Women and Weights - Myths and Facts

Great video, Evil.  I'm showing this to my wife 

Evil has covered pretty much everything, but there's a couple of points that I would emphasise:

1) Bone density and osteoporosis.

Women represent around 75% of fracture cases seen in those over 60 (unsurprisingly, the reverse is true in the young) . Weight training is even more important for women than for men in later life.

2)  Injury risks

Men aren't just stronger on average, they are physically more robust. Many armed forces have found that the injury rate amongst female recruits is up to 8 times higher than for the males.

As a final point, I would add that being physically stronger and quicker is one of the most important things a woman can do in terms of self defence. Learning a martial art is great, but a larger, stronger opponent can usually just 'muscle through' your technique. It's why we have so many weight divisions in martial sports - an extra 5 kilos of weight and 5 cm of reach can make all the difference.

I've been taking my partner along to the weight room for about half a year now. She's no larger (if anything, she's more trim) , but is far stronger and faster than she was, and feels a lot safer as a result.

And, yes, I've caught her checking out her biceps!