The One Mistake Women Make with Dumbbells

Embrace Your Real

Julie Ledbetter

Health & Fitness, Fitness, Body, Mindset, Movement, Health, Acceptance, Macros, Love, Positivity, Nutrition, Loss, Weight

5 • 965 Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you’ve been showing up consistently but not seeing the strength or definition you want, this episode might just reveal why. The most common mistake I see women make with dumbbells? Going too light, for too long.

We’ve been told that heavier weights make women “bulky,” that lighter ones are for “toning,” or that cardio is the safer path to fitness. But those myths are holding you back from building the strong, confident body you actually want.

In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly why lifting too light stalls your progress and what to do instead so you can finally start seeing real change.

Here’s what we’re diving into:

Why light weights don’t trigger the muscle or metabolism changes you’re working for
The science of progressive overload and how to apply it to your workouts
How to know if your dumbbells are actually heavy enough
The difference between training for endurance vs. building strength and muscle
How to safely level up your lifts without fear of injury or “bulking up”
The role structure plays in ensuring you keep progressing month after month

If you’ve been stuck in the “light weights only” cycle, this episode will give you the clarity, confidence, and strategy to finally level up, without overcomplicating it.

🎧 Want more? Check out these episodes:

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Follow me on Instagram: @juliealedbetter | @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
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Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy: https://www.macrocountingmadesimple.com/
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Labbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real, let's get it.
0:22.5	Let's go.
0:32.4	Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace Real podcast.
0:36.9	Today we're diving into something
0:38.1	that I see all the time. And maybe you're doing it right now without even realizing it. Can you guess?
0:44.3	Okay, here it is. The biggest mistake that women make with dumbbells, spoiler alert, it's picking up weights that are way too light. Now, before you feel called out, let me just say, I get it.
0:57.7	Like we've been told for decades that heavy weights are going to make us bulky. Those pink
1:02.8	five pound dumbbells are for toning or that cardio is the safer way to get fit. And listen,
1:08.7	those myths, they run deep. But the truth is that using
1:12.1	weights that are too light is one of the biggest reasons that women spin their wheels in the gym.
1:16.9	They never see progress that they deserve or build the body that they want. So that's why in
1:22.0	today's episode, I'm going to be breaking it down for you. I'm going to be breaking down why
1:25.9	lifting light all the time won't change
1:28.3	your body the way that you want. The science of progressive overload and why it matters for women.
1:33.0	How to know if your dumbbells are actually heavy enough. The difference between training for
1:37.5	endurance versus training for strength and muscle. And of course, how to safely level up without
1:43.3	fear of injury or bulking. By the end of
1:46.8	this episode, hopefully you will have clarity on how to finally stop wasting time with two light
1:52.2	of weights and how to start building the strong, confident body that we've been working for.
1:59.4	But first, I want to dive into this review because it was so
2:03.5	nice. It came from Black Unicorn, 1974. That's a unique name. Love it so much. She gave a five-star
2:11.6	review. And so just what I need. I don't know how Julie does it, but she always seems to cover topics.
	...

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