There are many benefits of weight training for women, however most women avoid it like the plague. This is probably because they see it as not feminine and not inline with their fitness goals.
Most women believe that cardio is the way to achieve their weight loss goals or ideal body. They fail to realize the potential benefits of weight training on fat burning and overall health and fitness. In fairness this belief is not just limited to women, it’s the belief of most people in general.
Why women avoid weight training?
The common belief most women have about weight training is that it’s a masculine activity aimed to achieve a muscular or bulky body (not feminine). The vast majority of most women don’t seek the muscular or bulky look, especially in the upper body.
Trust me when I say you don’t have to worry about becoming too muscular as a result of weight training. It’s not easy to increase muscle mass to a noticeable amount, especially for women. You are not going to wake up the next day after doing some weight training looking like a man. It just doesn’t happen that way so don’t worry about it.
Most women would find it very difficult, perhaps even impossible to achieve a muscular or bulky physique due to the lack of the hormone testosterone, and other genetic factors.
Benefits of weight training for women
- Stronger Muscles. Now before you start saying things like “I don’t want big strong muscles”. Firstly strong muscles doesn’t mean muscular or bulky. Our muscles are incredibly important to our health, they allow us to move our bodies, lift objects and even help to pump blood around our bodies. Stronger muscles makes performing daily tasks easier it has nothing to do with being masculine or feminine.
- Increased Metabolism. A little extra muscle will improve your bodies rate at which it burns calories, helping to burn that body fat and to keep it off.
- Prevent injuries. Stronger muscles especially your core muscles leads to improved posture, which will make us look better and can help to prevent injuries and problems in your lower back and hip area.
- Stronger bones, tendons and ligaments. Helping to prevent fractures and ligament damage.
- Confidence. Making yourself stronger therefore making yourself more physically capable and fitter will help you feel more comfortable in your own skin, and improve your self-esteem.
There are in fact many more benefits that come from weight training, but I recently published a page on the benefits so I won’t bother listing anymore. See the previous post if you would like to read more about the benefits.
Don’t neglect your upper body
Often women who perform resistance workouts neglect their upper bodies, when I do see women in the gym they are almost always training their lower half. Squats and inner thigh exercises being the most common I see.
To achieve all round fitness, upper body exercises should also be included in your workouts. Workouts which target your whole body are proven to burn the most calories which means they have the best fat burning potential.
Don’t just hit the treadmill, running is great for your cardiovascular system, however alone it’s a very limited exercise. Running puts a lot of pressure on your knees and lower back. Running is a great exercise just don’t rely on it solely.
So basically don’t be afraid of weight training and train your whole body.
- For some example workouts see Fat Burning Workouts.
