Women who want to look healthier by either putting on some lean muscle or by losing some stubborn fat shouldn’t fear grabbing a pair of dumbbells.  The primary excuse women have when it comes to weight training is, “I don’t want to get big or bulky.”

The hormone testosterone is responsible for the large increases in muscle mass seen when men lift weights. Women’s testosterone levels are a fraction of men’s testosterone levels.

Getting bulky isn’t a viable excuse anymore for staying away from weights. The age-old saying of weightlifting naysayers needs to be put to rest once and for all. Acquiring muscle mass requires testosterone levels that women simply don’t have in their chemical makeup. It’s quite the opposite — you’ll actually accentuate your feminine shape with lifting; muscle burns more calories than fat to help you achieve the definition you’ve been seeking.

Let’s face it, how many women do you know who say they won’t step foot in a weight room because they think they will get big and bulky? I’m sure you know someone who uses this as an excuse. Sure, women can get muscular like men … if they use steroids. Other than that, the answer is simply no.

Women do not produce enough testosterone to build muscle at the same rate as men. It is physically impossible for them to get big, bulky and extremely muscular. Can women be stronger than men? Sure! There are plenty of women out there who workout that can out-lift a good portion of the male population. It seems hard to believe, but it’s true.

I actually recommend that women train like men and push themselves every time they weight train with increased weights. There is no use going to the gym and cutting your progress short by selecting weights that don’t push your body to change.

Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in women. As you can see, men’s testosterone levels are significantly higher than women’s. Even if a man is at the low end of the men’s normal testosterone range (200 ng/dl), he still has more than twice the amount of testosterone as a woman at the high end of the women’s normal testosterone range (70 ng/dl).

If we look at the median or mid-range testosterone levels in men and women, men = 700 and women = 42.5. So on an average, men have 16.47 times more testosterone than women!

Women’s Testosterone Levels Are A Fraction Of Men’s Testosterone Levels.

There was some outrage recently among health and fitness experts about a famous bride-to-be who was quoted in a magazine saying that she was giving up weights, pre-wedding, to help her muscles keep a “lean line.”

BlissTree recently reported that the gorgeous Charlene Wittstock, the South African Olympic swimmer who’s set to marry Prince Albert of Monaco next week, is giving up weights in preparation for her big day. The former Olympic swimmer told Vogue that she worries weights will ruin her lean look. From the article:

“In preparation for the perpetual camera-readiness expected of her as first lady of Monaco, she has cut out weight training and increased her stretching time to give her body a leaner line.”

BlissTree’s Briana Rognlin is outraged. She writes, “in one fell sentence, they’ve managed to perpetuate bad stereotypes about weight training and physical fitness.

In fact, the average woman needs more weight training to get a ‘leaner line,’ and lots stretching is probably a good thing for competitive (or formerly competitive) athletes like Wittstock, but most brides aren’t professional athletes and don’t need to worry about looking bulky if they prep for their weddings in the weight room.”

Developing muscle is crucial to lowering body fat, and to improving your fitness and health levels overall.

Just because you’re not vying for 20-inch biceps or thunderously strong thighs like the muscle heads in the gym doesn’t mean you should shun the weight room. Lifting weights gives you an edge over belly fat, stress, heart disease, and cancer—and it’s also the single most effective way to look hot in a bikini. Yet somehow women are still hesitant:

Only about a fifth of females strength train two or more times a week.

Now you may be saying, “I have seen some women bodybuilders who are very muscular and look similar to men in their build.” The real reason they look like that is they are most-likely using exogenous testosterone injections and/or other anabolic steroids.

When women use exogenous testosterone/steroids they may show signs of hair growth on the face and chest, increased muscle mass, a redistribution of body fat from a female pattern of storage to a male pattern of storage, deepening of the voice, and other effects.

The point of saying this is that unless you are on exogenous testosterone or other anabolic steroids, you will not become big and bulky from lifting weights. This is not to say that you will not gain any muscle, you will, but you will not gain muscle like a man. Instead, you will become toned and shapely.

It is clear that women do not have the hormonal support (testosterone) to gain muscle mass like men. Therefore, the fear of becoming big and bulky and looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger with a ponytail is unwarranted.

If you are a woman and want to gain muscle and improve your shape and curves, then you are going to have to lift heavy weights.

It is time to stop listening to the media and misinformed individuals and time to become educated and get results.

Live and Learn. We All Do.

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