Weight Training For Women: Why You Need To Go Heavy

Full disclosure, this article about weight training for women is a complete revamp of an original from 2018. This is a much needed revamp, because the world of heavy weight training for women is just different now, and Lipstick Lifters is still here for it.

The first version of this article focused on the physical benefits of weight training. But it’s now 7 years later and we have noticed that most women are driven by how empowering this sport is, so this 2025 version focuses more on empowering you to get started.

Thanks to the evolution of social media more women than ever are being exposed to the benefits of weight training. The myths of women turning into men or being unable to reproduce if they dare to touch a dumbbell are long dead.

Now we’re in a space where women want to lift heavy, because they can see all the physical, mental and emotional benefits.

The fact is; heavy weight training is a woman’s one way ticket to being the strongest, most empowered version of herself.

Heavy Weight Training For Women Contents

Women Are Still Weight Training For The Physical Benefits

Women Are Heavy Weight Training For The Mental & Emotional Benefits

Why You Need To Go Heavy

Focus On Physical Strength

Heavy Lifting Is Empowering For Women

Embrace Your Power

Women Are Still Weight Training For The Physical Benefits

This isn’t just about building strength and muscle, it’s about supporting stronger bones, joints, ligaments and tendons. It’s about boosting your metabolism by altering your body composition, it’s about improving your overall posture and core stability, making everyday physical activities much easier now and later in life.

Heavy weight training builds a woman's physique in any which way she pleases. You are 100% in charge of how far you take this, the vast majority of women don’t have anywhere near enough testosterone to build muscle fast. The harsh reality is; it’s going to take time, years in fact.

This slow and steady process means you can see exactly what is happening to your body as a result. Then you decide what you do, you decide which muscle groups you want to work on, which muscle groups you want to pull back on. You decide which strength exercises you need to start prioritising and whatever else you want to introduce or remove from your training sessions.

Heavy weight training for women is a marathon, not a race.

Women Are Heavy Weight Training For The Mental & Emotional Benefits

Now we’re talking about the strength you feel on the inside as a result of heavy weight training. And honestly, since Lipstick Lifters was born, in 2015, this is the number one thing that women report as their reason to stay in the lifting game.

Lifting heavy as a woman is a game changer. Once you move an amount of weight you never thought you could you will know exactly why this is.

Heavy weight training helps women boost their overall confidence and self belief. It rescues stress, helps provide long term mental clarity in all areas of life, it promotes long term discipline and focus, and for most women it provides a permanent sense of empowerment that is just unmatched.

Why You Need To Go Heavy

When we say women should lift heavy, we mean heavy for you. That means you should be working with an amount of weight that you begin to struggle with, around the 8th rep of a 10 rep set. The amount of weight will be different for different exercises.

Weight training only works when you go heavy. The entire point of lifting the weight is to put strain on your muscles so that they grow. Lifting light weights that don’t challenge your muscles are almost completely useless, you might as well just be moving the joints without the weight. You need at least some resistance.

What actually happens is; through lifting heavy you create tiny micro-tears in the muscle tissue and these tiny tares knit themselves back together while you’re recovering from the workout. Every time you recover from a workout, your muscles get a tiny bit bigger and stronger.

This is going to take time, every woman is different, but it could take up to a year before you see noticeable muscle on the outside—which is exactly why you don’t need to worry about “getting too big”, you’re going to be watching this transition in real time—go as far as you like.

Focus On Physical Strength

In the meantime, focus on physical strength, because getting physically stronger is your sure fire sign that you’re on the road to results. Strength results can be seen in as little as a week. A simple way to prove this to be true is to plank:

For the next 7 days; every other day, perform 3 planks, hold for as long as possible (time yourself with a stopwatch).

Take 2 days rest, and on day 10 hold a plank for as long as possible.

Guaranteed you’re holding that last plank for longer than your first, even if just for a second (hint! It will be more than one second).

Now consider what else you can do. You can apply that same formula to any lifting exercise.

Heavy Lifting Is Empowering For Women

Once you start weight training you will understand exactly why so many women fall in love with this sport. The feeling of empowerment that comes from being physically strong and powerful as a woman will light a fire in you.

Not only will you feel physically great as you condition your body for long term physical strength, every other area of your life will level up in this process.

I can’t explain it, I don’t know the science behind how it comes to be, I just know that with over 15 years of personal lifting experience and 10 years of supporting other women through Lipstick Lifters, every single woman falls in love with this part of lifting heavy. You need to try it for yourself to feel it.

Embrace Your Power

Heavy lifting for women isn’t just about training, it’s about thriving both in the gym and in your life.

We’ve got multiple ways to get you started:

You can try our 30 Day Squat Challenge

Our 5 Minute Strength Workout System

Or if you want a complete 4 day workout rotation, and the formula to build your own weight training workout plans you can sample our Members Zone portal for free. You’ll also get access to our strength goal planner and deadlift your bodyweight challenge.