Comments on: Women and not lifting heavy, when will the myths FINALLY die?

By: Project Swole

Project Swole — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:08:29 +0000

I too have been promoting the virtues of women lifting heavy for many years now. I have personally trained no less than 3 women who have lifted heavy (1-5 reps) alternating with moderate (8-12 reps) weights for 3 or more months. It’s amazing, but all three of them ended up getting stronger and obtaining the body image they were shooting for. One even won 2nd place in a figure competition.

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:47:29 +0000

Amen, man. Nothing makes me happier than when I see other women throwing the weights around.

By: Gubernatrix

Gubernatrix — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:49:51 +0000

Great article, it’s good to get the message out. There are still not nearly enough role models out there, although a side effect of the success of Crossfit is the strong female role model element, so hopefully this situation will improve.

I try to provide this with my own site but much of the time I am preaching to the choir as I rarely reach women who *don’t* lift weights already.

Still, the time will come.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:01:35 +0000

THANK YOU I hate seeing women curling 1 lb dumbbells for 50 reps. Women have about 1/20 the amount of testosterone men have so no ladies you wont get huge, lift heavy get functional. /rant

By: chris

chris — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:16:45 +0000

Apologies for the delay in responding guys. I’ve been out of town climbing for a week or so over the holidays and am just now catching back up.

Jake -
I agree on all counts. I’ve noticed the same thing on my deadlifts. I can pull close to 50lbs heavier with an over-under grip, as opposed to a dual overhand. Even when it doesn’t feel like the grip is the limiting factor, that so often helps.

She’ll be pulling another 1RM deadlift in the next week or two, so we’ll see if we can get things up a bit higher.

Amy -
Thanks for the comments. I checked out your blog and you seem to be well on your way to transforming yourself. It’s really cool to see someone actually making positive changes in their life. I hope this success continues for you.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:23:38 +0000

Thanks for this post. I’m a beginner at lifting weights, but I’m already seeing a lot of benefits to doing so. I can’t wait to get buff and strong, and I’m not afraid that I’ll get “bulky.” Although honestly, I’d rather be bulky from muscles than fat. I think a female body builder is WAY more attractive than a female on the “plate to mouth armcurls and sitting on the couch” program any day. But yes, unless you’re some genetic freak, women won’t get that big unless they’re doing something extra to help that along. I love your blog! Keep up the honest and good work

-Amy

By: Jake Briskin

Jake Briskin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:07:24 +0000

It’s so great to see a woman lifting seriously. If only more women would watch those videos and realize you don’t need a she-hulk frame to throw around significantly more than your own bodyweight. (DISCLAIMER:) I’ve been training with barbells for all of about fifteen months, and it’s only for the last five or so that I’ve really known what the hell I’m doing, so please take everything I say lightly. (END DISCLAIMER) If the deadlift and the squat are really being measured at their max, in any normally proportioned person who has been training for more than a few weeks, the DL should be a lot higher. (Sorry for pointing out the obvious.) I agree that her squat could use another healthy dose of depth, although this is just from looking at one single lift. Also, on the deadlift, even if she doesn’t feel that her grip is slipping, she could probably add a good amount of weight right away just by chalking liberally and using a mixed grip.

By the way, I love your blog. Please keep posting for years to come!