There are lots of reasons women might not be strength training – feeling intimidated or feeling unsure of the right way to go about starting for example. Then there’s the misconception that weights will make you bulky (a matter to be addressed in another blog soon). As a personal trainer I still see a large number of women who spend their time going from one cardio machine to the next. Don’t get me wrong, cardio should play a part in any healthy lifestyle but strength training should be incorporated too.
It seems the weights area is still thought of as for men who want to put on size and bulk up… this couldn’t be further from the truth. Here are six reasons why women should strength train too.
1. Boost your metabolism
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 and burn more calories. You don’t build that kind of muscle through cardio the way you do thorough strength training.
If that wasn’t enough, research shows that strength training is especially effective at raising ‘excess post exercise oxygen consumption’ (EPOC). Also known as the after burn effect, EPOC is basically an elevated metabolism post workout. Where the caloric burning effect of steady state cardio ends when the workout ends, strength-training sessions cause more physiological stress to the body, so can elevate your metabolism for up to 38 hours after the workout!
2. Better Sleep and more energy
There’s a direct link between weight training and sleep. Besides helping you get a better sleep it also helps you fall into a deeper sleep. A deep sleep promotes your body’s hormone balance, which aids in muscle repair and growth.
What’s more, sleep itself helps preserve energy, so when you wake up, you should have more of it!
3. Build the body you want
Though genetics play a fundamental role in your body shape, weight training can help build some size, slim you down and help create new curves. Lifting weights builds muscles. Specifically building muscle mass in the upper and lower body can create a smaller looking waist.
4. Better bone health
When lifting weights, our muscles tug on the bones, putting them under stress. That might not sound like a good thing but those bones react by creating new cells… overtime they grow stronger and increase in density. This can help prevent Osteoporosis in later life.
5. Movement is easier and more enjoyable
The stronger you are, the easier is to move around. A lot of strength training movements mirror everyday life. Whether it’s deadlifting something heavy, pulling something down off a high shelf or squatting to your child’s height and lifting them up in the air. All of these and more are improved with strength training.
6. It's empowering!
Last but certainly not least, lifting heavier weights—and building strength as a result—comes with a big self-esteem boost. The feeling when you can stop doing push-ups ‘ like a girl’, are able to squat your body weight and make it to the top of your first pull up is like no other, a feeling you must experience for yourself. You have no idea of your physical potential; don’t you want to find out?
