Can you imagine yourself in the gym squatting with a heavy barbell, or curling heavy dumbbells?

Why not? Many women believe that lifting weights is for men, and to do so themselves would ‘bulk them up’ or make them look ‘manly’. Well, we are here to tell you that this is totally false! People simply believe that weights will do the same to women as they do to men, but this is not the case. Want to learn why? Look no further!

Men and women do not respond to exercise the same way physically. While they can both perform exactly the same exercises, they can have different effects on the body. Men usually find that lifting weights helps them to grow their muscles and shed unwanted fat.

Now, while women’s muscles do get stronger when lifting weights, they don’t grow in the same way as a man’s muscles. We simply do not have the amount of testosterone needed to do that! A woman will usually find that with lifting weights, she’ll shed unwanted fat and get a lean, ‘toned’ appearance. She may see some definition in her legs and arms, but she won’t begin to build huge muscles like the hulk!

Of course, there are different kinds of exercise depending on your goals. You could choose to do bodyweight exercises and plyometrics, which can also be good for giving you definition while keeping you slim. Weights, however, will usually give a woman curves in all of the right places that she wouldn’t have been able to achieve any other way! There’s no reason women can’t work out in exactly the same way as a man.

For a woman to bulk up or look ‘manly’, it would take a lot of deliberate training, overeating, supplements, and maybe even drugs. Some women want to look like this as they enjoy it and like to take part in competitions. However, many women who simply want to look good in a bikini begin to lift weights to lower their body fat and ‘tone up’ all over.

Although I say women should train the same as men, they naturally won’t be able to lift as heavy as men. This doesn’t mean you should walk into the gym and pick up dumbbells that are ridiculously light though, ladies! You should use barbells and dumbbells that are as heavy as you can muster while using the correct form. You should be able to complete around 8-12 reps with them. Any more and they’re too light. Any less and they’re too heavy (unless your main goal is to build strength). There you have it: you should workout with dumbells to burn fat!

Weights can help you to achieve just about any goal you have, not just burning fat. Whether you want to shed fat, lose inches, build muscle, get definition, etc; weights can be the answer. A varied workout style is effective, as your body will respond well to working out in different ways. You’ll also keep each part of your body healthy.

Happy lifting, ladies!

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