Why Women should Lift Weights
Why Women should Lift Weights
Lifting weights makes women bulky, it’s not feminine, it’s not attractive, it’s dangerous, it’s bad for your joints, and once you’ve built some muscle, you can’t stop lifting or it will all turn to fat. These are all stereotypes we’ve heard about women and resistance training. And they couldn’t be further from the truth. Strength training will not only help you reach your fitness goals, but in fact will help you reach them faster than performing cardiovascular exercises alone. Here are four very important reasons why women should lift weights.
1. Osteoporosis Prevention: Strong Bones-Strong Body
As women age, they are at risk of losing both bone density and muscle mass. Postmenopausal women are at a greater risk for osteoporosis due to the fact that their bodies no longer secrete estrogen. Studies have shown that resistance training increases bone density, and therefore decreases the risk of osteoporosis. So strong muscles equals strong bones.
2. Increase Your Energy Levels and Feeling of Well Being
Resistance training causes an increase in energy expenditure for several hours after you train. This increase in energy expenditure, even after a minimal resistance training session, may favorably affect energy balance and fat oxidation. It also promotes the brains production of chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins reduce your perception of pain and trigger positive feelings in the body. They are the brains “feel-good” chemicals.
3. More Effective Fat Loss
Many people consider weightlifting only a means to build muscle, however, when contrasted head-to-head against cardiovascular exercise, resistance training prevailed in the battle to burn calories. The huge advantage to weight training is your body’s ability to burn fat not just during, but after exercise. After a great strength training session, you consume additional oxygen in the hours and even days, that follow. This is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. When your body uses more oxygen, it requires more caloric expenditure and an increased metabolic rate. Yes it speeds up your metabolism!!
4. More Muscle Mass, More Calorie Expenditure
Your body uses calories more efficiently as you increase strength and lean muscle mass, Daily muscle contractions contribute to how many calories you burn in a given day. Sitting burns fewer calories than standing; standing burns fewer than walking, and walking burns fewer than strength training. The more muscle contractions you experience during a day, the more calories you’ll burn. If you have more lean muscle mass, you’ll have more muscle contractions, which results in more calories burned. Endurance exercise can help you lose weight, however, that weight comes in the form of both fat and muscle tissue. If you’re losing both fat and muscle, you can lose that shape that every woman strives for as well. Strength training can help create and sustain that shapely healthy physique.
All of us want to feel strong, determined, and confident in everything we do. Resistance training can benefit in all aspects of your life. To learn more about working out, staying in shape, or if you’ve been thinking about hiring a personal trainer, contact us.
