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There have been many misconceptions about the gender differences and roles in strength training for women. Physiologically, men have more hormones with incomparable strength than women.
However, when measured differently with the cross-sectional muscle area and relative strength, men and women have almost equal strength. So, if you’re among the individuals who believe that strength training is not suitable for women, then you need to think twice.
This piece will highlight some benefits of strength training for women while debunking the popular misleading myths.
The Benefits of Strength Training for Women
Strength training plays a significant role in women, including increased lean body mass, self-confidence, fat reduction, soft tissue, and bone modeling. Below are some of the other benefits of strength training for women.
Improves Quality of Life
Aside from physical attractiveness, strength improvement, and well-being enhancement, strength training has many other benefits for women. As a woman, once you turn 30, you’ll start noticing changes in your muscle mass.
Every decade, you’ll lose roughly 3-8% muscle mass. The number will keep growing even after you clock 60 years. This unintended muscle and strength loss significantly contributes to older women losing independence.
Without the required strength, you may be unable to execute your daily tasks and be more exposed to critical injuries. However, when you build more muscle mass while you’re still young, there’s a high probability that you’ll live a healthier life at an older age.
Muscle Loss Replacement and Bone Health Enhancement
Again, as you grow older, practicing resistance training will constantly replace your muscle loss while increasing your chances of remaining independent and enhancing your overall well-being.
It’s important to note that women are more vulnerable to osteoporosis than men. Women often go through a series of hormonal changes when they go into menopause. These changes can negatively impact their bone density.
However, with strength training, you can safeguard your bone health as a woman through weight-bearing workouts. This exercise stimulates the bone by putting a heavy load on the bones through the muscles and tendons. As a result, dense and stronger bones are achieved.
Enhanced Metabolism
Many women often focus on cardiovascular exercise for weight loss while overlooking strength training. However, the truth is that a constant resistance training routine plays a significant role in boosting self-confidence.
Building muscle mass contributes to an enhanced metabolism and composition of the body. When you include strength training in your fitness plan, you can burn fats quickly and get into the shape you’ve always dreamed of.
Debunking the Common Myths that Surround Strength Training for Women
Since the modern fitness industry began, women have constantly been fed with illusions and myths that have created a lot of nuisances and hurdles. The two most popular myths are
- Strength training will make a woman bulky
- Cardio is the best exercise for women to lose weight
- Only exercise with lighter weights and do many reps to tone some of specific muscles
- Weightlifting can’t make a woman lose weight
These misconceptions have caused many women to refrain from engaging in strength training to reach their fitness goals. It only takes intentional efforts for a woman to get bulky, and attaining that level is challenging.
On average, engaging in heavy weightlifting 2 to 3 times weekly will never get you a muscular physique. Instead, it will help you build healthy muscle mass and aid in developing lean body mass.
While cardio exercise offers many benefits, such as boosting endorphins for mental well-being and improving your heart health, weight loss without strength training may not give you the desired result you expect, leaving you frustrated.
Your joints may often break down quickly, but extreme cardio can enhance the cortisol level and prevent your body from effectively losing fat. The result may last less time than expected. Balancing cardio and strength training is a practical way to achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Getting Started with Strength Training As a Woman
Getting started is one of the most challenging aspects of starting a new workout routine. You may often wonder where to begin, how frequently you should exercise, and how long each session will take.
It’s normal to feel this way. Unfortunately, the overload of information on the internet today makes it hard to get along. With everyone claiming to be an expert in the field, they know nothing about.
While you can always get started independently, nothing beats having a professional personal trainer in your pocket. You can have fun working out at home or the gym with the best training programs, video classes, and fun motivation from a hardworking community worldwide.
You only need to set achievable goals, track progress, and celebrate wins. Regardless of how you started, keep in mind that avoiding strength training will not only hurt your current progress but also your future.
Ultimately, the benefits of strength in women should be considered. You may be wrong if you still believe that strength training will make you bulky as a woman. Don’t hesitate to start your strength training routine today!
Reference:
- W P Ebben 1, R L Jensen (1998, May 26) Strength training for women: debunking myths that block opportunity
- Elena Volpi, Reza Nazemi, and Satoshi Fujita (2010, Jan 12) Muscle tissue changes with aging
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/
- Rebecca A. Seguin, Galen Eldridge, Wesley Lynch, and Lynn C. Paul (2015, March 10) Strength Training Improves Body Image and Physical Activity Behaviors Among Midlife and Older Rural Women
