Strong is the new sexy, yet still a preconceived notion loiters around females that “lifting weights makes you bulky”. This is a myth I’d like to bust by explaining the benefits of strength training for women.

Get Stronger

Strength training for females helps to improve the quality of the muscles and their ability to produce force against a resistance. For some, it may mean just moving through basic body weight movements.

A sedentary individual starting a body weight program will notice improvements in their strength immediately. On the other hand, an experienced lifter needs to perform heavier lifts across higher intensities, to achieve higher strength outputs. Regardless of your level, when you improve your muscles’ ability to work, you’ll see the benefits of strength training for women.

Feel a Longer Afterburn Effect

When compared to low intensity steady state (LISS) exercise,; strength training burns more calories for longer after your training session. This gives you a prolonged metabolic effect, before returning to a pre exercise state.

Improve Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The beauty about strength training is that the longer you stick to it, the more you can improve your BMR (the amount of energy you burn at rest). With muscle gain comes a higher BMR, meaning that your body becomes more efficient at burning unwanted fat, making it easier for you to lose size.

Protect Your Bones and Joints

Estrogen is a hormone that helps cells (osteoblasts) produce bone. During menopause, estrogen starts to decline, putting females in a higher risk category for developing degenerative bone disorders, such as osteoporosis.

Weight-bearing activities cause new bone tissue to form. This can help slow bone loss, making strength training a beneficial tool in preventing or halting that process.

Look Good!

Like with any form of training, if you continually eat a surplus of calories and binge on junk, you’ll put on weight. It is that simple. It’s just unfortunate that weight-based training has received that type of backlash. Far more is involved when it comes to looking “bulky” and putting on weight.

Strength training for females, when combined with good nutrition, helps you lose unwanted fat, sculpts your muscles, and gives you a leaner appearance. You can define that appearance through different training variables and stricter eating habits, depending on your goal.

Conclusion

The benefits of strength training for women are numerous.However, even though what happens in the gym makes you fit — you must remember to follow it up with clean eating habits.