There are more myths and misconceptions about strength training than any other area of fitness. While research continues to uncover more and more reasons why working out with weights is good for you, many women continue to avoid resistance training for fear of developing muscles of Herculean proportions.
Other women have tried it and been less than thrilled with the results. “Don’t worry,” people say. “Women can’t build muscle like men. They don’t have enough testosterone.” This is, in fact, only partly true.
Many women, believing they wouldn’t build muscle, hit the gym with a vengeance and then wondered why, after several weeks of resistance training, their clothes didn’t fit and they had gained muscle weight.
The truth is, not everyone responds to training in quite the same way. While testosterone plays an important role in muscle development, the answer to why some men and women increase in muscle size and others don’t lies within our DNA.
We are predisposed to respond to exercise in a particular way, in large part because of our genetics. Our genetic makeup determines what types of muscle fibers we have and where they are distributed. It determines our ratio of testosterone to estrogen and where we store body fat. And it also determines our body type.
Consider this: It’s been a few months since you first started weight training and you’re not seeing the same kind of results as you did at the beginning. Sound familiar?
You may have hit a plateau in your strength-training program. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you are almost guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your strength-training goals.
Strength-training plateaus usually occur after about six months of training. They are especially noticeable at this time since the dramatic gains in strength that many people experience during the first few months of their programs begin to level off. These changes are often the result of continuously using one training approach.
The solution to the plateau is generally an easy one that involves varying your routine. The following approaches can help you steer clear of a strength plateau.
You do not need to be a bodybuilder to benefit from strength training. A well-designed strength-training program can provide the following benefits:
Increased strength of bones, muscles and connective tissues (the tendons and ligaments)—This increased strength
decreases the risk of injury.
Increased muscle mass—Most adults lose about one-half pound of muscle per year after the age of 25, largely due to decreased activity. Muscle tissue is partly responsible for the number of calories burned at rest (the basal metabolic rate, or BMR). As muscle mass increases, BMR increases, making it easier to maintain a healthy body weight.
Enhanced quality of life—As general strength increases, the performance of daily routines (carrying groceries, working in the garden) will be less taxing.
24 North Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 • 
