As a fitness personal trainer, my lady clients will always tell me to just tone up their body shape and that they do not want to lift weights because they don't want to build big muscles. This is understandable because most women will not like to look like a muscular man. However, they do not realize that it is very difficult for women to build big muscles even if they want to.

Ladies, if you do not lift weights during your workout, you will be doing terrible disservice to yourself because you are missing out on many great benefits that lifting weights can give you. This terrible myth of building big muscles on women is creating so much fear in women causing them never to train with weights which is at their physical detriment.

Girls! If you are listening, I want to say this loud and clear. There is no way women can build big muscles unless they are on special supplementation and specially designed training program. Some of those bodybuilder ladies you have seen may even be experimenting with steroids which are banned and obviously harmful.

Now, that you know the truth, you will probably be asking why is it so difficult for women to build big muscles, right? The reason is very simple. Women simply do not have enough of testosterone, which is a male hormone that encourages muscles to grow.

As a matter of fact, women have ten to thirty times less testosterone than men and so, if many men already find it difficult to build big muscles, what do you think of a woman's chances to do so?

Women who accept the myth that they will build big muscles if they train with weights will miss out on all of the benefits that weightlifting can offer. This myth is so ingrained in women's psyche that even after explaining the facts to my women clients, they are still afraid to lift weights.

So will women who lift weights build more muscle tissue? Yes, of course, but it will not be big muscles like those of bodybuilders. Your muscles will just tone your body shape resulting in a tight, firm, healthy, attractive and desirable body. That is what women want isn't it?

Yes, you may have also noticed an increase in weight when you step on the weighing scale. This is because muscles weigh more than fat. Therefore, as you increase your muscle tissue, your weight will increase but your fats will be reduced leaving you a well toned sexy body which most women can only dream of.

Muscles burn calories naturally even when you are sleeping. In fact, some research has shown that for each kilo (2.2 pounds) of muscle you build, you will burn an extra 70-100 more calories per day. So, if you gain 2 kilos of muscle and lose 2 kilos of fat, you will burn about 75 more calories per kilo, which equates to burning 150 additional calories per day, which will translate into 4200 additional calories per month and ultimately results in a fat or weight loss of 7-8 kilos a year without doing anything! Isn't that great for women who want to lose fat and get that sexily toned body?

Another reason that women should lift weight is the benefit it can have on your bones. Weight training is a powerful preventive action against osteoporosis, a disease caused by porous bone and low bone density. Women has a much higher risk than men to suffer from osteoporosis. In fact, most women will suffer from this disease as they age.

Women plagued with osteoporosis have an increased susceptibility to bone fractures. These fractures can even be fatal. So, women should exercise with weights to strengthen and increase bone density. As you increase your muscle tissue, your bones must adapt to accommodate this increase in your muscle mass. So your bones respond by increasing in density. You will then own a stronger skeletal structure and a much reduced risk for osteoporosis.

So, ladies, don't completely swear off lifting weights fearing that training with weights will build big muscles and turn you into a muscular hulk! You won't and you can't. Period.

OK girls, let's hit the weights! Have the last laugh when your girl friends tell you that they don't want to lift weights and yet wondering how you transform your body into the one that make heads turn when you are in your bikini.