There are so many things that I hear women say about why they don’t do certain things at the gym, or why they eat certain things to lose weight, or don’t eat certain things in their diets. I am sick of hearing certain words tossed around that don’t have any meaning, and are making women stay out of the weight room! Women wonder why they aren’t getting the results they want, so I am going to go over the top 4 common female fitness myths, and what you can do differently!

Myth # 1:

“Women shouldn’t lift weights because then they will get bulky muscles.”

Truth: Women do not have the same levels of testosterone that men have, therefore it is impossible for women to grow large “man-like” muscles. Women also have less and smaller muscle fibers than men, which again limits the size they can grow to. If you ever see a woman with huge muscles, such as many female bodybuilders, this can be due to supplementation with steroids such as testosterone and estrogen blockers.

Myth # 2:

“The only way women can achieve their goal weight and drop fat is to do hours and hours of cardio.”

Truth: Cardio is great for burning calories and is definitely an important part of both cardiovascular health and helpful for weight loss. In order to lower body fat and achieve an all around strong physique, one must also include strength training. Basically, when women increase their level of muscle mass in the body, their metabolism also elevates. Muscle also constantly burns more calories than fat in the body. Therefore, with higher levels of muscle, you will be burning more fat!

Myth # 3:

“Lots of crunches and ab exercises will give you the abs you always wanted, will reduce stomach fat, and will TONE you.”

Truth: FIRST OF ALL, there is no such thing as “TONING.” Toning is not a real word. The only way for muscles to be more visible is to build up the muscle, or reduce body fat levels. It is not possible to spot reduce. The rate of fat loss, and where it is lost on your body, is attributed to genetics, hormones and age. That means that doing a ton of crunches wont give you visible abs until you lose the fat that is over them!

Myth # 4:

“Carbs are EVIL.”

Truth: Yes, too many carbohydrates in the daily diet can be stored as fat if not used properly. But the same is true with eating too many grams of fat or even protein, and mainly just over taking calories vs. calories burned. The correct amount of carbs for a daily diet are necessary for muscle growth, maintained fat loss, and also brain function! Your brain basically eats carbs to think and stay alive. There are also different types of carbs! Complex carbs and sugar carbs. It is best to try and eat more complex carbs such as brown rice, and stay away from sugar carbs! This is because they are more easily digested and stored as fat rather than being utilized for energy.

So women get your butts into the weight room and lift those weights. Get that cardio in but don’t overdue it! Eat some oats in the morning but leave out the processed sugar, and definitely don’t be afraid of becoming “hulk like” because it isn’t possible!

Happy lifting 😉