Strength training is important for everyone, whether you want to gain muscle, lose weight or maintain your current weight. I’m particularly enthusiastic about encouraging women to lift weights. Women have been warned for so long that Strength Training Workouts would make them “bulky,” and that is simply not true!
Following are a few benefits of women’s strength training workouts:
- Strength training workouts help fight the onset of osteoporosis
- It can boost your metabolism
- Strength training workouts will build you lean muscle without getting bulky.
- It will help to burn body fat and lose weight.
- Regular strength training workouts can reduce the risk of heart disease (the leading cause of death for women).
- Doing strength training workouts can improve your mood and reduce stress.
What are strength training workouts?
Strength training also known as resistance training, is building strength throughout your body and increasing muscle mass. There are several different types of strength training that can help you increase your muscular strength and build muscle mass. A strength training programme should provide the body with a stimulus that requires an adaption response.
Resistance and weight training are both examples of strength training workouts, although traditional strength training workouts usually involve multi-joint focused training (compound lifts) for lower rep ranges using high levels of resistance (weight) which is heavy from one person to the next is the objective of the course.
It’s best at the begging to focus on building good foundations of movement before adding much or any load (resistance) to movements, additionally, some isolated muscular focus can help in areas where connection or movement is lacking.
Strength training is a great way to train functionally, functional training simply is a way to train that will give you the most benefits carried over to the desired activity, whether that be a sport or just general life activities, strength training is the way to go.
Why are women’s strength training workouts even more important after 40?
Strength training workouts can be immensely beneficial. It’s important to be strong so you can handle everyday activities such as playing with the kids, carrying suitcases or shopping, running for the bus, or picking up the dog.
Muscle mass begins to decrease naturally starting from the late twenties. Studies reveal that after the age of 30, you may lose 3-8% of muscle mass per decade. Starting strength-training workouts as soon as you are able is worth the effort, as it will help you maintain the muscle mass you need as you age.
Additionally, 4.74 million Australians over 50 years of age (66% of people over 50) have osteoporosis or osteopenia or poor bone health. I don’t quote this to worry you simply to highlight how common it is to have a bone density issue BUT, you can combat this by committing to regular strength training.
Hip fractures have been found to be as much as 38-45% lower in older adults who have been physically active in their daily life, compared to less active people.
Do strength training workouts make women become bulky?
Simply put no, have you ever been in a gym and seen just how many guys are in there pushing themselves and trying their absolute best to get MASSIVE and failing, most likely the answer to that is yes, the reason for this is, it takes time, dedication, and effort to build muscle mass, it doesn’t happen by accident, if it did you would see far more people walking around looking mutant than you do.
In reality, you’ll sculpt lean muscle and burn more energy throughout the day – a result of muscle tissue burning more calories at rest than fat.
In addition, strength training workouts may increase your testosterone levels, which have been linked with lean mass, increased energy, and increased sexual desire. That is a no-brainer.
Other than that strength training workouts can:
- Improve body composition.
- Improve body postures and boost confidence.
- Increase bone density.
- Improve the quality of sleep.
- Lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and decreased the risk of injury.
Strength training not only helps you become stronger and more stable as you age (which is important) but also helps you maintain your independence, be more focused and stay active.
In addition to being good for heart health, lowering cholesterol, improving posture, and maintaining metabolism, muscle tissue can also help you stay active. Muscular tissue is more metabolically active than fatty tissue, which means your body will consume more energy at rest the more muscle tissue you have meaning you can eat more and who doesn’t want that.
Start Your Strength Training Workouts!
Krissy is one of our personal trainers in Brisbane’s southside suburbs who is committed to showing women the benefits of strength training workouts and providing tailored diet and nutritional solutions. Our mobile personal training services are available in Brisbane southside, whether you want to work out at home or get outdoors.
