Women are the main consumers when it comes to health and fitness. They are the majority of the ones joining yoga studios, spin classes, working with trainers, and in my case, asking the most questions.
Now, men are usually too stubborn to ask for help anyway, but I still use this as a part of the reason for writing this article.
With that, women are the ones targeted the most when it comes to ads and fitness content. A LOT of different topics come up because of this creating massive amounts of confusion.
With so many topics and questions to be asked, the issue that arises is too many different answers. Too many different answers leads to confusion and frustration.
These are some of the topics I’ve seen pop up more often when It comes to women working out:
1. Women can’t build muscleNow, men are usually too stubborn to ask for help anyway, but I still use this as a part of the reason for writing this article.
With that, women are the ones targeted the most when it comes to ads and fitness content. A LOT of different topics come up because of this creating massive amounts of confusion.
With so many topics and questions to be asked, the issue that arises is too many different answers. Too many different answers leads to confusion and frustration.
These are some of the topics I’ve seen pop up more often when It comes to women working out:
2. Lifting weights makes women bulky
3. Women should lift like men
4 Cardio is good enough (spin, Zumba, boot camp)
Let’s address these one by one.
#1: Women can’t build muscle
Women can 100% build muscle. They might not build muscle at the rate of the people we see all over instagram or on magazine covers but, neither can anyone else in this world. Those people are professionals, their job is to look a certain way.
Muscle is just an adaptation in response to what you put your body through. If you send a signal to your body that It needs muscle (by lifting weights) then muscle will be built.
Now, if you are someone who is constantly in a “dieting phase” then building muscle will be extremely hard. That goes for anyone, women or men. Unless you are eating in a calorie surplus, muscle building will be difficult.
Hell, who am I kidding, muscle building is hard in general. But I guess what I am trying to say is that it’s EVEN HARDER if you are not eating more calories than you are burning.
A large majority of the women I currently am working with and have worked with in the past have the goal of losing weight. They are not in a calorie surplus, and if we reference what we just discussed above, building muscle is not going to be the easiest thing in the world.
This might be why this stigma of women not building muscle became a thing, but that’s just speculation.
For the people who don’t think this way, It leads us nicely into the next section.
#2: Lifting weights make women bulky
For the people who believe women can build muscle, It seems they dive off the deep end the other way and think that women will build muscle uncontrollably.
Anyone has the ability to get bulky if they do things a certain way. So, this idea of lifting weights and adding size is not a fallacy, It can happen. But It isn’t necessarily easy.
If we reference the first section of this article— building muscle is hard in a calorie deficit. It’s like trying to build a house without any wood. You need more building materials if you want the house to get any larger.
For your body to get larger, you need to eat more food. If you aren’t eating excess calories your body won’t get bulkier.
The women I coach are primarily looking to see a re-composition in their body, increasing the amount of muscle while decreasing the amount of fat. Gaining extra size is NOT the goal.
Some women do see increases in muscle size in places they might not want to see It. Especially in body parts that get a lot of extra work. That usually means these areas are working hard and not holding much fat either.
One example I can think of is a woman I am currently training now. We work together in person a few days a week and online a day or two per week. She has 3 goals:
1. Feel the best she absolutely can
2. Move the best she absolutely can
3. Lose body fat (not losing weight, but decreasing her overall body fat levels while maintaining of increasing her muscle mass)
During this process she has seen great results on every single one of these goals. As things moved forward she started noticing her shoulders were adding size. She doesn’t carry much excess fat in her shoulders whatsoever and is VERY strong in that area.
So what did we do?
We lowered the amount of targeted work on her shoulders and filled those slots with more of what she wanted—> muscle growth in her legs and glutes.
Did lifting weights make her bulky?
I’m not sure bulky is the word, but in one particular area size was added. It never became a problem, but something she wanted to avoid before It did go any further.
Do I think lifting weights directly causes bulkiness?
Not at all. A lot goes into either gaining or losing size. Lifting weights will help with either one, but what has a bigger determination will depend on your nutrition and lifestyle habits, not just lifting weights.
For the people who believe women can build muscle, It seems they dive off the deep end the other way and think that women will build muscle uncontrollably.
Anyone has the ability to get bulky if they do things a certain way. So, this idea of lifting weights and adding size is not a fallacy, It can happen. But It isn’t necessarily easy.
If we reference the first section of this article— building muscle is hard in a calorie deficit. It’s like trying to build a house without any wood. You need more building materials if you want the house to get any larger.
For your body to get larger, you need to eat more food. If you aren’t eating excess calories your body won’t get bulkier.
The women I coach are primarily looking to see a re-composition in their body, increasing the amount of muscle while decreasing the amount of fat. Gaining extra size is NOT the goal.
Some women do see increases in muscle size in places they might not want to see It. Especially in body parts that get a lot of extra work. That usually means these areas are working hard and not holding much fat either.
One example I can think of is a woman I am currently training now. We work together in person a few days a week and online a day or two per week. She has 3 goals:
1. Feel the best she absolutely can
2. Move the best she absolutely can
3. Lose body fat (not losing weight, but decreasing her overall body fat levels while maintaining of increasing her muscle mass)
During this process she has seen great results on every single one of these goals. As things moved forward she started noticing her shoulders were adding size. She doesn’t carry much excess fat in her shoulders whatsoever and is VERY strong in that area.
So what did we do?
We lowered the amount of targeted work on her shoulders and filled those slots with more of what she wanted—> muscle growth in her legs and glutes.
Did lifting weights make her bulky?
I’m not sure bulky is the word, but in one particular area size was added. It never became a problem, but something she wanted to avoid before It did go any further.
Do I think lifting weights directly causes bulkiness?
Not at all. A lot goes into either gaining or losing size. Lifting weights will help with either one, but what has a bigger determination will depend on your nutrition and lifestyle habits, not just lifting weights.
#3: Women should lift like men
We are getting warmer…
But not quite there yet.
I put together some notes before writing this article, but something just popped into my head—>It just seems as if everything has to be a this or that statement. We make everything so polarizing that there is no middle ground.
Women should lift like men
Women can’t gain muscle
Women get too bulky from lifting weights
What if the answer to most of these issues falls somewhere in the middle? Pieces of the statements have truth but the individual context of each situation means more than the statement itself.
That’s my quick rant for this section, moving on.
When I look at the goals of every woman I am currently working with, stronger legs and more developed glutes are at the top of the list.
Most men want broader shoulders, a bigger chest, and dense looking arms.
In general, men and women don’t want the same things, so I don’t believe women should blindly just train like men. The reason I find this topic closer to the right answer is because I think the idea people are trying to get across is that women should be lifting weights. They are probably not thinking of the context deeper than that which is absolutely fine.
But I wanted to go deeper because if you are a woman reading this and just start training like the guy at your gym, you might not be too happy with the results (depending on your goal).
Who is to say men train correctly anyway? Why don’t we say men should train like women? Why don’t we say lifting weights makes men bulky?
It could be because everyone is targeting the main consumers, women. Who knows, but the entire idea behind this article is having us think deeper into why there is so much confusion regarding weight training for women. When we look at weight training for men, things seem relatively steady. No complaints, no one trying to force them to do certain things. It’s confusing, kind of sad, and definitely patronizing.
#4: Cardio is good enough
Some people I talk to or even work with assume I find yoga classes, Zumba, spin, and boot camp style classes as a waste of time.
Some people I talk to or even work with assume I find yoga classes, Zumba, spin, and boot camp style classes as a waste of time.
“You don’t think people should be doing spin classes do you?”
“I’m guessing you aren’t a fan of all those boot camps people are doing”
I use resistance training with almost every person that works with me. That doesn’t mean I think that’s the only way people can get where they want to be. To be honest, I even ran my own boot camps on weekends while I was in college. I found it to be an absolute blast, not only for myself, but for everyone working out too.
You can do just about anything you want, as long as It has a positive effect. Well, I guess you can really do whatever the hell you want despite the effect, but you get what I’m saying.
What I really mean—> Anything can have its place in a plan, as long as you are making progress in the right direction.
These types of classes are great to get people to do something.
● They are low commitment
● They create a sense of community
● They make you feel really good afterwards
● And they keep you coming back
Anything that gets people up and moving is a positive in my book. Now that doesn’t mean it's the best thing in the world. Just like with everything else we have discussed so far, the answer will fall somewhere in the middle.
Having these types of classes as a compliment to your entire plan might have some great benefits.
Here’s what a full week could look like if you implement multiple styles of working out:
● 2 strength training workouts (Monday and Wednesday)
● 1-2 cardio/bootcamp classes (Tuesday and/or Friday)
● 1 yoga class (Saturday)
This plan is not relying on JUST weight training, or JUST spin, JUST bootcamps. It’s finding a place where everything can fit. Not only fit, but actually compliment one another.
The strength training will focus on muscle and strength building. While the cardio classes will help improve your cardiovascular health. And the yoga class will tie it all together with full body movement and mobilization.
Not a bad week if you ask me!
These cardio classes alone are not the answer, but that’s not to say there is not a place for them in your plan.
You can do just about anything you want, as long as It has a positive effect. Well, I guess you can really do whatever the hell you want despite the effect, but you get what I’m saying.
What I really mean—> Anything can have its place in a plan, as long as you are making progress in the right direction.
These types of classes are great to get people to do something.
● They are low commitment
● They create a sense of community
● They make you feel really good afterwards
● And they keep you coming back
Anything that gets people up and moving is a positive in my book. Now that doesn’t mean it's the best thing in the world. Just like with everything else we have discussed so far, the answer will fall somewhere in the middle.
Having these types of classes as a compliment to your entire plan might have some great benefits.
Here’s what a full week could look like if you implement multiple styles of working out:
● 2 strength training workouts (Monday and Wednesday)
● 1-2 cardio/bootcamp classes (Tuesday and/or Friday)
● 1 yoga class (Saturday)
This plan is not relying on JUST weight training, or JUST spin, JUST bootcamps. It’s finding a place where everything can fit. Not only fit, but actually compliment one another.
The strength training will focus on muscle and strength building. While the cardio classes will help improve your cardiovascular health. And the yoga class will tie it all together with full body movement and mobilization.
Not a bad week if you ask me!
These cardio classes alone are not the answer, but that’s not to say there is not a place for them in your plan.
So how should women workout?
The answer that comes from this question would be the same for any person asking this same thing.
Whether you are a:
Woman looking to lose fat
Man looking to lose 30 pounds
Man looking to gain muscle
Woman looking to gain strength in her legs
Person in this world with a health or fitness goal
You will train according to your individual goals and your personal situation.
That is it, end of story. I don’t know what your goals are, who you are, or what your situation is, so there is no perfect plan I can lay out in this article for you. But I will tell you that being told you can’t do something, or that you have to workout like that guy over there, is complete horse doo-doo.
Workout in a way that works for YOUR goals, that YOU enjoy, that gets YOU the results YOU want to see.
If you are having trouble and want some help, just email me and I will be happy to help get the ball rolling for you!
In good health,
Jeff
The answer that comes from this question would be the same for any person asking this same thing.
Whether you are a:
Woman looking to lose fat
Man looking to lose 30 pounds
Man looking to gain muscle
Woman looking to gain strength in her legs
Person in this world with a health or fitness goal
You will train according to your individual goals and your personal situation.
That is it, end of story. I don’t know what your goals are, who you are, or what your situation is, so there is no perfect plan I can lay out in this article for you. But I will tell you that being told you can’t do something, or that you have to workout like that guy over there, is complete horse doo-doo.
Workout in a way that works for YOUR goals, that YOU enjoy, that gets YOU the results YOU want to see.
If you are having trouble and want some help, just email me and I will be happy to help get the ball rolling for you!
In good health,
Jeff