More than 80% of the world’s adults aren’t meeting physical activity goals. If you haven’t exercised in a while, it can be incredibly daunting to step into a gym.
While we need exercise to stay healthy, many people avoid the gym, especially the weight lifting section. Those that do go to the gym tend to stick to the cardio section where they feel more secure. Women are even less inclined to approach the weight area.
While weightlifting for women has various benefits, there’s a common misconception that lifting weights will make you look big. This is simply untrue, as you need to put in countless hours of work and be dedicated to gaining muscle mass before you’ll get bigger.
If gaining muscle mass isn’t your goal it won’t just happen overnight. Bodybuilders dedicate their life to sculpting their bodies, so you don’t have to worry about becoming big or bulky through strength training.
So keep reading to find out more about the benefits of weightlifting for women.
Improved Fat Loss
If you want to slim down or drop a dress size, the treadmill isn’t the best way to achieve this. People associate weights with gaining muscle, not weight loss, but lifting weights can help you reach your goal much faster than a pure cardio routine ever will.
Strength training helps you build lean muscles; the more muscles you have, the quicker your metabolism will become. So through weightlifting, you’ll become stronger and boost your metabolism, which will help you burn more calories while exercising.
This means the more muscles you have, the more calories you’ll burn per day!
Bone Density
Many women don’t consider the role bone density plays in their life until it’s too late. As women age, their bone density decreases. This is also made worse after menopause.
If you don’t combat the loss of bone density, you’ll be more prone to fractures and breaks later on in life.
Strength training puts stress on your bones. However, over time the stress causes the bones to strengthen along with the rest of your body. The strengthening of your bones can help prevent the loss of bone density.
The loss of nine density should be prevented as much as possible, but with proper training, it can be reversed over time.
Prevent Injuries
A great benefit of weightlifting is that it can help you prevent injuries in other areas of your life. As you train, your muscles will strengthen; in turn, this makes normal physical activities easier as there’s less strain on your body.
Since these activities are easier on your body, they’re also less risky. In addition, strength training and building muscle mass help you move your body in more efficient ways. For instance, you’ll know exactly how to lift objects to prevent injuring yourself.
Strength training can also help if you’re interested in a specific sport. Runners often use strength training to prevent knee injuries. Running puts a lot of strain on the knee joint, so you can prevent injuries by strengthening the muscles supporting the knee.
Increased Confidence
One of the main reasons to add weight training to your regimen, other than becoming stronger, is to increase your confidence.
On the one hand, when you look good, you tend to feel good. Your clothes will sit nicely, and you’ll start enjoying getting dressed in the morning. Even if your body hasn’t started changing, the confidence will shine through, and others will notice it.
On the other hand, you’ll start becoming more confident in other aspects of your life. For example, there’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you can squat a certain amount or you can carry larger weights than expected. This will give you a boost in every aspect of your life.
Weight training will also make you more confident in your abilities. As you age, it becomes harder to pick up heavy weights or move pot plants around as needed. Once you start training, you’ll understand your limits and don’t have to worry whether you can achieve the tasks you need to complete.
Find Free Options
When it comes to strength training, you don’t have to immediately jump in and hire a personal trainer or buy expensive equipment. Instead, you can use free resources and exercise videos to help you get started on your weightlifting journey.
Everyone has to start somewhere. However, going to the gym can be daunting if you’re a beginner. While people aren’t watching you, it’s easy to feel judged if you don’t know exactly what to do.
This is where free at-home exercises come into play. If you master the movements by either using small weights or simply your body weight, you’ll be able to do these exercises with more confidence later on.
It’s also always a good idea to perfect your form before you start lifting weights. The heavier weights you use, the more likely you are to injure yourself if your form isn’t top-notch.
Free options should never be looked down on; they are simply stepping stones to get you more confident to start achieving your goals.
Weightlifting for Women Made Easy
When it comes to weightlifting for women, many don’t realize all the benefits there are. Women tend to avoid the weight section due to the idea that lifting weights will make them gain muscles and appear more masculine. Unless you’re training to build mass, it won’t happen, so the benefits of weightlifting can’t be ignored.
