The biggest misconception that I see in the gym business is that women think free weights are just for men. For any female that wants to lose weight or sculpt her physique, free weights should most definately be included in their program.
Without getting too in depth, women don’t have high enough levels of the male hormone testosterone to become “muscle bound”. Most women are afraid that they will become too muscular and become masculine looking if they train with free weights. This is just not true, as it is physiologically impossible for a woman to build massive amounts of muscle naturally.
Added muscle is a good thing for men, women, young, and old. As stated above, there are limited amounts of muscle a person can gain naturally given age, gender, genetics, and other factors. But if we can get a person to increase their lean muscle tissue they will in turn increase their metabolic rate. What this means is that even at rest a person who carries more muscle will burn more calories than those with less. Muscle is an “active” tissue, which means that muscle requires energy (calories) in order to sustain intself. Whereas “inactive” tissue, such as fat, does not require energy to sustain itself.
So my advice to all women is to at least include some basic free weight exercises into your routine. Increasing lean muscle will allow you to burn more calories while your sitting at your desk, watching TV, and even sleeping.