Strength training benefits women because it helps them build muscles, boosts their metabolism (how their body burns calories), makes their bones stronger, and improves their everyday fitness. Plus, it can give them a big confidence boost!
This training is like a path to being physically and mentally healthier. It's not about becoming super muscular or a bodybuilder; it's about getting stronger, feeling more confident, and having a body that's fitter and more toned.
In this article, we'll talk about why strength training is such a good idea for women who want to be healthier and feel better.
So, if you're wondering how strength training can really help you, just keep reading, and we'll discover it together.
What is Strength Training?
Strength training is a type of exercise that helps make your muscles and bones stronger. You do this by working against resistance, like lifting weights or using resistance bands. The NSCA states that strength training means using resistance to make your muscles work harder so they —
get stronger,
more powerful,
have better endurance,
and may grow in size.
It's like a full-package deal, making your body better in many ways. This kind of training helps with things like —
performing better,
avoiding injuries,
having a healthier body shape,
and being more capable in everyday tasks.
How Strength Training Benefits Females
Here are various ways that strength training benefits women:
Making You Happier and Less Stressed
Strength training can make you feel happier and reduce stress. Here's why it's good:
It releases endorphins, which are like natural mood boosters and stress reducers.
It helps control stress hormones like cortisol, which can damage your mental and physical health when it's too high.
It makes your mood better and eases symptoms of depression and anxiety. This is because it triggers the release of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, which are linked to feeling good.
In May 2018, a study in JAMA Psychiatry showed that lifting weights helped decrease how often and how bad someone felt when they were depressed or anxious.
It can make your brain work better by sending more blood to it. This helps with things like thinking, remembering, and focusing.
Getting stronger and more capable through strength training can boost your confidence and make you feel more empowered.
Achieving your fitness goals, getting stronger, and conquering challenges in the gym can give you more self-confidence and resilience in everyday life. This can improve your mental well-being and your ability to handle stressful situations.
Accelerating Fat Loss and Boosting Metabolism
Strength training can really help women lose fat and make their metabolism work better. It's especially useful when you do tough exercises like lifting weights or resistance training.
Getting Stronger
When you do strength training, your muscles grow. Muscles need energy, so they burn calories even when you're resting. This helps you burn more calories all day long.
The After-Exercise Effect
After a challenging strength training session, your body needs more oxygen to recover. This means it keeps burning calories even after you finish working out, which can help with fat loss.
Burning Fat
Strength training helps your body use stored fat for energy. When you lift weights, your body uses fat to fuel your muscles. Over time, this makes your body better at burning fat, which can help you lose fat and look better.
Speeding Up Your Metabolism
Strength training increases your BMR, which is the number of calories your body requires to maintain basic bodily functions when you're at rest. Muscles use more energy than fat, so when you build muscles, your BMR goes up. This means you burn more calories even when you're not active.
In June 2015, a study in the Journal of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport discovered that resistance training increased how many calories the participants burned when they were at rest after exercising, compared to steady-state cardio.
Hormonal Support
Strength training can also improve your hormones. It releases growth hormone (GH), which helps with fat-burning and keeping your muscles strong. It can also help your body handle sugar better, which reduces the chances of storing fat.
Remember, while strength training is great for losing fat and improving your metabolism, eating well and managing your calories are just as important.
To get the best results, it's a good idea to combine strength training with a balanced diet and an active lifestyle. If you're not sure where to start, you can get help from a professional coach to guide you toward your goals.
Nutrition is super important when you're getting fit. If you're working with a personal trainer, they'll provide you with personal training nutrition advice and tips for your overall health benefits.
Strengthening Bones and Reducing the Chance of Osteoporosis
A study from July 2011 in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research found that women have a higher risk of osteoporosis and breaking bones as they age. They are four times more likely than men to face osteoporosis and twice as likely to break a bone.
Strength training is a great way for women to make their bones stronger and reduce the chances of getting osteoporosis, a condition where bones become weak and break easily. This is a bigger concern as women grow older, but strength training can help prevent it.
Exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts can help bones grow and become denser.
Here's how it works:
Putting Stress on Bones
When you do strength exercises, it puts pressure on your bones and muscles. This pressure makes your body adapt and become stronger. Just like how muscles grow when you exercise, bones also get denser. This makes bones stronger and less likely to break.
Special Cells for Building Bones
Strength training tells your body to activate special cells called osteoblasts, which build new bone tissue. When you do resistance exercises, your body produces more osteoblasts, leading to more bone formation. This makes your bones denser and stronger.
Hormonal Help
Strength training can also help balance hormones important for bone health. Exercise, including strength training, triggers the release of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which are essential for bone remodeling and increasing bone mass.
Stronger Muscles for Support
Strength training not only makes bones directly stronger but also improves muscle strength and size. Strong muscles can provide better support for your skeleton, reducing the strain on bones during daily activities and lowering the risk of falls and fractures.
Better Balance and Coordination
Strength training often includes movements that enhance balance, coordination, and stability. This is super helpful for older adults because it reduces the risk of falling, which can lead to fractures in people with osteoporosis.
Remember, the effectiveness of strength training in reducing the risk of osteoporosis may depend on how intense, frequent, and long your workouts are. To find the right strength training plan for your needs and abilities, it's a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional or a qualified fitness trainer.
Empowering Women in Everyday Life
Strength training is not just about what you do in the gym; it also makes a big difference in your everyday life. When women get physically stronger, they feel more empowered and self-reliant. They can —
lift heavy things,
handle daily tasks more easily,
and take part in physical activities with more enjoyment.
Strength training gives women the strength and stamina they need to deal with the challenges of daily life, making it easier to stay active and lead a satisfying life.
Strength Training Program for Females
Now that you understand the advantages let's talk about how to begin a strength training plan specifically designed for women.
Start with a Warm-up: Always begin your exercise with a quick warm-up that lasts five to ten minutes. You can do light activities or stretch your muscles to get them ready.
Choose the Right Weight: Pick weights that challenge you, but make sure you can complete the exercises with good form.
Compound Exercises: Include exercises that work on different muscle groups at the same time, like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.
Full-Body Workouts: Make sure your exercises target all the major muscle groups in your body, not just one area.
Learn more about the benefits of strength training (traditional) from our informative blog.
Strength Training Exercises for Women
Let’s explore the various categories of strength training exercises for women in the following.
Strength Training Exercises for Women Over 50
If you're a woman over 50, strength training can still be really good for you. Here are some exercises that are easy and suitable for your age.
Bodyweight Squats: Bodyweight squats are simple exercises that make your leg and core muscles stronger.
Seated Leg Lifts: These exercises are gentle on your joints and help make your leg muscles stronger.
Bicep Curls: Using light weights, bicep curls can help keep your arm muscles strong and defined.
Furthermore, if you have super flexible joints, also known as hypermobility, strength training can be very helpful. Visit our blog to discover more about strength training for hypermobility.
Arm Strength Training Exercises for Women
If you want toned arms, try these exercises:
Push-Ups: Push-ups are a great way to make your upper body stronger.
Tricep Dips: Tricep dips can help you get rid of that loose skin on your arms.
Weight Strength Training Exercises for Women
If you're ready to lift weights, consider these exercises:
Dumbbell Lunges: Lunges with dumbbells work your legs and buttocks, helping to shape your lower body.
Planks: Planks are excellent for making your core (midsection) stronger, which is important for stability.
Top Strength Training Exercises for Women
Here are some of the best strength training exercises for women to include in the workout:
Deadlifts: Deadlifts work your lower back, buttocks, and hamstrings.
Bench Press: Bench presses are great for making your chest and arms stronger.
So, the best strength training exercises for women are the ones they like, can do without risk, and get results from. Talking to a certified personal trainer can be a good idea. They can create a special strength training plan that fits each person's needs and goals.
If you want excellent personal training in Boston for strength, try Back Bay Fit. We help you find the best trainers and customize your training to your needs and goals. Our trainers cover different types of training, so you'll find the perfect fit. When you join us, we begin with a free phone chat and a tour of our place.
Then, we match you with the right trainer based on what you need and like. We believe everyone should do strength training, and our clients use dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells to get stronger. This helps not only with your workouts but also makes your everyday life better.
Wrapping Up
To sum it up, Strength training benefits women in lots of ways. It's not only for becoming super muscular or a bodybuilder. The benefits of strength training for women are all about getting stronger, feeling more sure of themselves, and making their overall health better.
FAQs
How does weightlifting change the body of a woman?
Lifting weights can make a woman's body stronger and firmer and give her more defined muscles.
How many days a week should a woman strength train?
A woman should aim to do strength training at least two to three days a week, and you can go up to four or five days if you're working on different muscle groups. Keep in mind that you don't always have to lift heavy weights.
Does lifting weights affect women's hormones?
Lifting weights and doing cardio exercises can make anabolic hormones and estrogen increase in women. This can happen at any age, as seen in this study.