Female Athletes: 3 Weight Lifting Myths

By: Molly Ahlemeier, CSCS

Should female athletes lift weights? For most athletes, resistance training can be an important part of developing strength, improving athletic performance, and preparing the body for the demands of sport. Yet myths about weightlifting still cause some female athletes—particularly middle school and high school athletes—to avoid strength training or approach it differently than their male counterparts. Will lifting weights make you bulky? Should female athletes only use lighter weights? Should training change throughout the menstrual cycle?

Let’s take a closer look at three common myths about strength training for female athletes and what the research tells us.

What Are the Benefits of Strength Training for Female Athletes?

Resistance training has benefits that extend well beyond building muscle. Research has associated strength training with improvements in muscle mass, bone density, cardiovascular health, metabolism, and overall physical health.^[1]

For athletes, a properly designed resistance training program can help develop strength, power, coordination, and confidence in the weight room while preparing the body for the demands of practices and competition. For young athletes, learning proper strength-training technique can also create a foundation they can build on as their sport becomes faster, stronger, and more demanding.

The key is that strength training should match the athlete’s age, experience, sport, goals, and current physical abilities.

Myth #1: Lifting Weights Will Make Female Athletes Bulky

No. Strength training does not automatically make female athletes bulky.

Significant increases in muscle size generally require a combination of specific training volume, nutrition, recovery, genetics, and consistent training over time. Resistance training can instead be structured around the qualities an athlete needs for her sport, including strength, power, stability, muscular endurance, or a combination of these.

A distance runner and a basketball player, for example, may both benefit from resistance training, but their programs may look very different because the physical demands of their sports are different.

The goal isn’t simply to build muscle. The goal is to develop the physical qualities that help the athlete perform.

Myth #2: Female Athletes Should Only Lift Light Weights for High Repetitions

Female athletes do not need to limit themselves to light weights and high repetitions.

The appropriate amount of weight, number of repetitions, and overall training volume depend on what the athlete is trying to accomplish. Higher-repetition training can be useful for developing muscular endurance and learning movements. Heavier resistance performed for fewer repetitions can be valuable when the goal is developing strength or power.

For an athlete who is new to resistance training, the priority should be learning proper technique and developing control before progressively increasing resistance. As the athlete becomes more experienced, a qualified strength professional can adjust the load, repetitions, sets, rest periods, and exercises based on the athlete’s goals and sport.

Female athletes can—and often should—train with heavier resistance when it is appropriate for their ability, goals, and training program.

Myth #3: Female Athletes Should Avoid Strength Training During Certain Phases of Their Menstrual Cycle

Current research does not support a universal rule that female athletes should stop or significantly reduce resistance training during a specific phase of the menstrual cycle. Interest in “cycle syncing” exercise has grown, including recommendations to prioritize harder training during the follicular phase and reduce training intensity during the luteal phase.

However, a 2023 review of the available research found that evidence supporting menstrual-cycle-phase-based resistance training recommendations is inconsistent. The authors concluded that current evidence does not demonstrate a meaningful influence of menstrual cycle phase on acute strength performance or adaptations to resistance exercise training.^[2]

There are also important individual differences to consider. Menstrual cycles vary between individuals—and even from cycle to cycle within the same athlete. Hormonal contraception, cycle regularity, symptoms, sleep, nutrition, stress, and other factors can influence how an athlete feels and performs.
Rather than applying the same calendar-based training rule to every female athlete, training decisions should consider the individual athlete and how she is responding. An athlete experiencing significant fatigue, pain, or other symptoms may benefit from adjusting training. But that is different from saying all female athletes should avoid resistance training during a particular phase of their cycle.

Why Is Strength Training Important for Female Athletes?

Strength training isn’t just about lifting more weight. It can help prepare an athlete to produce, absorb, and control force during sport. That matters when running, jumping, landing, cutting, changing direction, throwing, or making contact with another athlete.

Developing strength and movement control at a young age can also help athletes establish a foundation for the increasing demands of sport. Spooner therapists Paul Gagliano, PT, DPT, and Dan Miriovsky, PT, DPT, FAFS, discussed the importance of strength, movement development, and appropriate training for young athletes in an episode of the Therapists in Motion podcast focused on the pre-pubescent athlete.

Working with a qualified strength and conditioning professional can help athletes learn how to move and lift correctly while progressively developing the strength required for their sport. For younger athletes, those lessons can be especially valuable. Developing good movement patterns and confidence with resistance training early can establish a foundation they can continue building throughout their athletic careers.