5 Reasons Women Should Strength Train

Despite the huge health benefits of strength training with your body or weights, there seems to be many women who stay away. For some reason, it is a common belief among women that they should stay away from the weights and stick to cardio. Many women avoid incorporating weight training into their workouts, or when they decide to use some weights, they use such a light amount of weight that there is very minimal benefit to them. 

In today's blog post, I want to get rid of this common misconception and explain why strength training is phenomenal for both men AND women of ALL ages. 

Here are 5 reasons why women should strength train: 

You Will Lose More Fat

When it is time to lose some weight, many people jump right into performing endless amounts of cardio thinking it is their best option. Well, think again! Strength training has been proven to be more effective than cardio for total fat loss. Strength training burns more calories during the actual work out and also increases the number of calories you burn at rest. That’s right, after your weight training session, you will be burning calories while sitting on the couch watching TV! This is because when you strength train, you are  breaking down your muscle fibers. After each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair these fibers, so your body will burn calories in order to complete the recovery process. Researchers have found that people who strength train burn almost 40 percent more calories during the day than people who don’t!

You will NOT get too bulky

A lot of women who tell me they would rather not strength train all have the same reasoning for declining; they don’t want to get too bulky. When some women think of strength training, they think of the muscular women they see who are involved in bodybuilding/Crossfit/professional sports/etc. The honest truth is that most of these women look like this because of uncommon genetics, YEARS of dedication, and performance enhancing drugs. In reality, women don’t have enough testosterone to build the large bulky muscles that they fear. When compared to men, women have about 10 to 30 times less of the hormones needed to actually bulk up in that way.

You Will Get More “Toned”

When women tell me that they want to get “toned” I know that providing them with a training program is going to be a little bit of an uphill battle. This isn’t their fault at all, it is the fitness industry’s fault. There are way too many uneducated or salesperson fitness “experts” trying to sell their latest and greatest programs for fat loss. In most cases, these programs preach high repetitions and cardio in order to “tone” or “shape” your muscles. The truth is that there is no such thing as a “toned” muscle. The “toned” look women are searching for is actually when they have muscle on their body without layers of fat surrounding it. You can’t have the “toned” look without lower bodyfat levels and some muscle on your frame. In order to achieve this look, you need to challenge your muscle and “force” change in the 5-15 rep range. Any amount of repetitions over 15 starts getting into the realm of “muscle endurance” , is not optimal to build muscle, and may even result in you losing muscle mass.

You Will Get Stronger

Through weight training, your strength (NOT your muscles) will increase drastically. This will make it easier to accomplish your everyday activities. Increased strength will also improve your stamina, energy, bone density, and reduce your risk of injury during everyday activities. This will also increase your confidence. Your clothes will fit better and who wouldn’t feel awesome about themselves when they show off their new personal record at the gym?

You Will Be Healthier

Strength training has been found to have a phenomenal impact on your health. Studies have shown that people who perform strength training have a significantly reduced likelihood of developing health issues like heart disease or diabetes. Strength training has also been shown to have a great positive effect on your cardiovascular health. The benefits of strength training on your health don’t just stop at your physical health. Strength training has been proven to have positive effects on mental health and anxiety/depression.

So what are you waiting for? If you are looking to either build some muscle, lose some fat, get more "toned", improve your health, or all of the above, then it is time to start a strength training program! If you need some help with this, feel free to contact me! I would love to help you out! 

Quick Note For Anyone Who is Nervous to Workout In a Commercial Gym

If you’re excited about strength training but are nervous to workout in a commercial gym, that is totally understandable (it can be intimidating at first) and there is no need to worry! You can make some phenomenal progress using body weight training! To learn more about body weight training, check out these posts (click here! , here , and here )

If you're looking for an upgrade to your body weight training, or an easier way to train at home, the TRX Suspension Training tool may be for you! I personally use it in my home gym during almost every single workout! It has been an amazing tool to upgrade my workouts! If you are interested in checking it out, you can do so here!