Here is the big one! “Women who weight train become bulky and masculine.”
Or “I stay away from weights and resistance training because I don’t want to look like a man”.
How many times have you heard this stuff? I hear this everyday! It seems no matter how much research has concluded these phrases to be false, they will never go away. I will point out right away the ONLY ways this can happen to women:
-Anabolic steroids (most obvious)
-Having higher than normal testosterone levels and/or lower than normal estrogen to testosterone ratio
-Highly mesomorphic genetics. (predominance of robust & muscular body structures)
-Very Intensive weight training program (i.e. certain female advanced bodybuilding programs)
-Any combination of the above [1]
Now that we have established the above, I will point out the ways this CANNOT happen to MOST women:
-Beginning a strength training program
-Beginning a fitness program which includes strength, cardio, and flexibility
-Adding some resistance training to a cardiovascular training program
-Adding some resistance training to Yoga, Pilates, or any group fitness class schedule
-Allowing yourself to lift heavy weight periodically (not just low weight and high reps all the time)
-Allowing yourself to give resistance training a try for at least 1 month and finding out what the results were for you. Because it never hurts to try.
With all of the above out of the way, we may continue.
So you want to know the difference between female muscle and male muscle? Well the answer is very simple;
There is none!
No need to point out differences anymore because now you know the truth. Muscle is muscle whether it’s on a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. Muscles are muscles just like bones are bones and livers are livers and hair is hair.. etc. Muscles all function the same and connect to the same things; bones and connective tissue.
Muscles will contract and stretch, they will thermoregulate, they are told what to do by the brain (innervated by nerves), they have dozens and arguably hundreds of functions in the body in which they do not matter if you’re a male, female, cow or chicken.
What determines the size difference, in regards to muscle, between males and females is two-fold:
1) Testosterone: males have ten times the amount of this hormone when compared to females *[2]
2) Genetics: you can say it determines the layout of the body as well as potential testosterone production, and pretty much everything else
There you have it. From a MUSCULAR standpoint: Your genes (from your parents) determine your specific layout and hormone producing potential. Your hormones (endocrine system) determine the size of the muscles and how the muscles use energy, but again, muscle tissue is still only muscle tissue.
Testosterone is the number one male hormone. In essence, it is what makes us men. Simply put, because men on average have 10 times the amount of “T” that women do, women WILL NOT look like men nor do their muscles have the same potential for anabolic growth. So don’t be afraid to try the weights ladies! You will appreciate the benefits.
Many of my female clients, prior to training, had this fear based from myth created by misinformation and commercialized fitness. Even explaining everything to them sometimes isn’t enough to convince them otherwise. Then they begin to see the differences for themselves after we build a trusting, trainer-client team relationship. As a result, they worked hard to achieve certain aesthetic results without looking like a man or the Hulk.
Needless to say, they have a much better understanding and appreciation of healthy muscles after they experienced it for themselves. Their muscles all over became only a little bit bigger and they lost the right amount of bodyfat. This is a killer combination for sexy and defined muscles of the shoulders, upper back, arms, abs, butt, thighs and calves.
Cat Haayen
Here is a friend and fellow Yogi, Cat, who is the mastermind behind (www.yogathleta.com); a more athletic and strength oriented form of yoga.
Put a male under the same training program as the female, and he would have become stronger, faster than the female counterpart, have increased more muscle mass than the female counterpart, and would have lost more bodyfat percentage than the female counterpart. The “T” is just that powerful. Sorry ladies! [1, 2, 3, 4]
Although, there are plenty of exceptions.
For example, one of those exceptions is the lower body. Research has concluded that women have the same amount and/or greater potential to build the legs. This means, in many cases, women may become just as strong, or stronger, with leg exercises when compared with men. They also have the same ability for lower body hypertrophy (muscle growth). The upper body is mainly where males strive. [3,4]
I have personally observed this phenomenon when training some of my female friends or clients. In fact, last week I exercised with a female friend of mine, Danielle. We performed the deadlift exercise (squatting down to the floor to grab the large weighted barbell and squatting straight up to a standing position with the bar in your hands; picture below left). We were both lifting 275 pounds off the floor. Very impressive on her part!
But when we compare the shoulder press exercise (pressing the weighted barbell from shoulder level straight up over your head; picture above right), I was significantly stronger. She was lifting 95 pounds (still an impressive amount) and I was using 155 pounds. Like myself, Danielle is very physical and has been training for most of her life for sports or recreation. Most importantly, she does NOT look like the Hulk.
Lou Ferrigno (my favorite Hulk of all time)
More so, I have also observed petite collegiate female athletes able to squat with 225 pounds on their backs! Crazy stuff to even think about for most women.
Monik Lopez-Calleja
Check out this great blog site (www.rxgirlsmiami.com) from my friend Monik, a fellow female CrossFitter who has motivated many women to look beyond the myths and change their lives.
More about hormones.
When any individual, male or female, lifts heavy weights, they stimulate growth hormone production as well as a few other anabolic hormones. (Anabolic simply means in a state of growth, as opposed to catabolic which means in a state of break down.) Two very important functions of growth hormone (GH) are bone density growth and bodyfat metabolism. [1,2,4]
This is what women want on their side; this should be the goal. Females need to build and maintain strong and healthy bones to help prevent osteoporosis (thinning of bone mass) and osteopenia (mild thinning of bone mass). Two debilitating conditions that usually target women as they get older. GH also has a unique ability to metabolize fat cells when stimulated by intense resistance workouts. [2,4] In other words, GH is where you get the bang for the buck!
Another factor to be considered with resistance training is an increase in metabolism. Numerous research has concluded that after a resistance training session, your metabolism is increased and is still burning calories, specifically from fat, for a few hours afterwards. [2,4,] This is great news for trying to achieve lean muscle mass, which is what the generic term “tone” really means.
After a period of training, lets say 6 months, your body will have an increased metabolism compared to when you began training because it has to maintain all the lean muscle mass you put on. Because women strength train, they could be burning more fat even while they are sitting at their desk at work. For more on metabolism, check out my friend’s blog: (www.dietarymythbuster.com)
Dietary Myth Buster
I hope I have helped my readers better understand the truth about resistance training for females. I would love to see more women hitting the weights hard and reaping the benefits. It is just as important as cardiovascular exercise and flexibility.
Mix this combination with a healthy diet and BOOM..! you’re on the way to a newer, sexier, leaner, stronger, and healthier you! It does not matter if you are young, old, pre or post part-um. If you are happy with the current amount of muscle mass that you have worked hard to attain, then you can always stop the continuing of growth and maintain what you currently have. Also, if you are one of the lucky gals that has great mesomorphic genes and can put on lean muscle quickly, I congratulate you and you can also maintain the level of muscle you have worked for. Or you can periodize your training program the same way athletes do.. but that’s a whole other topic.
As always, believe in your abilities, train hard and consistent, and most especially, train smart!
-Mr. Workout
(Copyright 2010 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
References:
*[1] – Wilmore, J.H. and D.L. Costill. Physiology of sport and exercise.Champaign: Human Kinetics Pub., 1994
*[2] – Research conducted through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
*[3] – Wilmore, J.H. Alterations in strength, body composition, and anthropometric measurements consequent to a 10 week training program. Med. Sci. Sports and Exer. 6 (1974): 133-138
*[4] – Research conducted through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)
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