Dispelling Strength Training Falsities!
It is amazing to finally see strength training getting the attention it deserves throughout the health and fitness world, but there are still many misconceptions surrounding this incredible type of exercise. My goal has always been to dispel these falsities and let women know they should embrace intelligent, focused strength training and how it will get their bodies into shape the fastest while providing additional benefits like strength, stamina, fat loss, a revved-up metabolism and increased energy. Below are some of the most common misconceptions I hear, and it’s my mission to make sure as many women as possible know the truth! So here we go, let’s bust some myths!!!
1. Strength training will make you big and bulky- FALSE!
It takes an EXTREME amount of time, dedicated hard work, extremely heavy weights, intense macro counting and eating a calorie SURPLUS each day to put on visibly large muscles i.e. bulk. I owned a gym dedicated to heavy strength training for over 15 years and NO one ever packed on large visible muscles, because that wasn’t their intent. Let me promise you something- if you are not completely consumed with extreme lifting 5-6 times a week with split routines, counting and managing every calorie, supplementing, reducing cardio, and only focus on building big muscles- YOU WILL NOT ACCIDENTALLY GET THERE. It takes YEARS of hard-core dedication to get those big muscles. Lifting heavy a few times a week with full body routines will not get you there. Trust me, you don’t just start lifting and boom, get big and bulky.
That leads me into calories. In order to get big, huge muscles, you have to eat more calories each day then you burn, and those calories have to be correct and have exact macro counts for your body. If you start lifting and feel like you’re getting big, more than likely as a normal person working out, you’re eating too much and you’re gaining some fat- IT’S NOT MUSCLE.
Next, women specifically do not possess the amount of testosterone needed to make muscles bigger. There is no visible muscle growth without testosterone. So, unless you want to get a hormone panel to show you are genetically gifted and produce large amounts of testosterone, you won’t gain big size, it’s impossible from a hormonal standpoint.
Lifting for women means LEANER body compositions. It means lowering your body fat and noticing the toned muscles. It means ramping up your metabolism and burning more calories. Muscles burn up calories ALL DAY LONG TO STAY ALIVE!
So, lift to look lean, to amp up your metabolism, burn fat, look great, make daily life easier because you’re stronger, and don’t worry about getting big and bulky!
2. Strength training decreases mobility and flexibility and puts stress on joints- FALSE!
Repetitive stress should be a concern for all of us. The whole reason I got into strength training over 15 years ago was after 2 major knee surgeries, 2 broken wrists and disc issues (from tennis, action sports and long distance running- ALL REPETITIVE MOTIONS) I needed strength. Light weights require A TON of repetitions. Tons of repetitions mean your joints are doing added work, NOT your muscles. Applying heavier weights to your exercises means your muscles do MORE work than your joints and as you get stronger your joints take on less work overall. You may not feel the repetitive stress at first, but any kind of improper form done over and over will cause damage and you will not have stronger muscles to help take over for the pain.
Mobility and flexibility come from moving our bodies though full ranges of motion and being consistent in our movements. Strength training does just that- as we move one muscle group through it’s working range, the opposing muscle group goes through a full range of stretching! Think about using your bicep muscle to curl a dumbbell up towards your shoulder. As that happens, your tricep goes through its stretching process. As you complete your full body strength training workouts, you will get both strength and mobility within that workout, as long as you’re focused on form, proper execution and utilizing full ranges of motion. Most injuries come from lack of strength especially around vulnerable joints, not lack of flexibility- gain strength and watch everything else become easier!
3. Light weights with high reps are the way tone and get lean- FALSE!
When I say light weight won’t change your body composition, I mean if you can keep going and going and don’t get anywhere close to fatigue, if after you’re done, it feels like you didn’t workout at all, if you are using momentum and just throwing the weight around, or if you have been using the same weight for the same number of repetitions for a long time- then it’s too light and changes to your body will not be made.
Being able to contract a muscle requires signals from your motor neurons (let’s call this mind-muscle connection for now), and the better you are at having them tell your muscles to contact the stronger you’ll get. This takes practice and it takes focus on what you’re doing. This is also why you have to increase the weight- if you don’t your body will adapt and not make further changes. The interesting thing about muscles is they do not get stronger WHILE you workout. We actually break them down during the workout. After, during rest, we repair those tears to create new muscle protein strands that are STRONGER! This does NOT mean they get bigger (see #1 above!). They are stronger and leaner (i.e. toner). But we need progression and added difficulty to keep the changes occurring.
Here’s the short version- if you do not challenge your body, your muscles, your cardiovascular system, it will not change- PERIOD. Heavier weights and less reps or lighter weights with more reps are both ok AS LONG AS YOU ARE GETTING CLOSE TO FATIGUE!
4. You have to go to a gym to gain strength and lose weight- FALSE!
2020 proved that theory wrong! It is absolutely possible to get fit at home. I have an entire at home program dedicated to just that. All you need is some bands and dumbbells, a couch, chair or bench and a phone to log into the app! While a gym does offer a wider range of equipment and weights, it is possible to progressively overload (make the workouts harder over time) at home. Adding more reps, more weight, longer working sets, adding an extra set and taking less rest time are great ways to make your workouts harder at home! I think everyone is realizing working out at home can really save time and money while still producing real life results. I do think it takes more dedication to a consistent routine when working out at home with distractions, but with some planning, you can absolutely do it!
5. Cardio is better for fat loss and definition- FALSE!
This one has been around for as long as I can remember. So, let’s break it down and dive into the differences. The number of calories burned during any kind of training varies. When talking about the differences between cardio and strength training, while cardio may burn more calories DURING the training session, strength training burns way more OVERALL during the day, and every day as you create more lean muscle. One thing to remember is lean muscle requires calories just to survive. So, your muscles burn through calories all day every day just to exist. That’s how we rev up our metabolism by lifting weights! Once you stop your cardio session, that’s it- no more burning calories.
Lifting weights is the best way to create muscular strength and tone. Cardio will not help define your muscles at all. Especially when you consider most people do the exact same cardio routine down to the distance and time. The body adapts to that very quickly and will begin to burn even LESS calories than it did before. By progressively overloading your muscles through resistance training (making harder and harder little by little), your body will lean out, show definition and burn more calories constantly overtime!
Long duration cardio can be catabolic. That means without proper nutrition it can utilize muscles as fuel. That’s bad for anyone wanting to look tone and healthy. We need to conserve and build up those muscles for our overall health and metabolism.
Here’s the best part- if all you’re doing is cardio, you need to stick to a much stricter nutrition regimen. But by adding in strength training, you need to consume more calories to sustain those lean muscles as they are constantly burning up those calories! Win win! Eat more, feel better, become stronger and look leaner!
Lastly, remember it’s not just about fat loss- strength training lowers blood pressure, burns calories, improves sleep, reduces joint pain, improves mobility and increases bone density! Use your time wisely!
6. You need to be exhausted and sore after every workout- FALSE!
Being sore all the time is NOT the key to progressive overload and seeing maximum benefits. If you can’t walk up the stairs the next few days, it’s not going to be great for adhering to consistency. Most people don’t like the idea of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), which is understandable if it’s hindering normal life activities. By adding in a walk or quick stretch the next day can help lessen the feelings of soreness. It’s good to remember that strength training done correctly makes tiny little tears in the muscles which is a GREAT thing, so as it heals the muscle becomes stronger and LEANER.
You need both- workouts and recovery- to change your body. Follow a great program, work those muscles, and then let your body build a stronger version of itself as it rests. No one should be going hard every single day. Without recovery, the body would be in a constant state of inflammation and destruction. Both play an intimate role in changing our bodies physical and internal structure.
Now, it is important to workout with thought and intensity. If you’re never ever sore and don’t feel the muscles working during or after every workout- then it’s probably not going to make huge changes in your body. An unchallenged body will never change. It can be a slow process of course as you learn and try new things but put thought and effort into how you move your body! Proper form is imperative, if the exercise is not done correctly injuries will occur, consistency will diminish, and it makes it hard to stick with a program! Learn, perform, repeat and watch your strength sore!!!
I hope this gets you excited to move forward with your strength training goals!
Knowing what’s true and realistic is important when starting any workout program, especially lifting weights. It’s hugely important for all of us, and I don’t want you to be afraid to start because of false myths being perpetuated out there! Please let me know if you have heard anything else or have any questions, and I will make another blog about it!