Fitness Myth; Lifting Weights Makes Women Bulky

ANOTHER FITNESS MYTH THAT JUST WON’T DIE:

“WOMEN WHO LIFT WEIGHTS WILL GET BULKY”

The fitness industry has brought this problem on themselves. Decades ago, when most of America was still in the dark ages regarding what a woman’s role in society should be, women were mostly shut out the fitness industry and most anything else involving athletics.

After world War II things improved a bit in much of the rest of society but not so much in the fitness industry.

In the sixties there was more progress, some by force, that saw women’s athletics grow substantially. Women’s golf and tennis began to come into their own.

Prior to 1977 female bodybuilding was practically non-existent.

In the 1980’s women’s bodybuilding took off. But there were problems. Much of the excitement was based on curiosity, and drug use (steroids) was rampant.

Because of the curiosity factor many promoters allowed and even encouraged the use of steroids by women.

Unfortunately, those images from the 80’s and 90’s and early in this century are what many people remember.  And those images of women with unnatural bulky bodies, square jaw lines and elongated faces have hurt the fitness industry ever since. Female bodybuilding still has some problems.

But the industry has gone through some positives changes. Several off-shoots have attracted many more women than bodybuilding itself. “Fitness competition”, “bikini model competitions”, and “fitness model competitions” have gained much more popularity than women’s’ body building.

“Fit” is becoming the new “thin”.

                                   

I’m 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. I can show you women who can lift much more than I can and they weigh 125 pounds. Does that sound “bulky” to you?

And the word “toned” should be dropped from the vocabulary.  The picture below was taken directly from a women’s magazine recommending “toning” your arms using 5-8 pound dumb bells.

                                                                       

Do those arms look “toned” to you? Does anything in this picture look “toned”? “Anorexic” seems more appropriate.

The fact is, unless you are the one in a million females with 100 times the normal amount of testosterone or you’re taking anabolic steroids you will not get bulky.

So let's drop the act, shall we?

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