Why Women Should Lift

LADIES: Do you have a fear of ‘bulking up’ if you lift weights?  Read this!

Here are 8 reasons why women should lift heavy weights:

1. More Effective Fat Loss- After a major bout of strength training, your body continues to consume additional oxygen in the hours that follow. This is also known as ‘the after-burn.’ Heavier weights offer women a higher metabolic rate.  Higher metabolism helps you lean out and shed body fat. 

2. Looking to get ‘toned??’ Sorry to tell you, but there is no such thing as ‘toning’ your muscles. The ideal that people are thinking of when they say they want to ‘get toned’ is a combo of two things: gaining muscle mass and reducing excess body fat. You are doing just that with lifting heavy, so you will see greater overall muscle definition. As long as you also follow a proper diet for fat loss, heavy weights will create the greatest change to how your body looks. 

3. You will gain strength without bulk. Researchers have found that women typically don’t gain size from strength training. Don’t fear the bulk! Compared to men, women have 10-30 times less of the hormones that cause ‘hypertrophy,’ or bigger muscles.  We can’t eat enough and don’t have enough testosterone to look like a body builder. I promise. 

4. Improves the quality of your sleep. Strength training greatly improves sleep quality, helping you to fall asleep faster, sleep more deeply, and wake less often during the night. 

5. Better heart health – Lifting weights can reduce the risk factors of heart disease such as: reducing waist circumference, high triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, and elevated glucose levels. You will also reduce your chances of developing diabetes or insulin resistance. 

6. Better bone health – As we age, we are at risk of losing both muscle and bone mass. Post -menopausal women are at a greater risk for osteoporosis because the body no longer secretes estrogen. Resistance training is an excellent way to combat loss of bone mass, and it decreases the risk of osteoporosis. 

7. Stress relief and improve your attitude – Exercise, in general, is a great way to manage stress and relieve aggression. Countless studies have found that those who strength train regularly are able to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations as those who don’t strength train. There’s nothing more stress relieving than a big set of sand bell slams or deadlifting. Heavy work raises the levels of dopamine and serotonin the in the brain. Most anti-depressants do the same thing. Strength training can give you a happy boost and calm you down too. 

8. Reduce your risk of injury, back pain, and arthritis. Strength training not only builds stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury.