10 Benefits of Weight Training for Women
1. Burn More Fat
When you weight train don’t rely on the scale to gauge your progress. It is better to use a body fat tester or a tape measure to measure how many inches you are losing. Your body will shrink as you burn fat from weight training, but you will be building muscle, which is heavier so your weight may not change too much. In a study women who dieted but didn’t lift weight lost 9.4 pounds and gained no muscle, women who lifted weights lost 14.6 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of muscle. Weight training allows your metabolism to stay elevated and you will continue to burn fat for several hours afterward. Whereas with cardio you stop burning fat shortly after the workout.
2. Change Your Body Shape
Weight training can slim you down and give your body new curves. Losing 3% of your body fat could translate into a total loss of 3 inches off your hips and thighs. No weight training will not bulk you up, women don’t have enough muscle-building hormones to gain a lot of mass like men do. If you keep your diet clean you will burn fat and lean out.
3. Boost Your Metabolism
The less muscle you have the slower your metabolism is. As women age they lose muscle at faster rates, especially after 40. When you diet and don’t do any resistance training your weight lost is probably just muscle loss. Weight training and a proper diet will help you to preserve your muscle and even help to rebuild muscle fibers. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn all day long.
4. Get Stronger and More Confident
Weight training increases functional fitness. Regular weight training can make you 50% stronger in 6 months, and being stronger is also empowering. It even build emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.
5. Build Strong Bones
It is well proven that women should do weight training because it helps them to build and maintain bone mass while preventing osteoporosis. Just as muscles get stronger, bones do as well. Stronger bones along with increased muscle mass lead to better flexibility and balance, which is important for women as they age.
6. Fight Depression
It is well-known that cardio and yoga help to relieve depression, but weight training has the same effect. The endorphins that are released during aerobic exercises are also present in weight training. Many women find that weight training along with psychological treatment dramatically lessens their symptoms of depression.
7. Improve Sports Fitness
You don’t necessarily have to be an athlete to get the sport benefits of weight training. Improving your muscle mass through weight training will help you in all other physical activities such as cycling leisurely, swimming, golfing, skiing, or whatever your hobby may be.
8. Reduce Injuries & Arthritis
Weight lifting improves your joint stability and builds stronger ligaments and tendons. Training safely and with the correct form can help decrease injuries in your daily life. Weight training can even improve physical function in people with arthritis.
9. Get Heart Healthy
More than 480,000 die from heart disease each year making it the #1 killer of women over the age of 25. Most people don’t know that weight training can keep your heart pumping healthy. Lifting weights increases your good (HDL) cholesterol and decreases your bad (LDL) cholesterol. It even lowers your blood pressure. 30 minutes of weight training each week can lead to a 23% decrease of developing heart disease than women who don’t lift weights.
10. Defend Against Diabetes
Weight training improves your glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) by as much as 23%. 16 weeks of weight training can improve glucose metabolism the same as taking diabetes medication. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood.