The myth is that if women lift weights you will look big a bulky like a male bodybuilder. This is false. Women produce 5 to 10 percent of the testosterone as men, which limits the potential for females to build muscle. In order for a female to gain size, she will basically have to live in the weight room and up her protein consumption to about 3 to 4 grams of protein per kg. Have no fear, if you are a female and you do light resistance training, you will not look like a man!
Okay so now that we have debunked the myth about women gaining a large amount of muscle from lifting weights, let’s talk about some of the benefits. By lifting weights, you will become slimmer and probably drop a dress size. The greater the amount of body weight that comes from muscle rather than fat, the tighter you’ll become. Muscle is denser than fat so it takes up less space on your body. Another benefit is that you will become more flexible. Full range resistance training has been found to improve your flexibility as much as static stretching.
One huge benefit is that you will burn more calories. The amount of muscle determines your resting metabolic rate, so the more muscle you have, the more energy your body uses which results in a higher calorie burn. Adding resistance training will burn more fat while allowing you to keep your existing muscle, while cardio will burn off both muscle and fat. If you want that fit, lean look, resistance training is a must! If you are unsure how to use weights or resistance bands, you should subscribe to Breakthrough TV and start the 90 Day: Full Throttle program where Hulk will teach you step by step resistance training techniques.