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Come on ladies, how many of you have ever thought this?  I know there are some guys out there who think this to ... believe me, I've trained them.  This has to be the number one objection I hear from women when I tell them we're going to incorporate weight training.  Once they regain consciousness, the same statement always follows, "But I don't want to be all muscley." 

Good news for all you women out there who clicked on some link to read this.  WEIGHTS WILL NOT MAKE YOU ALL "MUSCLEY". 

Number one, the hormone levels in men are completely different than those in women.  The amount of testosterone flowing through guys is much larger than the amount flowing through women. Because women don't have the same amount of growth hormones as men, it's nearly impossible for them to even grow muscles like men.  Relax, you can lift all you want but you aren't going to look like Arnold in his glory days. 

Number two, in order to bulk up, there needs to be an entire lifestyle change.  Lifting isn't the only thing that is required to gain a lot of muscle.  Nutrition is another huge component that is required.  You would have to eat like a horse to provide your body with the excess calories necessary to support serious muscle growth, and especially if you're trying to trim down, that's the last thing you want to do.

The third thing that will prevent women from serious muscle growth is program structure.  Sure, many men think they can walk into the weight room, pick up some dumbbells, and go to town, but in reality, to gain some serious muscle, there's a lot that goes into program design of the workouts.  Sets, reps, rest, tempo, amount of weight, lifting scheme, progression ... get my drift.  There are all kinds of details to make a complete bulking program.  True, most men can gain some muscle through basic lifting, and that's because they have the manly hormones that women don't have a lot of, but if they want to gain serious muscle, there's a lot more to it.

To put it into perspective, a bulking program is a way of life.  When to work out, eating habits, sleeping habits, lifting techniques, supplements, drinks, water intake, all kinds of components go into it, and the typical woman isn't going to bother with this type of lifestyle, let alone most men.  Weights (resistance training) are essential for any person because aside from muscle bulking, resistance training keeps our muscles and bones healthy.  Healthy muscles equals more fat loss and a fitter body.  Healthy bones, again, a fitter body.  Those are just two of the benefits that resistance training gives; there are many more. 

So women, don't cringe when you hear the word "lifting".  You're not going to bulk up like a man because your body isn't made the same way internally.  Please realize, though, if you want to lose weight and be healthy, you're kidding yourself if you think you can get the fastest results possible without resistance training ... it's an ABSOLUTE MUST!

Dan Falkenberg, BA, ACE-CPT, NASM-PES

Dan Falkenberg is the cofounder of Your Live Trainers.  He can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.

The Fat Dissolver Program; it features over 50 of the exercises I use with my own clients.  You can download them to your computer, watch them on your iPod/iPhone, or turn them into two DVDs of your own.  Get full access for only $4.95!

Tags: exercise selection, muscle gain, question of the week, weight loss