In chatting with women about strength training, one of the biggest reasons they avoid it is that they fear getting too bulky. They look at female bodybuilders and don’t want to look like that, and so believe they should not lift heavy weight. Instead, they should use light weights, do lots of repetitions to “tone” their muscles and do a lot of cardio.

However, lifting heavy weights is one of the best forms of exercise women can do for their physical health and their overall wellness. Below are five key reasons why women need strength training as a core part of their health and wellness programme.

 

1.  Burns more calories than cardio

Contrary to popular belief, strength training can burn considerably more calories than cardio alone. The exertion during a strength training workout does not end at the end of the session. It increases your metabolism and when coupled with the muscle repair that occurs after the workout, you continue to burn calories 16 to 24 hours after a workout.

It is also important to emphasise that lifting heavier weights and doing fewer repetitions can increase the number of calories burned than just doing cardio, or lifting lighter weights and doing a lot of repetitions. It’s all about the effort to execute the exercises, the impact on your metabolism and the muscle repair.

 

2.  Builds and maintains muscle mass

Yes, it is true. Strength training does build muscle, but that is a good thing. Building muscle is good for your overall physiology, protecting your joints, and improving muscle tone and posture..

Also, we are all familiar with body fat measurements, for which it is considered healthier to have lower levels of body fat. For example, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women aged 20 to 39 should aim for 21% to 32% of body fat, whilst men in the same age range should have 8% to 19%. And body fat for women between 40 and 59 should fall between 23% and 33% and for men, around 11% to 21%. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will work and the more calories you will burn, which can result in lower body fat and greater weight loss.

 

3.  Improves Cardiovascular Health

If you want your heart to have a good workout, lift heavy weights. Once again, we think cardio workouts are the only way to improve and address heart health. However, studies have shown that regular resistance (weight or strength) training lowers blood pressure and can help to reduce total and LDL cholesterol. Further, it can improve blood circulation by strengthening the heart and blood vessels.

 

4.  Strengthens Joints

Most strength or resistance training exercises are lower-impact than many of the popular cardio activities, such as jogging and running, there is less stress on your joints whilst you are still building muscle strength and endurance. In executing strength training moves, such as squats and lunges, they help to build and maintain the muscles surrounding your joints, whilst the resistance when executing those movements increase joint stability, which helps to reduce the chances of injury.

 

5.  Prevents Injury

Resistance training can help improve your strength, range of motion, and mobility of your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Strengthening the muscles around major joints like your knees, hips, and ankles can provide additional protection against injury.

Further, many of us suffer from lower back pain. Having a stronger core, including the muscles of the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes allows us to better utilise all of those muscles, decreasing your risk of lower-back injuries, to which so many of us are prone. Hence, strength training can help correct muscular imbalances and improve our posture.

 

 

Image:  Cathy Pham (Unsplash)