Women and Strength Training
Women Should Strength Train
The way women train has changed a lot in recent times. Ten years ago, it was rare to see any women in the weights section. Now it's much more common to see women strength training in gyms as the benefits have become more well known. Real World Fitness is a weight-lifting gym, but around 50% of our members are female.
However, many myths still exist, and I often hear the same concerns.
Strength training has many benefits and should a part of everyone's routine. Some people still need convincing to lift weights as they think they will suddenly suddenly bulk up and become too muscular. I can ensure you this won't happen. Gaining muscle isn't easy or quick even for women are trying to gain muscle. It's a slow and gradual process and takes a lot of hard work. Gaining muscle is hard enough for men and most men struggle with it. It's even harder for women as they don't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone that men do. Women aren't capable of building as much muscle as men.
You might see women who have huge muscles on magazine covers, Instagram, and bodybuilding shows. Most of the time these women have been using steroids and have been actually been trying to achieve that look and there's a good chance there was some editing after the photos were taken.
Lifting weights when combined with a good nutrition plan is the best way to improve the appearance of your body. The vast majority of female bodies you see on Instagram where you thought they looked good, has been the result of some strength training. This is especially true when they are 30+ and have had kids.
Do you want a better bum? Lift weights doing exercises like squats and hip thrusts. I've had female clients lose inches from their waist while gaining inches around their glutes, dramatically changing the shape of their body for the better. Muscle is denser than fat, which means if you're body fat percentage is lower, you'll look slimmer even if you weigh the same.
Gaining muscle also increases the number of calories you burn at rest as muscle burns more calories than fat.
Increasing your strength isn’t something that some women value. However, by improving your strength you can make everyday tasks such as carrying bags and holding your kids easier. It can reduce aches and pains as well.
Have you got a bad back? Strength training, can either greatly reduce the pain, and often completely get rid of it.
Do you have bad posture? Slouched over? Strength training can help correct it.
Strength training has a lower injury rate compared to other activities including running. While injuries can happen, it should be very rare, if at all. I've never had only ever had then odd niggle in all the years I've been lifting weights.
However, many myths still exist, and I often hear the same concerns.
- Will I get bulky?
- I want to look better and heard cardio is best for that.
- Is there a high chance of injury?
- I thought there wasn't any health benefits to strength training.
Strength training has many benefits and should a part of everyone's routine. Some people still need convincing to lift weights as they think they will suddenly suddenly bulk up and become too muscular. I can ensure you this won't happen. Gaining muscle isn't easy or quick even for women are trying to gain muscle. It's a slow and gradual process and takes a lot of hard work. Gaining muscle is hard enough for men and most men struggle with it. It's even harder for women as they don't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone that men do. Women aren't capable of building as much muscle as men.
You might see women who have huge muscles on magazine covers, Instagram, and bodybuilding shows. Most of the time these women have been using steroids and have been actually been trying to achieve that look and there's a good chance there was some editing after the photos were taken.
Lifting weights when combined with a good nutrition plan is the best way to improve the appearance of your body. The vast majority of female bodies you see on Instagram where you thought they looked good, has been the result of some strength training. This is especially true when they are 30+ and have had kids.
Do you want a better bum? Lift weights doing exercises like squats and hip thrusts. I've had female clients lose inches from their waist while gaining inches around their glutes, dramatically changing the shape of their body for the better. Muscle is denser than fat, which means if you're body fat percentage is lower, you'll look slimmer even if you weigh the same.
Gaining muscle also increases the number of calories you burn at rest as muscle burns more calories than fat.
Increasing your strength isn’t something that some women value. However, by improving your strength you can make everyday tasks such as carrying bags and holding your kids easier. It can reduce aches and pains as well.
Have you got a bad back? Strength training, can either greatly reduce the pain, and often completely get rid of it.
Do you have bad posture? Slouched over? Strength training can help correct it.
Strength training has a lower injury rate compared to other activities including running. While injuries can happen, it should be very rare, if at all. I've never had only ever had then odd niggle in all the years I've been lifting weights.
Injury rates for strength training. .
Lifting weight also helps keep your bones healthy. From about age 30, the density of bones begins to diminish. As a result, bones become more fragile and are more likely to break. Bone loss can lead to low bone density and eventually osteoporosis. This can lead to bone fractures, even with minimal trauma. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become weak and fragile.
This is especially a problem for women as the loss of bone density speeds up in women after menopause. This makes osteoporosis more common among older women. There are two things that determine the chances of women getting osteoporosis.
This is especially a problem for women as the loss of bone density speeds up in women after menopause. This makes osteoporosis more common among older women. There are two things that determine the chances of women getting osteoporosis.
- The amount of bone you have when you reach menopause. The greater your bone density is, to begin with, the lower your chance of developing osteoporosis.
- How fast you lose bone after you reach menopause. For some women, bone loss happens faster than for others. Strength training will maximise the amount of bone you have before menopause and will slow down the loss of bone density, and so reduces the risk of osteoporosis. Broken bones can lead to serious problems for elderly people. For example, hip fractures can lead to a downward spiral of disability and loss of independence. I've written an article about strength training and osteoporosis. The link is below.
At Real World Fitness, around 50% of our members are female. We regularly have women come into the gym who are feeling nervous at first as they have ideas of what a weight lifting gym is going to be like, only to end up loving training here as everyone is friendly and supportive.
Get in touch if you want to pop in the gym for a chat.