Women and Weights: Why ALL Women Need Strength Training

The fitness industry has evolved tremendously over the past thirty years, and unfortunately for women, many of the programs offered today aren’t addressing females’ key needs. One of the pervasive myths is that training with weights immediately renders women as Herculean beasts with Schwarzenegger-like biceps. Nothing could be further from the truth and here are some reasons why:

– Fat Loss – The belief that weight training “tones” and that cardiovascular exercise burns the fat is undeniably false. “Cardio” encourages your metabolism to be more efficient and burn fewer calories throughout the day, while strength training does the opposite while stimulating some key hormones in maintaining your youth, such as growth hormone. (Don’t not fear ladies, you have 10x less testosterone than males, so you aren’t going to get too muscular by “accident”.) Research done with females shows an elevation in metabolism for up to 16 hours after strength training.

– A Balanced Body – Women suffer from a plethora of postural deficiencies secondary to wearing high-heeled shoes, sitting in office chairs and holding children on their hips. Many of these imbalances can be corrected with a properly structured program and avoid such discomforts such as neck and low back pain and headaches. Did you also know that over 35% of women over the age of 35 suffer from incontinence, but that number drops to only 7% when women train with weights?

– Better Bones – Research continually shows the benefits of weight training in defending against osteoporosis and other bone diseases.

The reasons women should train with weights list well beyond what is given here. The key to success is to have a properly designed program that addresses an individual’s needs and goals. Proper progression is then essential to ensure continued results and avoiding injury.