Women are always told what to do and not do with their bodies. Exercises that will accentuate their beauty and those that would take away their femininity. Apparently women workout for one reason and one reason only – to look young and beautiful.
Women were told not to train with weights because a bulky body is not ‘feminine’. So, we stayed away from weights and did cardio for a slender female body. Dear women, when you stay away from the dumbbells and barbells in your gym, you do a huge disservice to your fitness and overall health. Here are a few reasons why you should include strength training as a part of your exercise routine.
It Empowers You
There is something empowering about strength training. As your body gets stronger from lifting and training with weights, you start to become self-reliant. You need lesser help with everyday errands and feel safer inside your own skin. Every time you master a new exercise it empowers you and boosts your confidence.
It Tones Your Body
Most women skip strength training because they are afraid it will lead to a masculine physique. However, experts say, that in order to bulk up as a woman, you would need to devote your life to it. Men can increase their muscle mass faster than women because they produce higher amounts of testosterone. Since women produce very small amounts of this hormone, it is harder for them to become visibly larger and muscular. Strong women who compete on body building event have actually dedicated their life to look a certain way. They eat a specialised high protein, high calorie diet, workout for long hours and, in some cases they still have to artificially inject testosterone to look muscular and bulky.
If you strength train to be fit and strong, you won’t need to practice more than three times a week. With time you will notice that your muscles will get denser and stronger but they will not bulk up. As a result you will get a fit and lean body that looks nothing like the women competing in body building competitions. Some studies suggest that strength training three times a week is more effective in burning fat than cardio.
Boosts Your Confidence and Reduces Depression
Personal trainers have often talked about how their clients feel after they can finally do a proper push up or a proper chin up with their body weight. Once we learn something, we never thought we could learn, we automatically start feeling better about ourselves and this boosts our confidence.
Studies show that 10 weeks of weight training can effectively reduce depression. Depression grows from insecurity, imposture syndrome and our inability to trust our self; strength training tackles all these issues. We start feeling comfortable within our own skin, with comfort we become self-reliant and confident. This helps us combat depression effectively.
Reduces the Chances of Type 2 Diabetes
Once you get into the habit of working out, your muscles will effectively burn glucose and this will decrease the chances of accumulating too much glucose in your blood stream. If type two diabetes runs within your family, it is a good idea to begin your strength training sessions. Your body will start to burn excess sugar so that you can stay a safe distance away from diabetes. You can reduce the chances of diabetes just by doing two and a half hours of strength training in a week!
Improves your Posture
Given that you strength train with proper guidance and observation, it will strengthen the muscles around your vertebrae. As they become firm, you will find your posture improve. You’ll hunch less in front of your laptop. Another great thing about training your back and neck muscles is that it reduces back pain and neck pain. As your muscles firm up, it reduces the chances of muscle soreness. However, as you proceed to heavier weights, you have an experienced spotter to help you with the weights and keep an eye on your form.
Makes You Feel So Much Better
When you strength train, you automatically start feeling more energised. You will realise that you can suddenly do a lot more within the day. Joint pain and body is less frequent, in fact some women experience lesser period cramps. With reduced body pain, better vitality, increased energy and more confidence you start feeling so much better. In fact, you feel so good that you wish that you started strength training earlier!
For an overall development, it is important to give time to different kinds of exercises. A combination of cardio and weights will help you become so much strong. Though beauty is not the primary goal for fitness, strength training will give you a more aesthetic body. For the training to truly be effective, you must progress gradually and consult a professional when you proceed to difficult workouts. It also helps wo wear comfortable footwear during your workouts as this will make training more effective.
