A common misconception among women is that lifting weights is for men. Yes, a lot of men lift weights – but the goal of ‘big and bulky’ isn’t the only thing weights can do for your body!
Fact #1 – Building Muscle burns fat & calories!
It’s time to forget the weight lifting stereotypes and start building muscle! It is a proven fact that women who lift weights will burn more fat and calories than those who don’t. It is also a fact that after you lift weights that your body will burn calories long after your workout is through.
Myth – If I lift weights I will look too big and bulky
Weights are used by a majority of men in order to bulk up. However, if you’re a woman and you want to look lean and tone – just lower the amount of weight that you use and raise the repetitions. So, rather than doing 8 Reps of 50lbs – do Reps of 16 with 5-10lbs. Men also have a genetic predisposition to bulk up when lifting because of the higher amounts of testosterone in their bodies.
Fact #2 – It is easier to target problem areas with by weight lifting
If you are obsessed with a certain area on your body it is much easier to target that area with the appropriate weight training exercise than leaving it to cardiovascular exercise alone. Women who do only cardio are going to lose fat where their body is most likely to pull it from (which differs for everyone). However, with weight training if you think your arms are looking a little flabby, it is easy to find the perfect weight exercise to tone them up.
Fact #3 – Lifting weights helps in the fight against depression
Put a smile on that face! There have been numerous studies on the benefits of weight lifting for those who are prone to depression. The studies all show that those whole began a weight training program began to feel better and no longer met the medical standard for depression. Working out in general will trigger your body to release chemicals that fight depression and anxiety!
Fact #4 – Lifting weights will make you stronger
Thank you Captain Obvious! Well, I couldn’t go without mentioning that overall you will become stronger when lifting weights. You may think this is no big deal, however, strength is used in every day tasks for many women – such as lifting their children, moving furniture or completing and physical tasks.
Fact # 5 – Weight Training Fights Diseases
There are many studies that show that weight training is a huge factor for women in fighting off common diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and others.
Fact #6 – Weight Training Helps Relieve Aches & Pains
Pain in your back? Lifting weights will help tighten muscles and connective tissues that will increase joint stability. Therefore, relieving a lot of pain caused by arthritis and other medical conditions. However, it is important to remember to use the right weight lifting techniques or you can, otherwise, increase the pain.
Basically, with all these great information – there is really no reason for a woman not to lift weights. I do recommend if you are not familiar with the weight room that you ask for the assistance of someone who is. Lifting weights the wrong way can be very dangerous and result in pulled muscles and other injuries.
It is a guarantee though that if you are a woman and have not incorporated weight training into your workout routine that by doing so you will begin to build more muscle and burn more fat/calories in the process.
Feel free to share some of your weight training regiments with me in the comment section below. I would love to hear what you are doing to bring some femininity to the weight room!
All excellent points, Jasmine, and, having trained with weights for years, all true! Excellent post!
fact #2 is a bit deceptive. the research shows that spot reduction is a myth. true, you can hypertrophy a specific muscle group, but the actual loss of fat in a specific area (flab) does not occur. fat cells simply atrophy (or on the flip side- hypertrophy). the crazy thing about adipocytes is that they can only contain a limited amount of cell contents, and when that threshold is reached, adipocyte hyperplasia occurs. the only way to essentially rid the body of these cells is from lipid removal (liposuction)…so just keep that in mind.
also, to add on fact #1, you burn a high proportion of calories derived from lipids during recovery (during EPOC)….so if you work harder even in a shorter time frame, your EPOC time (area under the curve) will be much higher, and will take longer to reach homeostasis. that’s the idea in HIT, which can be accomplished with multiple workouts per day.
food for thought….
If you thought that I meant that you could reduce fat in a specific area then I am sorry that my statement was misleading. By working on targeting specific areas to ‘tone them up’ I meant there are specific weight training exercise to work on arms, legs, back, chest or whatever area it is that you are unsatisfied with. And it is TRUE that you can target specific areas to ‘tone up’ … so the statement was not meant to be deceptive.
Thanks for the feedback – definitely love getting the fitness chat going!
for sure..that’s a big misconception that the fitness industry preaches- “lose belly fat NOW”… you are right- hypertrophy can occur, and even hyperplasia with fat, but not apoptosis of the fat cells. but toning up really just refers to lean tissue hypertrophy, not fat loss, and not saying you are wrong..lol..that’s just what people tend to imagine…you get the point…hah hah…can’t say the same for the rest of the population. good job on your fitness improvements as well!