Women and weightlifting: 5 key benefits
Many women tend to actively shun lifting weights in the fear that they will become too bulky. From working with personal trainers, to even training with friends and family, a collective ‘no’ resonates when presented with the idea of strength-training. However, we could be missing out on a key health and fitness trick for weight loss and improving our health in general.
Here are five key reasons why we should be working weights into our fitness routines.
1. It burns more calories
Building muscle improves your metabolism, allowing it to burn more calories even when resting. Simple.
2. It protects your bones
As we get older, we lose muscle and bone mass. This is more of a concern with women as they tend to have smaller bones to begin with. When muscles adapt to the stress of weightlifting – they get bigger – and our bones adapt too. When bones perceive stress, more bone is deposited, thus helping to fight osteoporosis in later life.
3. It helps your heart
While cardio is great for your cardiovascular health, weight training has been demonstrated to have a great effect on heart health too. Studies have shown that you can lower blood pressure simply by incorporating strength-training sessions into your weekly exercise routine.
4. You can weightlift anywhere
You don’t need an expensive gym membership to lift weights. Weightlifting is effectively resistance training, which can incorporate any added weight from your own body weight to using cans of soup or 2kg dumbbells in your living room. As long as resistance training becomes part of your routine, the benefits will be wondrous.
5. You’ll look great
We aren’t suggesting that you should exercise solely to look better, the health benefits massively outweigh this, but your progress will be noticed. Not only will you see yourself being able to lift heavier, the muscle you build will help define your body shape, allowing you to achieve the shape you’ve always wanted.
There are so many great benefits to weightlifting. To find a personal trainer or fitness and movement practitioner who specialises in weight training, browse our directory and start building a healthier you today.
