In our effort to attain a lean, strong body, we dancers should use all fitness methods available to us. In recent years, women have added strength training to their weekly work-outs with great results. Still, popular media continues to support false and negative stereotypes of women who train for strength -- implying that these women are un-feminine and bulky. For this reason, many dancers have shyed away from this form of fitness.
I hope the truth behind these 10 myths will make you realize what an asset strength training can be to your fitness regimen.
- Women can't get strong. Untrue! Women have great potential to gain muscular strength, especially in their upper bodies. Woman actually gain muscle mass at a slightly higher rate than their male counterparts.
- Strength training de-feminizes women. Strength training offers a plethora of benefits (functional, physical, mental, and overall health) and should be just as available to women as they are to me. And I personally do not find tight, firm muscles to be in any way unfeminine.
- Lifting weights will cause women to develop relatively large muscles. Testosterone is essential to develop large muscles. In most cases, women do not have enough of this hormone to build great muscle bulk.
- Strength training will make a woman muscle-bound. The term "muscle-bound" makes me think of some comical weight-lifters who are unflexible because of their bulk. This is just yet another stereotype. Proper strength training does not prohibit flexiblity; in fact it may increase flexibility.
- A woman's muscles will turn to fat when she stops training. Nope. Muscles cannot turn to fat. They simply do not have to capacity to shift from one type of tissue to another. Muscles that are not used will grow smaller or atrophy.
- A woman can take protein supplements to enhance her physique. Excess amounts of protein can not change the way a woman's body looks. When the body receives more protien than it needs, these extra calories are converted to fat and stored in the body.
- Rigorous strength training can help a woman rid her body of fat. Research has shown that while strength training can tone muscles, it does not burn fat.
- Strength training increases a woman's need for vitamins. An active woman needs more energy than a sedentary one, but vitamins do not provide energy. The vitamin needs of all healthy women, no matter how active, are pretty much the same. So excess doses of vitamins are unnecessary for a woman engaging in strength training.
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