The Female Weight Training Myths Busters by a Personal Trainer in Letchworth:

1 – Lifting heavy will make you bulky

This is simply not true – women do not naturally have enough testosterone to build vast amounts of muscle and gain size.  Lifting heavy weights will make you stronger which will increase lean muscle mass.  Having more lean muscle mass will burn fat and increase your resting metabolic rate meaning that you burn more calories at rest.

Always try to lift as heavy as you can and try to progress the weights that you lift in order to gain strength and muscle.

2 – Spot reduction – exercise the area that you want to lose fat from

If you want thinner thighs then doing lots of squats will not reduce the fat on your thighs.  All of us store fat in areas differently.  Exercising those areas will not encourage that area to lose fat.  We need to work our whole body and eat well to reduce overall body fat and increase lean muscle.

3 – Cardio is the only way to get thin and lose weight

Doing lots of cardio over and over does not mean you are losing weight. Counting how many calories you have burnt also is not a concrete way to determine you are losing fat.

Strength train as often as you can and balance it with Hiit style cardio.

4 – One size does not fit all

There is not one universal exercise programme that works for everyone.  There are different programmes out there for a reason.  Do not be afraid to try different programmes and see what works by keeping track of results.

5 – A woman cannot train like a man

A woman can gain as much strength as a man relative to their weight.  They can use the same training methods, exercises, intensities and volume.  There is no reason why women should approach things any differently.

6 – Strength training is only for young women

Strength training preserves bone density, and muscle mass and helps strength and balance.  As post-menopausal women are more susceptible to osteoporosis they should strength train in order to preserve this.