Myths About Women and Weight Training

Even as recently as the '80s, women who worked out with weights were considered a bit odd. They were told that lifting weights would make them look masculine or that the muscles would turn to unsightly flab once they stopped working out. In other words, it was considered a man's exercise and women who enjoyed it were strongly encouraged to stop.

However, working out with weights is one of the best things a woman can do to maintain a healthy body - and to maintain her beauty as well. Let's address the above misconceptions.

Simply working out with weights will not make a woman appear masculine. Since the dawn of time, women have been using the muscles that nature gave them to carry children, to work fields and to do housework. Anyone who has ever scrubbed a floor or carried a 20-pound child with them during a day of errands knows that things that were once considered "women's work" is best done with big, healthy muscles. Anyone worried that working with weights will turn her into a female Arnold Schwarzenegger should rest assured that will not happen by accident. A look like that requires several hours in the gym on a daily basis, and probably a little steroid boost to top it off.

And those who consider any muscle fitness of any sort on a woman unattractive simply has a fetish for an unhealthy look and should be ignored by anyone who wants a healthy look. Strength is not the territory of men alone.

The second myth - that a woman who works out with weights will have masses of unsightly flab clinging to her once she stops working out - deserves not one, but two, answers. For one thing, it is silly to think that a woman will one day choose to stop caring for her body simply because she is a woman. That working out with weights is simply a phase she is going through. If it's true for a woman, then it's true for a man. For another thing, if and when a woman decides to stop caring for her body, she will most likely become unattractive in a whole host of ways, so a bit of flab won't make much difference on that score. The most important thing, however, is that this is simply wrong. If and when a weightlifter decides to stop lifting weights, the muscles shrink and he or she looks just as they did before they started working out with weights in the first place. I know this because I did stop working out for a while, and that is what happened to me.

Working out with weights will not injure you if you do it properly. Women are no more prone to weightlifting injuries than are men, and it is no more a tragedy when a woman does injure herself than it is when a man injures himself. You will not be unable to have children if you work out with weights. True, men who prefer stick figures for girlfriends will find you less attractive. At the same time, men who prefer women with athletic bodies will find you more attractive. The important question, however, is: What do you prefer to see when you look in the mirror?

Before you make a decision, however, it's best to read what the experts say. Know what you want out of a weightlifting program and work accordingly. Know the risks and how to avoid them. But above all, don't let the random comments of people who don't know what they're talking about deter you from living a healthy life.