Not that you ladies need reminding but....

[WillBrink]

Strength Training for Women: Debunking Myths that block Opportunity

William P Ebben; Randall L. Jensen

The Physician & Sports Medicine - Vol 26, No. 5, May 98

In Brief:

Traditional gender roles and differences in absolute strength have
resulted in misconceived approaches to strength training for women.
Male physiology, more than hormones, explains men's superior absolute
strength. When other measures of strength are used, such as strength
relative to cross-sectional area of muscle, the strength of men and
women is nearly equal. Women who practice the same well-designed
strength training programs as men benefit from bone and soft-tissue
modeling, increased lean body mass, decreased fat, and enhanced
self-confidence.

Although American women first began strength training for sports in
the 1950s to improve their performance in track and field, they have
traditionally participated in strength training less than men. Such
exercise has not been considered feminine, and a lack of research and
information regarding the effects of such training on women has made
it a predominantly male activity. Women's participation was
particularly limited until 1972, when Title IX mandated equal access
to educational programs--including athletics--for men and women in
schools that receive federal funding. Since then, women's sports
participation has burgeoned, traditional gender roles have loosened,
and strength training has grown in popularity among active women.

Nevertheless, the social stigma and lack of accurate information
persist and feed misconceptions that keep women away from strength
training or prevent them from training in optimal ways (see
"Dispelling Misconceptions," below).

Though gender differences regarding absolute strength exist, women are
as able as men to develop strength relative to total muscle mass.
Consequently, women should strength train in the same ways as men,
using the same program design, exercises, intensities, and volumes,
relative to their body size and level of strength, so they can achieve
the maximum physiologic and psychological benefits. ......

Strength Training Benefits for Women

- Enhanced bone modeling to increase bone strength and reduce the risk
of osteoporosis
- Stronger connective tissues to increase joint stability and help
prevent injury
- Increased functional strength for sports and daily activity
- Increased lean body mass and decreased nonfunctional body fat
- Higher metabolic rate because of an increase in muscle and a
decrease in fat
- Improved self-esteem and confidence ......

Strength Training Guidelines

Since well-designed strength training programs include exercises with
free weights and dumbbells and exercises that use body weight
resistance, both women and men should include these in their training,
and women should train at the same intensities as men.

The use of strength training machines and abdominal exercises need not
be discontinued, but emphasis should be placed on the use of
free-weight exercises including foot-based lower-body exercises such
as the lunge, diagonal lunge, walking lunge, step up, lateral step up,
and squat. Women should also include upper-body exercises that employ
multiple muscle groups such as the bench press, incline press,
latissimus dorsi pull-downs, pull-ups, and back extensions. Finally,
women who have developed a strength base should consider total-body
exercises such as the push press, hang clean, power clean, clean and
jerk, and snatch.

A training program should also stress multiplanar, multijoint,
functional exercises because they develop intermuscular coordination,
proprioception, and balance and result in strength that transfers to
sports and daily activities. For example, the step-up exercise is
superior to using the leg-extension machine because it offers
functional strength for walking up a flight of stairs while carrying
bags of groceries. For athletes who play foot-based sports such as
basketball, the squat is superior to using the leg-press machine,
since the squat is functionally more similar to the sport and requires
greater balance and weight and body control in all three planes
of motion.

Fostering Strength

Though sex role stereotypes still powerfully shape our culture and
behavior, physical strength is no longer the sole domain of men. More
and more women are claiming strength as their own through
participation in sports and especially in strength training programs.
Such participation helps to counter the stereotypes and fosters an
appreciation of strength as desirable for women. ........

Dispelling Misconceptions

Recent studies counter several widely held beliefs that may limit the
physiologic and psychological benefits of weight training for women.

Myth 1: Strength training causes women to become larger and heavier.

The truth is, strength training helps reduce body fat and increase
lean weight. These changes may result in a slight increase in overall
weight, since lean body mass weighs more than fat. However, strength
training results in significant incrases in strength, no change or a
decrease in lower-body girths, and a very small increase in
upper-extremity girth. Only women with a genetic predisposition for
hypertrophy who participate in high-volume, high-intensity training
will see substantial increases in limb circumference.

Myth 2: Women should use different training methods from men.

Women are often encouraged to use weight machines and slow, controlled
movements out of a fear that using free weights, manual resistance,
explosiveness (high velocity, low force), or exercises that use body
weight as resistance will cause injury.

In fact, no evidence suggests that women are more likely to be injured
during strength training than men. Proper exercise instruction and
technique are necessary to reduce the risk of injuries for both men
and women. All strength training participants should follow a program
that gradually increases the intensity and load.

Furthermore, sport-specific exercise should closely mimic the
biomechanics and velocity of the sport for which an athlete is
training. The best way to achieve this is to use closed-kinetic-chain
exercise that involves multiple joints and muscle groups and the
ranges of motion specific to the sport. For example, the push
press--rather than triceps kickbacks--offers a superior arm
extension training stimulus for improving the ability to throw the
shot put in track and field.

Myth 3: Women should avoid high-intensity or high-load training.

Women are typically encouraged to use limited resistance, such as
light dumbbells, in their strength exercises. Often such light
training loads are substantially below those necessary for physiologic
adaptations and certainly less than those commonly used by men.

Most women are able to train at higher volumes and intensities than
previously believed. In fact, women need to train at intensities high
enough to cause adaptation in bone, muscle, cartilage, ligaments, and
tendons. When exercise intensity provides insufficient stimulus,
physiologic benefits may be minimal. To gain maximum benefit from
strength training, women should occasionally perform their exercises
at or near the repetition maximum for each exercise. ......

[Thunder_Bunny]

Great post.

It doesn't hurt to keep reminding us about the mythes. I'm sure all of us are sick to death of the "if I lift heavy weights I'll get bulky" excuse.