Strength training myths debunked
Fitness gurus break down misconceptions about women’s exercise and bodybuilding
While catching up with my mom one night, I started gushing about how much I love strength training — a fairly recent addition to my cardio-heavy fitness regimen thanks to the gym membership I finally signed up for earlier this year.
“I couldn’t do a single push-up a year ago,” I told her in my parents’ kitchen, before excitedly showing off a few in a row.
My mom, after seeing this, seemed concerned. “Just don’t bulk up too much,” she said.
It’s actually a pretty common worry among women. Many stick to jogging and spin classes and avoid barbells and weights, thinking they’ll look like chiseled bikini models or Olympic athletes when the goal is just to tone up a bit. Fitness pros hear those concerns all the time, but say the worry is unfounded. On top of that, the benefits of strength training for women are clear — from building lean muscle to feeling stronger in your day-to-day life.
Jess Spieker, a personal trainer with Full Swing Fitness, says strength training — when done properly — can be great for your joint health and acts as “stealth cardio,” upping your heart rate.
“You can execute your functions in daily life with ease,” she adds. “Like carrying groceries from the car, lifting things, keeping up with your kids or grandkids.”
Just don’t gauge success based on your scale.
Strength training changes your body composition, Spieker says.
“You could conceivably lose 10 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle, but you’ll be smaller — that tissue takes up a smaller amount of space.”
But building muscle doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly looked jacked.
Adam Douglas, the head strength and conditioning coach at York University, says the stigma surrounding strength training is a hard one for many women to get over. “They think that in four to six weeks, they’re going to have put on six kilograms of muscle mass,” he says.
“But it doesn’t happen like that.” Women, he explains, don’t have the same testosterone levels as men, meaning they don’t bulk up as quickly or easily as their male counterparts.
The bottom line? “You’re not going to look like the Hulk,” says Shelby Hill, a trainer at Toronto’s Fuel Training Club. “The dedication to look like the girls-that-all-the-girlsare-scared-of-becoming is so high, and so time-consuming.”
If you’re past your fear of dumbbells and want to start strength training for the first time, take cues from the pros:
Starting from scratch Spieker recommends starting with body-weight strength training exercises or classes first — giving you the chance to learn the proper form for moves such as squats, lunges and push-ups.
“If it’s your absolute first time, do it with some kind of instruction, whether it’s a personal trainer or a small class at the gym,” she adds. “Technique is really important when you’re working with weight. I can’t emphasize that enough.”
Build with bands and bells Once you’re comfortable with the basics of strength training, it’s a good time to try more specific fitness classes or at-home workouts.
Letizia Lepore, a personal trainer and individual conditioning specialist at the YMCA, recommends using resistance bands to build up your strength and learn proper form.
Kettlebells are also helpful, she says, because of their off-centre weight. “You’re using more of your stabilizing muscles and your core to perform each exercise you do,” she notes.
Don’t ignore weight machines Sure, weight rooms can be intimidating when you’re surrounded by “big, grunting, muscular men,” Spieker says — but don’t let that stop you from trying weight machines.
Machines can help correct your form and target particular muscle groups, Lepore says, but it’s worth keeping in mind that they’re less efficient because they’re only isolating certain muscles at a time.
Also, don’t be afraid to go a bit heavier. “It doesn’t make sense to lift weights if they’re going to be lighter than something you lift in your dayto-day life, like seeing a girl lifting a five-pound weight when you know she has a 10-pound purse,” Hill says.
Do what works With so many different types of strength training available, it’s hard to know what to pick — but fitness pros say doing what you enjoy is often your best bet.
“Whether it’s a cable, barbells, bands, kettlebells — you need to find what interests you to stick with it,” Douglas says.