If you are a woman and reading this, do you get the nagging feeling that you will put on huge muscles when you do resistance training? This is one of the biggest myths that hold women back from successfully losing weight and keeping it off.

Unfortunately, this myth is still very prevalent today. This myth has been spread by seeing women bodybuilders in muscle magazines and TV. This has sent the wrong message to women that they too would build large muscles when doing resistance training. A woman’s mind has subconsciously made the association of big hulk muscles with the dumbbell. Women need to do some reprogramming.

Women can never build large muscles like men. Men are able to build large muscles because they have large amounts of the testosterone hormone. Women have only very very tiny amounts of this hormone. Does that come as a surprise that women too have testosterone?Testosterone is the hormone that boosts sex drive in both sexes.But once again, the testosterone levels in women are so very very low.

Women bodybuilders are able to build large muscles because they actually inject themselves with testosterone and other muscle building drugs. These women start having masculine features like a square jaw, facial hair, etc. So unless a woman is injecting herself with steroids and bodybuilding drugs, there is no way on earth that she could even build a protruding bicep!

Like I have said before, it is difficult for even men to build muscles let alone women. Losing weight is easy. Building muscles is a whole different ball game. Losing weight is like doing algebra. Building muscles is like doing calculus!

Anyway back to the discussion at hand. When women do resistance training their bodies become extremely firm and compact. Their muscles don’t grow large AT ALL. They just become dense and extremely shapely. The body becomes more curvy and the posture is absolutely erect. The shoulders are steady and firm which gives an illusion of a very slim waist. A lady who does weight resistance training becomes more feminine! The muscles give the body the shape of the hourglass. The more muscles you have the closer your figure is to the hourglass. Look at the hourglass figures of Jenifer Lopez and Beyonce!

Look at most of the latest Bolywood actresses and Hollywood actresses like Angelina Jolie, Jenifer Lopez, Beyonce, etc. Is there even a sign of the lack of femininity in them? Weight resistance training is a core component of their exercise programs.

And remember the other benefits of weight training:

• Prevents loss of lean body mass that happens from dieting and/or aging
• Weight training workouts burn calories
• Helps change your body composition, which helps shape your body and keep you healthy
• Strengthens bones and connective tissue along with muscles
• Helps keep you strong and active as you get older

So to summarize, women should embrace weight resistance training. Let resistance training chisel and melt of the fat to reveal the more feminine, curvy, toned, compact you! I don’t expect women to be able to reprogram that easily but what can be done is to a least attempt 1 – 3 months of weight training on blind faith. Once you see how it transfoms and reveals the shapely you, you will never let go of weight resistance training from your exercise program.