Weight lifting can be rewarding for many reasons, and its advantages are available to people of all genders. Pursuing a regular weight-training routine can change your body and your brain.
Lower Body Fat
Studies performed by Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, found that the average woman who strength-trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat.1As lean muscle increases, so does resting metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day.
Women typically don't develop big muscles from strength training because, compared to men, women have significantly less of the hormones that cause muscle growth, or hypertrophy. Weight training
Improved Strength
Weight lifting strengthens your muscles. When you are stronger, daily tasks and routine exercise will be less fatiguing and much less likely to cause injury. Improving your muscle mass and strength increases bodily function and life satisfaction.
Less Back Pain, Injury, and Arthritis
Strength training not only builds stronger muscles but also strengthens connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury.
Strengthening the gluteal muscles can help in eliminating or alleviating low-back and knee pain.2Weight training can strengthen joints and ease the pain of osteoarthritis.3
Lower Risk of Certain Diseases
Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increasing HDL ("good") cholesterol, and lowering blood pressure. Adding cardiovascular exercise to your workout routine helps maximize these benefits.4
Weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density and enhance bone modeling. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be the best defense against osteoporosis (women are at higher risk of osteoporosis than men).5
Lastly, weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes (sometimes known as "adult-onset" diabetes) is a problem for people of all genders and can be associated with excess weight.
Better Mood and Increased Confidence
Strength training (and exercise in general) decreases depression because the act of exercise produces mood-improving neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.7
Plus, women who strength train report feeling more confident and capable as a result of their program. These are important factors in fighting depression.8
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Weight Training Do Women Need?
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend at least two days per week of resistance training that works every major muscle group.9
However, you can gain additional benefits with more training days. Just remember that recovery time is essential; rest for 24 to 48 hours between heavily training a particular muscle group to allow for muscle repair.
The guidelines also advise adding at least 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise, 75 minutes of more vigorous exercise, or a combination of the two,. Cardiovascular activity improves heart health and helps with energy balance (that is, creating a calorie deficit if you hope to lose weight).
Where you start with weight training
depends on your current experience and fitness level. If you haven't done much strength training before, it can help to seek guidance from a personal trainer so you can learn proper form. This can help prevent injuries.
Once you build some basic skills, you can move on to a regular weight training routine using bodyweight, weights, or a combination. If you aren't interested in going to a gym, you can still get a good weight lifting workout at home with basic equipment including dumbbells or kettlebells.
Try starting with one set of 6 to 8 repetitions of a few different exercises targeting each muscle group. Focus on compound movements such as the squat, deadlift, bench press or push-up row, and shoulder press.
Practice with an empty bar, broomstick, or lighter dumbbells until the correct form and movement patterns become second nature. Then add more sets and repetitions. Gradually, but consistently, increase weight, repetitions, sets, or all of these in order to make progress.
How much weight should women lift?
The amount of weight you should lift will change as you progress. The weight you lift should challenge you by the last few reps, or even with each rep if you are training with very heavy weights. Each time you train, you can try to increase the weight lifted from the last session. This is one way of ensuring you progress in your strength training goals and continue to see results.
What muscle groups should women target when lifting weights?
Women should target every muscle group during their weight lifting. However, you can separate the muscle groups you target with each training session, focusing on the legs one day, the chest and shoulders the next, and so on. During a week, you should target your entire body using every major muscle group.
How can women avoid bulking up when lifting weights?
Women are unlikely to become bulky when lifting weights unless they purposefully try to. The act of gaining substantial muscle is challenging even for men who can build muscle more quickly and easily due to greater testosterone and other factors.10
How large your muscles grow and how quickly will come down to many factors, including genetics, nutrition, and training.
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