The modern gym concept was popularized in the fitness revolution of the early 1980s. For the majority of that time, it was common to walk into a commercial gym and see the majority of women on cardio machines, while men were on the floor “pumping iron.”

More recently, a change has been happening. As the profile of professional female athletes continues to grow and social media influencers normalize women sculpting their physiques, more women and more are starting to include strength training into their regime.

We have far more research into women’s health to support the importance of getting strong. Despite the evidence, there are still barriers that hold many of us back from hitting the squat rack.

In this article, we’ll define some exercise terminology, identify common myths and fears about strength training for females, and educate on why it is vital to your health and longevity to start lifting heavy, and provide a guide to getting started with strength training.

Table of Contents

The Benefits of Strength Training for Women

The benefits of resistance training have been clear for some time for both males and females. We know it supports the maintenance of healthy muscles and joints, improves cardiorespiratory function, helps with mental health and cognition, and keeps us feeling younger longer.

As women age, our hormones and muscle composition start to decline. Women naturally have less muscle mass to begin with, but as our hormone production slows, as does our ability to maintain our muscles. To counter this, we need to focus on building strong, resilient muscles, and we do this by lifting heavy weights.

Strength involves a neuromuscular connection. By placing that stress on our body (AKA heavy weight), our nervous system fires up to adapt to this load. This allows you to move easier, longer. It also boosts your neural pathways, making improvements in cognition.

Another change women experience as they age, is their bone density declines. According to Osteoporosis Canada about 80 percent of those living with diagnosed osteoporosis are women.[i] Adding in resistance and strength training has been shown to significantly slow the progression of bone density loss by stimulating the production of bone-building cells.

Yet another benefit to strength training is how it helps reduce the risk of developing heart disease. In a comparison study of individuals who incorporated strength training into their weekly exercise routine, to those who only performed aerobic exercise, showed a risk reduction of 40-70 percent of developing a heart related condition.[ii] Your heart is a muscle, after all!

The takeaway here is that your body needs to be challenged to function optimally. This means adding resistance training to your regime, and more importantly, strength training. At the end of the day, if our goal is to be as independent as possible for as long as possible, we need strong muscles to do that. “You want to be the oldest person in the gym, not the youngest person in the nursing home.”

The Fear of Bulking Up

There was a long-held belief that lifting weights would lead to women looking bulky and masculine. It kept many women away from free weights and clinging to the treadmill. Chances are you’re lifting heavier objects in your every day life than you’d dare pick up in the gym, like small children.

The fact is, females don’t “bulk up” nearly as easily as our male counterparts. Our hormones and physiology are against us in that regard. Let’s pick on testosterone for a quick example. Along with many other functions, we know testosterone is the hormone responsible for building muscle mass.

Although both males and females produce testosterone, women produce it in far less amounts. University of Rochester’s research states that normal levels of testosterone in males is between 270 to 1,070 nanograms per decilitre (ng/dL), whereas women’s levels typically lie between 15 to 70 ng/dL.[iii] That’s a big difference. Indeed, we have estrogen that plays a role in our ability to build muscle, but those levels change on a monthly basis. This is suggested to have an effect on our exercise intensity and ideal timing for training.

Overcoming Gym Anxiety

Another barrier to getting started in the gym, is simply anxiety or what is known as “gymtimidation”. It can be very scary to enter the world of weight lifting, as no one wants to be judged or look a fool. It is important to remember, however, that everyone starts somewhere!

A few ideas that may help ease your gym jitters:

  • Ask the staff for a tour of the space and equipment. If you are unsure of how to use certain machines, ask them to demonstrate how to use it properly.
  • There are also countless apps that can get you started in a strength program, as well as movement analysis apps that will aid you in ensuring your form is correct.
  • Bring a friend. Find a like-minded companion to share your fitness journey with. It’s a win-win if you’re both there learning new movements and getting stronger together, while also having someone familiar with you in unfamiliar territory.
  • If you prefer a one-on-one approach, a personal trainer would be your best bet to develop a plan specifically for you. They are there to identify your strengths and limitations, guide you through safe lifting practices, and progress your plan accordingly.
  • Choose a women’s only gym. If being around groups of guys who are bench pressing more than their body weight intimidates you, there are plenty of gyms that cater to women members only.
  • Join a circuit training program. Circuit training combines cardio and weights in a 30-minute group class format that can help you feel supported as you ease your way into weights. The instructor will be able to guide and correct your form until you feel comfortable enough to strike out on your own.

Exercise Terminology

Before we dive into tips to get started lifting heavy weights, let’s clarify some exercise terminology. We often hear terms like resistance, intensity, strength, and hypertrophy, among others. However, you may not know what that means in terms of your body and what you’re doing in the gym.

Resistance is your body moving against an external force. This can come from your own body weight and gravity, or with pieces of equipment. It is somewhat of a blanket term for other training methods, like strength and power, but they are not all the same. Examples of resistance training range from aquatic exercise, plyometrics, yoga, weight training, to HIIT.

Intensity refers to how hard you’re working during an exercise. In order for changes to be made within a muscle, they need to reach a level of stress and fatigue, which requires a high amount of intensity to be exerted.

Strength comes from more than just your muscles. It actually stresses the nervous system, which then drafts muscle fibers to overcome resistance. This type of training typically revolves around bigger, multi-joint exercises, like squats, deadlifts, and bench press. Strength is gained from performing lower numbers of repetitions with heavy weight, and requires longer rest time between sets for your nervous system to recover. An example of this is performing 3-5 repetitions at 85 percent of your 1 rep max with a 3-5 minutes rest.

Hypertrophy is the growth of your muscles. This is what changes the physical appearance of your muscles (don’t worry, you won’t turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger!). It is used in correlation with strength training, because as your muscles grow, your capacity to build strength will increase.

More commonly, you’ll see this type of training done for specific muscle groups, like bicep curls, knee extensions, etc. Hypertrophy training is typically done with a moderate weight, and moderate to high number of repetitions, with less rest time between sets. An example of this is 6 to 12 repetitions at 75-85 percent of your 1 rep max with a 60-90 seconds of rest.

Now that we have a better understanding of terms, let’s talk about why building strength is so important for women.

Tips to Get Started Lifting Weights

For people new to the gym, you may be starting with body weight movements until your mobility and exercise tolerance increases. This is the perfect time to dial in your technique, that way you’re prepared to handle gradual weight increases. As you get more comfortable with movement, you can start to challenge yourself.

Choose exercises that target the major muscle groups and are “functional.”

Squats

A squat is a bend through the hips and knees, and return to stand. In every day life, this may be sitting down and getting up from a chair, or lowering yourself to talk to a small child. It requires mobility through your hips, knees and ankles, and strengthens your glutes, quads, and hamstrings.

As a beginner, this may be completed as a body weight movement. With progress, weight can be added with dumbbells and kettlebells, or squat variations such as barbell front squats.

Deadlifts

A deadlift, in the simplest explanation, is picking something up from the floor. A neutral back is maintained while folding forward from the hips. Think of pushing the floor away through your feet to come to a full stand, then reverse the movement back to starting position.

This movement primarily strengthens the posterior chain (lats, glutes, hamstrings). Again, once technique is locked in, try to progress the load you’re lifting. Different equipment can be used for deadlifts, and stance can vary from conventional, to sumo, even to single leg stance for an added balance challenge!

Upper Body Push/Pull Movements

Our upper body strength is just as important as our lower body, and should not be neglected. In the gym, this can look like bench press, shoulder press, lat pull downs, or rows. The muscles worked in those movements are what aid us in our every day tasks, such as mowing the lawn, carrying a child, or lifting objects overhead.

Developing a program can seem daunting, as there is a plethora of information on which approach is the best. Certainly, you want to enjoy your exercise routine, so if running is your passion, continue to run!

Remember, however, that we need strength for longevity. Try to include two to three days of strength training, focusing on bigger compound movements, with complimentary exercises to help build muscle mass (hypertrophy).

Conclusion

Heavy weight lifting can be beneficial for women, just as it is for men. Weight lifting can offer numerous health and fitness benefits for women without causing excessive muscle mass. From improving health and cognition to reducing the risk of age-related issues, lifting heavy weights offers women the opportunity to cultivate resilience, confidence, and vitality.

Remember that everyone’s body responds differently to exercise, so it’s essential to find an approach that works for you. Our physiotherapists and exercise specialists can help you start a strengthening program that will work for you.  Come see us today!

Written by

Adrianne CarbonePhysiotherapy Assistant

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