Were you aware that a 20 year old girl who is not really weight lifting will on average reduce 6 pounds of lean muscle and gain 5 pounds of excess fat by the time she is fifty? Quite surprising, right?

In this article I will discuss a few misguided beliefs associated with strength training, and provide you with what I believe to be the top reason for why you need to get off the running track and into the gym and start lifting more iron!

I am going to have big and bulky muscles ifI lift weights!

This is not the case at all! This is an old myth that has been verified to be

wrong by many impartial studies in the last ten years.

The very fact is that a female that lifts heavy weights is not going to tone her muscles, but burn up fat many times sooner than somebody who is just jogging on the treadmill.

Naturally, women of all ages have way less testosterone than men, so that it's not possible for them to develop big muscles while strength training without the need for illegal substances.

As a girl, I have to do high repetition sets if I want to slim down!

Yet again, this is an old myth that needs to be squished for good! The real technique to fat loss is actually to burn more energy. And how do you burn more energy when you exercise? You guessed it – by lifting heavier, by doing more work!

The key is to lift heavy loads, rest quickly between your sets and do it again! If you just lift easy weights for many repetitions, then you will not likely force your body to perform that hard. The body will adjust to training for high repetitions with the same weight and your progress will stagnate.

Prevent this by always increasing your weight each workout and trying to lift for fewer reps than the 15 – 20 that plenty of fitness instructors talk about.

I guaranteed to give you a very good reason why you should be strength training, and here it is:

You will achieve your fat loss and health goals faster!

It’s true! When you lift weights three times a week and apply a good all-around program you will not just lose more fat but you will also improve your back, knees and other critical joints. And once you have been at it for a few weeks, you will feel that you have more vitality than ever before while also experiencing fewer mood swings and (hopefully) being more productive too!