Why Some Women Won’t Lift Weights…But Should!
InstructorLive’s Instructor Saul Katz says: ‘So many women are put off by weight training, thinking it will make them bulky and manly looking, they couldn’t be more wrong. Weight training has so many benefits and rather than getting too muscly it adds great shape and tone to your body.’ Some (not all) women are embarrassed, worried about injury or fear that they will turn into a Body Builder if they do any weight training.
We’re here to tell those who aren’t convinced by weight training why you won’t become Hulk Hogan by adding some weights into your routine, how it benefits you and how to ease yourself into using weights.
Why you won’t turn into Arnie (in his prime) anytime soon…..
- Testosterone – Men have much higher testosterone (the muscle- building hormone) levels than women do, which is one of the major reasons why men have so much more muscle mass. Your muscles might grow through weight training, but not to a ridiculous degree. Without additional hormones it’s extremely difficult for women to add lots of muscle.
- Diet – You can’t build muscle unless you’re eating to support this, so the simple act of training in the gym is not going to make you grow bigger muscles. Most women are not eating nearly enough calories – calories which are required to assemble that much muscle mass.
Benefits of Weight Training
Strength – This may be an obvious benefit of weight training but anyway…! Weight training means that you will gain strength which will make many daily activities that little bit easier.
Weight Loss – Adding some resistance training to your routine will benefit your weight loss. A study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that women who completed an hour-long strength-training workout burned an average of 100 more calories in the 24 hours afterwards than they did when they hadn’t lifted weights.
Metabolism – A challenging strength training regime has been shown to boost your metabolism for several hours after a workout, meaning you’re burning more calories than ever – even when you’re not exercising. See our article ‘Top Tips for a Speedy Metabolism’ to learn more.
Tone – As you lift weights, you develop lean muscle. It’s not bulky and big like a body builder but it will look great. You will become more toned and feel so much more confident in your bikini this summer.
Posture and Injuries – Are you suffering from back pain? Knee pain? Shoulder pain? This can be caused by incorrect posture and weak muscles. Several studies have shown how resistance training can help strengthen weak muscles causing postural imbalances.
Variety – Cardio can become very monotonous and boring, adding in some resistance training can add variety into your workout and make it a lot more fun and keep you motivated!
Decrease the risk of Osteoporosis – Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density by 13% in 6 months. This adds to your defence against osteoporosis.
Beat your previous time or distances – Struggling to run a certain distance under a certain time? Well by lifting weights you will become stronger. When you are stronger you will be able to run faster, jump higher etc.
Conclusion
There are so many benefits to weight training – not many other forms of exercise are going to offer all these advantages. Don’t be scared to pick up some weights and push yourself. InstructorLive classes are a good way to ease yourself into using weights. Classes like Kettlebellsand Top Guns with Craig Glasgow provide you with a great workout at your own convenience. Resistance training is something that should be an essential part of everybody’s fitness programme.