Strength Training for Women: Ditch the Myths, Embrace the Power

Go to most gyms and you’ll see more men than women lifting weights. From my experience as a 30-plus-year veteran personal trainer and gym owner, I estimate a 70/30 split in favor of men.

That’s not to say fewer women are exercising. Rather, it’s just that women tend to build their workouts around cardio, core, and mobility training while avoiding strength training.

I’ve often asked myself why such a divide exists between male and female exercisers, and I’ve concluded it’s because of the myths that surround women and strength training.

There are a lot of misconceptions about strength training for women, and some are so convincing that they put many women off lifting anything heavier than five-pound dumbbells.

That’s a shame because whether you are male OR female, strength training is one of the best workouts you can do for your health, fitness, and appearance.

So, in this article, I’m going to bust seven of the most common strength training myths and hopefully inspire more women to start lifting weights.

Myth #1: Strength Training Will Make You Bulky

The idea that lifting weights makes women bulky is the myth that just won’t die! It’s the reason that many women avoid lifting heavy weights or skip strength training altogether.

However, most women are not hormonally equipped to build big muscles (1), especially if they follow a well-designed strength training program and not one meant for a bodybuilder. Of course, some women want to build bigger muscles, but they are the exception rather than the norm.

Unfortunately, many fitness authorities fail to differentiate between bodybuilding and general strength training programs. They recommend that everyone follows a bodybuilding-style routine, even when hypertrophy is not the training goal.

Needless to say, if you train like a bodybuilder, you are much more likely to end up looking like one. In fitness terms, this is called the specificity principle.

Why do so many non-bodybuilders end up training for hypertrophy? I believe it’s because bodybuilding has had a huge influence on how many people perceive and subsequently prescribe weight training workouts.

So, performed correctly, strength training will not make you bulky, and any muscle growth you experience won’t “happen overnight,” which is another common concern.

Instead, lifting weights will help you sculpt a lean, athletic physique that no one will mistake for masculine.

Myth #2: Strength Training is Dangerous for Women

I’m not sure why this myth exists because, in my experience, it’s men who are more likely to injure themselves lifting weights than women.

Why?

Men often lift heavier weights than they can safely handle. They are more ego-driven and feel they must lift heavy weights to show confidence and dominance in the gym.

Needless to say, this results in the poor form and failed reps that cause injuries.

In contrast, women are far less ego-driven, so they’re less inclined to “go heavy or go home.” From a personal trainer’s perspective, I’ve also found that female exercisers are usually more receptive to training advice and form corrections than men. They don’t feel like they already know it all!

Strength training is NOT more dangerous for women than men, and any small risks all but vanish with proper programming and instruction.

Myth #3: Cardio Is the Best Way for Women to Lose Weight and Burn Fat

Where most men want to build muscle and get strong, women tend to want to get lean and maintain a healthy body weight. Consequently, women usually do more cardio than strength training. That’s because cardio is thought to burn more fat than lifting weights.

While it’s true that cardio does burn fat, it’s important to stress that strength training is also an effective weight-loss tool. Pairing the two together usually produces superior results (2).

Strength training doesn’t burn as many kilocalories or fat per workout. However, it has several long-term benefits that can help accelerate weight loss.

These include:

Increased resting metabolism – your metabolism is the amount of energy your body uses at rest per 24 hours. The higher your resting metabolism, the more kilocalories and fat your body burns in a day.

Improved insulin sensitivity – strength training increases insulin sensitivity more than cardio (3). Better insulin sensitivity means more of the carbs you eat end up in your liver and muscles and not in your fat stores. It also creates a better internal environment for fat burning.

Strength training actually burns plenty of kilocalories – while cardio might burn more kilocalories and fat, strength training still uses plenty of energy. It can help contribute toward the kilocalorie deficit required for fat loss and weight control. You can enhance this effect with strength training circuits, supersets, and other intense workout methods.

Strength training can also prevent you from becoming skinny fat. This is a common issue facing people who rely too much on cardio for fat burning and weight management.

Myth #4: Women Don’t Need to Be Strong

Not so many decades ago, women were unfairly described as the fairer or weaker sex. Needless to say, this is a very outdated point of view.

Modern women raise children alone and often live independently of men. They do many of the same jobs and are expected to perform their roles to the same standard as their male counterparts.

Interestingly, this point of view is not new and reflects how things used to be when humans were hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers. In fact, women were often left to raise the kids AND hunt, gather, and farm. Women have also had to step into roles that were considered the reserve of men during wartime when many were away fighting.

So, it could be argued that women are actually the stronger sex!

Anyway, gender politics aside, being strong makes many essential activities and tasks easier, and that applies to women just as much as men.

Myth #5: Cardio is More Important for Female Health

Cardio is good for your cardiovascular system, which is the collective term for your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Maintaining the health of your cardiovascular system is critical as it’s responsible for keeping you alive!

However, strength training also provides numerous additional health benefits, particularly for women. These include:

1. Increased Bone Density: Strength training stimulates bone growth, reducing the risk of osteoporosis (4). Osteoporosis is more prevalent in women than men.
2. Better Joint Health: Strengthens muscles around joints, reducing the risk of injury and improving mobility.
3. Better Posture and Balance: Strengthens core muscles, improving posture and reducing the risk of falls.
4. Menopause Symptom Management: Helps manage symptoms like hot flashes, joint discomfort, and fatigue (5).
5. Boosted Confidence and Self-Esteem: Achieving fitness goals is empowering and can enhance self-image and confidence.
6. Improved Mental Health: Releases endorphins, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving overall mood.
7. Enhanced Sleep Quality: Strength training promotes longer, better-quality better sleep.
8. Longevity and Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases: Strength training can lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

It’s clear from this list of benefits that women need more than cardio to be healthy, and that strength training offers several gender-specific health-related benefits.  

Myth #6: Women Need Different Exercises to Men

While there are some obvious differences between male and female anatomy, physiologically, women’s muscles are essentially identical to those of men. We all have biceps, triceps, glutes, lats, pecs, etc., and those muscles work in exactly the same way.

Consequently, the notion that there are male or female exercises is very misleading – there are just exercises!

Your workout, and therefore the exercises you do, should be selected according to your training goal and not your gender. Exercises that are good for building leg strength, improving upper body muscle tone, or core strengthening are effective for men and women when used appropriately.

Some exercises may appeal to women more than men, and vice versa. However, that doesn’t mean, for example, that women shouldn’t do deadlifts or men shouldn’t do lying side leg lifts. Such stereotypes are limiting and may lead to ignoring the very exercises that will do you the most good.

Myth #7: Women Only Need Pilates Or Yoga to Be Strong

Pilates and yoga are extremely popular for women. They’re non-competitive, require and develop mindfulness, and are often very sociable, meeting many women’s requirements for an enjoyable workout.

And while both Pilates and yoga provide numerous physical and psychological benefits, they’re not so effective for building strength.

Yes, there IS a muscular component to holding a yoga pose for several minutes or completing the Pilates 100. However, actual overload on your muscles and joints is relatively low. Consequently, you won’t experience the increases in bone density or strength you get from lifting weights.

There are plenty more workout myths that men AND women believe – read all about them here: No Pain, No Gain, and Other Popular Fitness Myths Debunked

Closing Thoughts

Strength training is such a beneficial form of exercise that it should be part of everyone’s fitness routine. Paired with a sensible amount of cardio and a balanced diet, it will enhance every aspect of your health while helping you to achieve all your fitness dreams and goals.

Unfortunately, despite the supporting research, several long-standing myths mean that women are less likely to strength train than men.

That’s a shame given the transformative effect that lifting weights can have on how you look and feel.

So, don’t let the naysayers put you off – women will benefit enormously from strength training. It’s good for your muscles, joints, cardiovascular system, and mental health. It can even help ward off menopause, osteoporosis, and other conditions that can affect women.

Long story short, it’s time to stop believing these myths – every woman should make strength training part of their fitness routines.

All you need is a couple of well-designed workouts a week.

References:

1 – Nuzzo JL. Narrative Review of Sex Differences in Muscle Strength, Endurance, Activation, Size, Fiber Type, and Strength Training Participation Rates, Preferences, Motivations, Injuries, and Neuromuscular Adaptations. J Strength Cond Res. 2023 Feb 1;37(2):494-536. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004329. Epub 2022 Nov 15. PMID: 36696264.

2 – Ho SS, Dhaliwal SS, Hills AP, Pal S. The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health. 2012 Aug 28;12:704. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-704. PMID: 23006411; PMCID: PMC3487794.

3 – Kobayashi Y, Long J, Dan S, Johannsen NM, Talamoa R, Raghuram S, Chung S, Kent K, Basina M, Lamendola C, Haddad F, Leonard MB, Church TS, Palaniappan L. Strength training is more effective than aerobic exercise for improving glycemic control and body composition in people with normal-weight type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. Diabetologia. 2023 Oct;66(10):1897-1907. doi: 10.1007/s00125-023-05958-9. Epub 2023 Jul 26. Erratum in: Diabetologia. 2024 Aug;67(8):1725-1726. doi: 10.1007/s00125-024-06135-2. PMID: 37493759; PMCID: PMC10527535.

4 – Holubiac IȘ, Leuciuc FV, Crăciun DM, Dobrescu T. Effect of Strength Training Protocol on Bone Mineral Density for Postmenopausal Women with Osteopenia/Osteoporosis Assessed by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). Sensors (Basel). 2022 Feb 28;22(5):1904. doi: 10.3390/s22051904. PMID: 35271050; PMCID: PMC8915025.

5 – Capel-Alcaraz AM, García-López H, Castro-Sánchez AM, Fernández-Sánchez M, Lara-Palomo IC. The Efficacy of Strength Exercises for Reducing the Symptoms of Menopause: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2023 Jan 9;12(2):548. doi: 10.3390/jcm12020548. PMID: 36675477; PMCID: PMC9864448.

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