Is Strength Training For Women A Good Idea?

How Important Is  Strength Training For Women?

Many people think that strength training for women is the same for as it is for men. When women think about lifting weights, they instantly think about getting big and bulky. While this is the look that some women want to achieve, many women don’t like the thought of becoming bulky after lifting weights.

However, lifting weights doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically become a big and bulky person. Strength training is very important for both sexes and here are just some of the reasons strength training for women is just, if not more, effective than cardio exercises.

Why Strength Training For Women Is Important

1. You can build strength without getting bulky

This is one of the main reasons why women don’t bother with strength training. They believe that it will just make them bulky and unattractive. However, this isn’t the case, since you’d have to lift very heavy weights for a long time in order to build as much muscle as men do. This is because women produce far less testosterone than men do, making it almost impossible for most women to ever ‘bulk up’ from lifting weights for 10-15 minutes a day.

If you’re worried about becoming bulky but you just want to tone up your body, start off by lifting small weights (around 2-3kg). You can even lift smaller than this if you feel it’s too heavy for you. The key with toning is to lift smaller weights but do more repetitions. Building big muscles requires fewer reps but heavier weights. That’s why many toning exercises will encourage you to lift 1-2kg weights around 15-20 times, rather than 20kg for 8-10 reps.

Free Download: 10 Muscle Toning Mistakes Women Make

2. You’ll burn fat easier

We’ve been brought up to believe that the faster you run and the longer you run for, the more calories you’ll burn and the faster you’ll get rid of unwanted fat. While cardio certainly helps with weight loss and improving your health, strength training is important too. It helps you to build some muscle, usually by converting existing fat into muscle (which takes up less space and make you appear thinner and leaner). With the extra muscle, your metabolism is able to work faster and will burn calories long after you’ve finished your workout.

3. It will improve your posture

Not many of us have great posture when sitting down or standing up, but strength training can help you to improve this naturally. This, in turn, decreases the risk of back ache and other aches and pains around your body.

4. Strength training can decrease stress levels

By lifting weights and carrying out exercises which build strength in your body, you can reduce the amount of stress you are feeling. The stress hormone, known as cortisol, is one of the main reasons why many women find it so difficult to lose weight. By eliminating high stress levels and getting rid of the overproduction of cortisol, you’ll find that it’s much easier to change the shape of your body both inside and outside the gym.

Free Report:  10  Muscle Toning Mistakes Women Make

No matter what your gender is, you should embrace the weights and add strength training into your workout routine. You don’t even have to use weights in order to tone your body. They are many exercises which will help you to tone up different body parts, such as squats for improving your thighs and bum, or various arm movements if you want to get rid of the hated bingo wings (upper arm fat).

Strength training for women is an important part of an effective exercise routine. However,  there are a  variety of common mistakes that make the job of muscle toning much harder than it needs to be. Download my free report, 10 Muscle Toning Mistakes Women Make  to help you get the best results from your workout.