Women in the Weights Room
Many women steer away from lifting heavy weights because “it’ll make them look bulky”. This is one of the biggest misunderstandings of the health and fitness field and comes from a lack of understanding of the science behind gaining muscle (or bulk).
When armed with informed programming and knowledge of technique, women adding big lifts and strength training into their schedule can expect to see massive benefits in not only strength, but overall fitness, metabolic efficiency, joint range of motion (ROM), bone mineral density (BMD), energy production, as well as self-confidence (Hurley, K. S. et al. 2018).
Gaining muscle requires lifting weights in the correct format, applying progressive overload to your training, and arguably the most important and difficult factor, eating in a sufficient calorie surplus. Building muscle takes concerted effort and time and will not happen overnight or after one strength session. Therefore, lifting heavy weights consistently will not cause uncontrollable muscle gains and ‘bulk’ if you are not consciously eating to do so.
One of the most common goals for training I have heard from women, is to lose fat, increase muscle tone and look leaner. A common strategy to achieve this goal is doing endless amounts of cardio, and while this will increase cardiovascular fitness and contribute to fat loss, it is not the most efficient method for fat loss. As previously mentioned, strength training improves metabolic efficiency, meaning your body adapts to burn more fat with the more muscle and strength gained (LeBrasseur, N. K., Walsh K., & Arany, Z. 2011). Thus, cardio alone is not nearly as effective as a combination of both cardio and resistance training.
Here at Premier Conditioning, our female members train the same lifts and muscle groups as our male members with the guidance and support from our qualified and motivating coaches.
If you have a specific goal or you’re new to weight training, contact us for an individualised program or explore our private training options and gain from the experience and knowledge of our university qualified coaches.
- Sarah Mantova
B. ExSS (Hons) and Strength and Conditioning Coach
