How Lifting Weights is Beneficial for Women

What is it that you want to achieve from your fitness program? Is it to lose some weight or get rid of that flab around your waist? Or is it to get the ideal hourglass body? It’s true that most of your fitness program’s results come from what you eat. But not eating enough can make you weak and sick.

Coupling a good diet with the right exercise will get you where you want. But relying on yoga and other cardio workouts may not be enough for your goals. This is where lifting weights comes in. If you believe resistance training is only great for men and you hear negative things about this exercise, it might be time to get rid of those misconceptions.

Common Misconceptions About Weight Lifting

Some common misconceptions about weight lifting among women include:

· It will make your body look masculine and bulky

If you’re afraid of getting bulky muscles from lifting weights, and you don’t want to look like the female bodybuilders you see in fitness magazines and websites, don’t worry.

Those women got to look that way through their intense training, diets, and supplementation. They did so on purpose because that’s the body that’s ideal for them. But you can get your ideal toned body without going overboard, by using the right intensity and techniques in strength training.

· It’s not good for your bones

For women who have reached menopause, the concern may be their higher risks for osteoporosis. This could be a reason why they avoid lifting weights out of fear of stressing their bones. But on the contrary, resistance training helps promote skeletal health.

· It’s not needed for losing weight because cardio is enough

If you enjoy running and cycling, then do it by all means. But if you’re only doing it for weight loss, then be ready to spend a lot of time because you can only burn calories as you do this exercise. On the other hand, doing weight training takes a shorter time with the same results and more.

Now that these myths are busted, here are some reasons why you might want to consider resistance training…

Benefits of Weight Lifting for Women

Helps with weight loss

Lifting weights engages a lot of your body’s muscle groups. It is a more intense workout compared to cardio workouts. This means you will be burning calories in the process as a lot of your muscles undergo contraction. In terms of calorie expenditure, your body burns more with resistance training than in cardio exercises.

And as mentioned, using up calories in cardio only happens while in the middle of training. This means you need to train much longer to burn more. But in weight training, more EPOC (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) happens. More EPOC means more calories are used up even after training. So with the same amount of time spent in cardio, resistance training would show much better results.

· Helps build better body shape

Aside from aiding in weight loss, resistance training helps sculpt the body. For cardio workouts, both muscle mass and fat are lost. This results in leaner bodies which isn’t what most women want.

For women, a curvy body shape is more attractive and resistance training helps achieve just that. This is because aside from losing fat, it helps tone the muscles and make them grow to achieve an hourglass-shaped physique.

But if you’re also in a diet and you’re afraid of losing muscle mass, you can also supplement with BCAAs to go with your resistance training. These help keep your lean muscles intact while your body is in fat burning mode.

· Helps give you more energy

Spending hours on the treadmill could really drain your energy. So if you want to still be able to work throughout the day, you have to limit your exercise. But with lifting weights, the results are the opposite – it actually improves your mood as tested in a research study. Better mood results in more energy.

Also in contrast to cardio, resistance training does not drain your energy. This is because it relies on oxidizing fat instead. This means that instead of making you feel tired, lifting weights will get rid of your fats!

· Helps promote heart health and insulin sensitivity

Just as aerobic exercise helps with cardiovascular health, studies show that resistance exercises does that, too. It’s shown to reduce blood pressure by increasing blood flow. This makes it a better alternative to anti-hypertensive meds because it doesn’t come with side effects. Aside from its effects on cardiovascular health, strength training also increases insulin sensitivity. This means the body will more effectively lower blood glucose.

So if you’re a sweet-tooth but you’re feeling guilty about having cheat days with slices of cake and goodies, this is good news!

· Helps promote bone health

If you’re already at your post-menopausal stage, you might be afraid that weights will increase your risk for osteoporosis. But it’s quite the opposite. Research shows that bearing weights actually maintains and increases bone mineral density and promotes muscle strength. So the earlier you begin lifting weights, the better.

· Improves libido

If you’re relationship is going through a challenge because of your lack of sexual drive, then weight lifting can help with that. This exercise helps increase testosterone levels. It is the hormone that plays a role for libido in both men and women.

· Helps you get better sleep

If it’s about another bed matter, resistance training can help as well. Doing strength training in the morning actually helps you get a better sleep at night. It doesn’t just improve sleep quality, but duration as well. This was shown in studies conducted on healthy males and a group of elderly people.

Aside from all these benefits, one of the obvious effects of resistance training is giving you a stronger body for your daily life convenience and improvement.

Wrapping it Up

As you can see, there’s no need to be reluctant about lifting weights. In fact, there’s a lot to be gained from this type of workout for women.

Aside from having proven that the concepts about it were wrong, it has also been shown through numerous studies that lifting weights is great for weight loss. It is even better than aerobic exercises for this purpose. What’s even better is that allows you to build your body. It can make you stronger – and that is beautiful.

Its benefits don’t end with just that, but also goes on to improving bone and heart health along with giving a happier, healthier life!

Thanks to Alex Eriksson

“Alex is the founder of Anabolic Health, a men’s health blog dedicated to providing honest and research-backed advice for optimal male hormonal health. Anabolic Health aspires to become a trusted resource where men can come and learn how to fix their hormonal problems naturally, without pharmaceuticals.”