Women are always reluctant to lift weights. In case they decide to lift weight, it is always the pink variety, which does not provide any workout for the muscles and for its development. Most women carry hand bags, which are heavier than these small sized pink dumbbells.
Female Strength Training Myths and Misconceptions:
The reason why women fear to lift weights is that they think that they may turn in to body builders if they start lifting weights. It is true that no woman wants to build up muscles like a body builder and look all muscular. It is a wrong conception that lifting weights makes you bulky and muscular. To get a muscular body like that of a body builder:
- You will have to undergo weight training for hours every day.
- Crazy diet control – One of myths associated with women lifting weights is that if they lift too much of weight, they will get bulky. This is absolutely wrong. Days before the body builders go for a competition or shoot, they do not take any salt or water. They consume foods rich in protein like eggs, chicken etc and supplements during these times. They take it every day, that too in kilos. It is this special diet and training that makes them bulky and muscular. So, you can see that it is not that easy to get all those extra bulges that a body builder has. You have to work specially for it.
- One of the most important factors is steroids. A woman’s body it totally different from the body of a man. The hormones found in a woman, her emotions, her chemistry, all these are far different from that of a man. So, even if you do weight training throughout the day, you will never develop a body like that of a man if you do not have the hormone testosterone in your body.
So, you can rest assured that you will never ever have a body of a body builder in your life.
If you take up weight training seriously and practice it daily, you will have a well toned, healthy, fit and sexy body like that of Jennifer Lawrence!! So, start weight training program today itself and see how it benefits your body.
Benefits of Weight Training for Women:
Fights depression:
As you know, any form of exercise is an excellent solution to treat depression. So, weight training also helps in fighting against depression. According to research made, weight training gives a boost to attitude and helps you get rid of depression.
Gain strength, tone and curves:
According to research made, women will never increase in size by strength training. This is because the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy in men are less by 10 to 30 times in women. So, with regular weight training you will start gaining more strength and you will also succeed in achieving a well toned body, but not increase in size. Your curves will show well when you wear a bikini or a good fitting cloth, making you more sexy and hot.
It will help you lose body fat:
Regular weight training helps in increasing your lean muscles. As these muscles increase, your resting metabolism also increases. This means that you will burn more fat when you are not doing any workouts. Research has shown that if an average woman strength trains two or three times in a week, for about two months, she will be able to lose 3.5 pounds of fat and gain near about 2 pounds of muscle.
It improves your athletic performance:
If you want to excel in your sports, strength training is of great benefit. It enables you to perform better and also reduces the risk of injury. So, if you love skiing, strength training allows you to improve your skiing techniques and also reduce injury.
Makes you strong:
Some of the research made shows that weight training in women helps in improving their strength by about 50%. So, if you want to have a strong and well toned body, practice weight training daily. This helps you to do physically challenging works without taking any help from others. Once you start weight training, lifting your suitcase, heavy bags, kids and groceries will no longer be a difficult task for you.
Prevents osteoporosis:
According to research made, if your practice weight training continuously for more than six months, it will help in increasing your bone density by about 13%. This, along with calcium rich diet, will ensure that your bones remain strong and healthy. It prevents osteoporosis and other bone related problems. So, start weight training as early as possible for healthy bones.
Reduces risk of diabetes:
When you undergo weight training, this will increase the utilization of glucose by the body by more than 20% within four months. This in turn helps in reducing the risk of diabetes.
Reduces risk of heart attacks:
With constant weight training, you can reduce the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol in the body and also increase the levels of good cholesterol or HDL in the body. So, it is very beneficial for reducing the possibility of heart attacks and other heart problems. By including cardiovascular exercise with strength training, you will get the maximum effects.
Reduces the risk of injury, back pain and arthritis:
By undergoing strength training, you not only get strong muscles but also strong connective tissues. It also increases the stability of the joints. Thus you can prevent injury to a large extent. A recent research has shown that if you strengthen the lower back muscles, you can prevent low-back pain. Strength training is also said to get you relief from pains caused by osteoarthritis.
If you have not yet started strength training, it is time that you start today itself. It is never too late. Even women in their 70s and 80s were able to build up enough strength through weight training. So age is no bar for weight training.