The Benefits of Lifting Weights for Women

 

The Benefits of Lifting

Weights for Women

Maintaining adequate muscle mass is one of the best ways to keep body fat in a healthy range and to improve overall fitness, particularly as you age. Resistance exercise such as lifting weights is the best way to build muscle. Still, the number of women who participate in any formal or consistent weight training workout is lower than it should be.

Some women who exercise spend much of their gym time on cardiovascular exercise. But no matter your fitness goals, strength training is important. 

Benefits of Weight Lifting for Women

Weight lifting can be rewarding for many reasons, and its advantages are available to people of all genders. Pursuing a regular weight-training routine can change your body and your brain.

Improved Strength

Weight lifting strengthens your muscles. When you are stronger, daily tasks and routine exercise will be less fatiguing and much less likely to cause injury. Improving your muscle mass and strength increases bodily function and life satisfaction.

Lower Body Fat

Studies performed by Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, found that the average woman who strength-trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat. As lean muscle increases, so do resting metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day.

Women typically don't develop big muscles from strength training because, compared to men, women have significantly less of the hormones that cause muscle growth, or hypertrophy. Weight training does not make you bulky.

Lower Risk of Certain Diseases

Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol, and lowering blood pressure. Adding cardiovascular exercise to your workout routine helps maximize these benefits.

Weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density and enhance bone modeling. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be the best defense against osteoporosis (women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis than men).

Lastly, weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes (sometimes known as "adult-onset" diabetes) is a problem for people of all genders and can be associated with excess weight.

How to Get Started

Where you start with weight training depends on your current experience and fitness level. If you haven't done much strength training before, it can help to seek guidance from a personal trainer so you can learn the proper form. This can help prevent injuries.

Once you build some basic skills, you can move on to a regular weight training routine using bodyweight, weights, or a combination. If you aren't interested in going to a gym, you can still get a good weight lifting workout at home with basic equipment including dumbbells or kettlebells.

Try starting with one set of 6 to 8 repetitions of a few different exercises targeting each muscle group. Focus on compound movements such as the squat, deadlift, bench press or push-up row, and shoulder press.

Practice with an empty bar, broomstick, or lighter dumbbells until the correct form and movement patterns become second nature. Then add more sets and repetitions. Gradually, but consistently, increase weight, repetitions, sets, or all of these in order to make progress.