Ladies, Lift!
Maybe you’ve thought about lifting weights but just feel unsure, insecure, and a little fearful.
Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the horror stories: lifting heavy weights makes women bulky, it’s dangerous, it’s bad for your joints, and once you have muscle, you can’t stop lifting or it will all turn to fat. It’s all BS, and it feeds into stereotypes that are keeping too many women from experiencing the profound benefits of resistance training.
The fact is lifting weights does none of those awful things. What it does is help you to live in a healthier, stronger body.
Here are five reasons you should prioritize strength training in your fitness regimen
1. More Effective Fat Loss
Although many people consider weightlifting only a means to add size, when contrasted head-to-head against cardiovascular exercise, resistance training comes out on top in the battle to burn calories.
The huge advantage to weight training is your body’s ability to burn fat during and after exercise.
2. More Muscle, More Calorie Expenditure
As you increase strength and lean muscle mass, your body uses calories more efficiently. Daily muscle contractions from a simple blink to a heavy squat contribute to how many calories you burn in a given day. Sitting burns fewer calories than standing; standing burns fewer than walking, and walking burns fewer than strength training.
The more muscle contractions you experience during a day, the more calories you’ll burn. If you have more lean muscle mass, you’ll have more muscle contractions and thus burn more calories.
3. Quality Sleep
Strength training greatly improves sleep quality, aiding in your ability to fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, and wake less often during the night.
A study published in the International SportMed Journal suggests that morning resistance training or high intensity training greatly affects the quality of sleep and lengthens the time of sleep the night after training.
4. Increased Energy
As noted above, resistance training causes an increase in energy expenditure hours after you train. A study published by the National Institute of Health suggests that the chronic increase in energy expenditure, even after a minimal resistance training session, may favorably effect energy balance and fat oxidation.[2] Rather than reaching for that early afternoon cup of coffee, grab some dumbbells
5. Stress Relief
Exercise, in general, is a great way to manage stress. Researchers have consistently found that those who regularly strength train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations as those who do not exercise.[6]
In addition, resistance-training studies on older adults show that moderate-intensity weightlifting improves memory and cognitive function. Next time you need to blow off some steam, hit the weights.
Ladies, Lift!
Everyone wants to feel strong, determined, and confident in everything we do: from fitting into jeans to moving heavy furniture, to playing with kids, to dealing with a stressful career.
Resistance training can benefit in all aspects of your life. Put it in your fitness plan and feel stronger, healthier, and more confident!
