1. Women can't get strong. The average woman gains strength at a slightly faster rate than the average man. 2. Strength training de-feminizes women. Strength training offers a wide array of potential benefits (functional, mental and physical health) and are appropriate and available to women as they are to men. 3. Lifting weights will cause women to develop relatively large muscles. Women don't have the genetic potential to develop large muscles because, except in very rare instances, they don't have enough of the hormone testosterone, which is necessary for the development of muscle tissue. 4. Strength training will make a woman muscle bound. Strength training increases flexibility and we know now that women can't develop large muscles. 5. A woman's muscle will turn to fat when she stops training. Muscle doesn't turn to fat, and vice versa. If a muscle is not used it will shrink (atrophy). 6. A woman can take protein supplements to enhance her physique. Extra protein does not enhance a woman's physique. An excess amount of protein is converted to fat and stored in the body. 7. Rigorous strength training can help a woman rid her body of fat. Strength training can firm and tone muscle but it cannot directly burn fat. Strength training can increase a woman's metabolic rate which is the rate calories are used, therefore it is likely more fat calories will be utilized. 8. Strength training increases a woman's need for vitamins. Vitamins are not a source of energy and do not contribute to a woman's body structure. A woman who strength trains receives no benefit from taking an excessive dose of vitamins. A diet of a variety of healthful foods will ensure adequate vitamin intake. 9. Strength training is for young women. It's never too late for a woman to improve her muscular fitness. Strength training can help extend a woman's functional life span. 10. Strength training is expensive for a woman. Not true. A muscle doesn't know the cost of a machine it's using. Muscle responds to the stress being applied to it...a pair of dumbbells or barbell can be just as effective as an expensive machine. Reprinted from the ACSM Health and Fitness Journal. Volume 4, No. 1.
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||