Here’s Why More Women Should Lift Weights

You’ve been doing a lot of exercise lately and finally, you see some visible changes! As the days go by that you stop exercising, you notice that you’re starting to gain weight again. “I’ve done a lot of cardio already, why am I still gaining fat?” If you’re running out of options and your daily morning jog isn’t cutting it anymore, weight training should be your best bet. But then again, most women would turn away from the dumbbells and it is pretty understandable. But there really are a lot of benefits and this article will hopefully convince you so.

You really won’t bulk up

The biggest assumption women make when it comes to lifting weights is that they’ll look too big and muscular when they lift weights. This is actually a grave misconception only brought about by the sight of actual men lifting weights. But actually, women won’t bulk up like men simply because they don’t have as much testosterone which is one of the main factors for muscular growth. That means you’ll have muscles that look toned but not big and bulging. And this, of course, can help you achieve a slimmer look.

Strength training can improve your weight loss efforts

Although cardio is still the superior calorie-burning exercise, lifting weights also has it’s own advantages when it comes to fat-loss. For one, while you burn calories, you also build muscle. Earlier we used an example of how when you stop exercising, you start to gain weight again. The simple answer to this is gaining more muscle through weightlifting. If you have more muscles than fat, your body will adjust accordingly so even if you do stop exercising, you won’t gain unnecessary weight easily.

It can also help protect your bones

If you don’t already know, osteoporosis affects about 80% of women mainly as a result of postmenopause. This is because the body will no longer produce estrogen after menopause which leads to loss of bone minerals and weaker bones overall. Lifting weights, in this case, is said to be the best defense against osteoporosis. This is because one of the known benefits of weight training is that it increases bone density. Of course, along with a healthy diet, you can fight and eliminate any chances of such bone disease.

It’s also a great way to fight stress hormones

One of the biggest reasons you lose motivation to exercise is because of stress. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress, don’t get this wrong, but doing too much in one session can actually increase your stress hormones. This is especially true when doing cardio or endurance training. The longer you run or stay on a bike, the faster your stress levels may rise. This is something you’ll rarely get when you lift weights though. You can do it for 45-60 minutes and you can already consider it a great workout. You burn calories, gain muscle, and don’t even have to do it too long!