels than men, making it difficult to gain excessive muscle mass naturally. Strength training can be a more effective tool to lose weight as long as you are within the right caloric range. Plus, it helps shape and define muscles, resulting in a leaner and more toned appearance. Unless you are specifically training and eating to gain size, you won’t suddenly bulk up from lifting weights.
Doctors such as Dr. Zachary F Solomon, MD, have been banging the drum for a long time about the efficacy of strength training in relation to losing weight. The fact is, if you want to be more muscular, strength training can help you achieve that, but you’ve got to eat a phenomenal amount of calories and lift heavy.
You Should Start Lifting Heavy
It makes logical sense to lift heavy weights in order to get stronger, but the problem in doing this is that if you are lifting too much too soon or with improper form, this can result in injuries further down the line. To ensure that you are gradually developing your strength, you should embrace the concept of progressive overload.
Progressive overload is a strength-training principle where you increase the resistance little by little. This means that if you are doing shoulder presses with 15-lb weights through three sets of 10, you should increase your training by 5% next time. You can either increase the weight by 5%, increase the number of sets, or increase the number of repetitions.
It’s critical to be aware of how your body feels. If you end up doing too much, you are going to be overreaching. This can lead to injuries or potentially overtraining a few months down the line. There is a notable difference between the two, but they are commonly lumped together. Most people overreach when they start strength training rather than overtrain, but both are damaging to your body.
Women Should Stick to High Reps and Light Weights for Toning
Many women believe they should only use light weights with high repetitions to “tone” their muscles. However, toning is simply a combination of muscle definition and low body fat. Lifting heavier weights with proper form promotes muscle growth and definition more effectively than endless sets of high-rep, low-weight exercises. Women should not be afraid to challenge themselves with heavier weights to build strength and achieve their desired physique.
Cardio Is Better Than Lifting for Weight Loss
While cardio burns calories during exercise, strength training increases metabolism and promotes fat loss over time. Building muscle helps the body burn more calories at rest, making weightlifting an essential component of long-term fat loss and body composition improvement. A balanced workout routine that includes both cardio and strength training is the most effective approach for weight loss and overall fitness.
You Lose Flexibility When Lifting Weights
Another common misconception women have about lifting weights is that it’ll lead to a loss of flexibility. It makes sense to think that because you may equate building muscle with getting big and stiff. However, increasing muscle mass or strength doesn’t have to result in loss of flexibility.
In actuality, strength training can be a great way to improve your flexibility and range of motion. Certain exercises help you to do just that. Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and lunges can enhance flexibility, especially when combined with dynamic stretching and mobility work. Other, more complex movements that you can include are the clean and jerk.
It’s important to know that losing flexibility takes place when you neglect stretching regularly, not when you strength train. In fact, you can lose flexibility by just running if you avoid stretching. Other reasons leading to flexibility loss are a reduction in the fluid within the joints (synovial fluid), muscle tightening, deterioration in cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and injuries. The key is to maintain good form and avoid overly restrictive movements.
You Can Hurt Yourself by Lifting Weights
The risk of injury takes place as soon as you get out of bed. Yes, you can fall in the bathtub or get run over by a car. But you can’t live in fear. In reality, you can hurt yourself by lifting weights only when you overtrain, are careless, don’t know how to use gym equipment properly, or push it too far. Just follow simple tips to avoid injury, and you’ll be fine.
Lifting Weights Turns Fat into Muscle
Fat and muscle are two completely different types of tissue, and one does not “turn into” the other. Strength training helps build muscle, and a proper diet combined with exercise helps reduce body fat. As muscle mass increases, the body burns more calories at rest, leading to a leaner physique. The key to fat loss is a combination of strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and a well-balanced diet.
Lifting Weights Is Bad for Your Joints
Some people believe that weightlifting puts excessive stress on joints, leading to pain and injuries. In reality, proper strength training strengthens the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that support the joints, reducing the risk of pain and long-term joint issues. Studies have shown that resistance training can help manage conditions like arthritis by improving joint stability and function. As long as exercises are performed with good technique and appropriate resistance, strength training is beneficial for joint health.
Conclusion
Strength training is one of the best things women can do for their bodies, yet so many myths prevent them from reaping its benefits. By debunking these misconceptions, more women can embrace weightlifting with confidence and take full advantage of its power to build strength, improve body composition, and enhance overall well-being. Remember all the benefits associated with strength training and gradually tailor your workouts to your fitness goals.
👉🏻 If you’re struggling to see results, stay consistent, or create effective routines, don’t go it alone. A coach can offer the guidance, support, and accountability you need to reach your goals faster and with greater confidence. Reach out today—you’re closer than you think!
To a Fitter Healthier You,
The Fitness Wellness Mentor
About the Author
Adriana Albritton has a Master’s in Forensic Psychology, certifications in personal training, nutrition, detoxification, and is the founder of FitnAll Coaching and blog. She is the author of 28 Days to a New Life: A Holistic Program to Get Fit, Delay Aging, and Enhance Your Mindset, and a coauthor of The Better Business Book Volumes II and III. With a background in mental health, Adriana brings a holistic, science-backed approach to wellness. She combines mindset coaching, fitness, and nutrition to help people stay lean, energized, healthy, and centered. As part of Health Six FIT, she’s also helping reshape healthcare through AI-driven, integrative wellness education.
