Years ago, if you looked inside any gym in the country, you’d see a bunch of ripped, buff men pumping iron. Women, on the other hand, would often be found hitting the treadmills or in aerobics classes trying to burn calories and lose weight.
Thankfully, this stereotype has been slowly fading away. These days, more women are lifting weights at the gym, and we couldn’t be happier! Lifting weights comes with some surprising benefits that women can’t get from cardiovascular exercise alone, and there’s no reason for women to fear that lifting weights will make them bulky, muscle-bound, or masculine-looking.
As a matter of fact, lifting weights 2-3 times per week can help women lose weight, increase tone, prevent injuries, reduce stress, and so much more. Read this blog to learn about the many reasons why women should be lifting weights at our Thornton gym.
Ways that Women Can Benefit from Lifting Weights at the Gym
Lots of women have done some dumbbell curls and picked up a barbell or two, but beyond that, might feel unsure about how to start a strength training program at the gym. They might have heard horror stories about how lifting heavy weights can make women bulky or cause injuries. These myths have prevented many women from experiencing the many benefits of strength training, both physically and mentally.
The truth is, aside from professional female bodybuilders that spend hours in the gym each day, it’s physiologically and hormonally impossible for women to build muscle tissue like men do. In the vast majority of cases, even if a woman performs the same strength training routine as a man, her muscles will respond differently. She will build leaner, stronger muscles. And, these muscles will help her burn more calories, tone her trouble-spots, and prevent injuries as she ages.
If you’ve been given advice or read online that the only way to burn calories and get in shape is to focus on cardio at the gym, you’re missing out. Cardio is a big part of any comprehensive fitness program, but it won’t deliver a fraction of the benefits that women can get from weightlifting.
Weight Loss
There’s no doubt that lifting weights can help you lose weight, but in a different way than cardio. While you’ll burn more calories per hour during an intense cardio session, lifting weights helps you gain lean muscle mass that makes you look slimmer, trimmer, and more toned. That increased muscle mass burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, which means your body will burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re not exercising. Plus, research has also shown that you burn more calories for up to 38 hours after weight training, while no such increase was seen with cardio. This makes weightlifting one of the best metabolism boosters you can find at the gym.
Increased Energy
That increased calorie burn you get following a weightlifting session also means you’ll feel more energetic in the hours after you train. If you need more energy through the day (who doesn’t?), try lifting weights at the gym.
Better Curves
Many women think that losing weight will give them a better shape, but weight loss alone can mean losing not only fat, but muscle, too. By lifting weights, you’ll maintain and gain the muscle tissue that gives you toned abs and a nice hourglass shape. Create and sustain your curves through strength training!
Maintained Muscle Mass
Between the ages of 30 and 70, women lose an average of 22 percent of their total muscle tissue. And, even worse, that muscle void is often filled with fat tissue. Since one pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space than a pound of muscle, you can appear larger even if the scale says you’re the same weight. The best way to avoid this problem is to lift weights! Most experts recommend 2-3 total-body strength training sessions per week. You should also get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic exercise, spread across at least 3-4 days. You can do your cardiovascular exercise on the same days as lifting weights, or on alternate days.
Injury Prevention
As we age, we all become more prone to injuries. One of the main causes of age-related injuries is the previously mentioned loss of muscle mass after years of being less active. However, it’s easy to counteract this loss of strength by lifting weights. Women who lift weights can maintain and even increase their muscle strength, which safeguards them from falls and other common causes of injury. Weightlifting also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability, which further helps to prevent injury.
Better Sleep
Women have a lot on their plates as they juggle taking care of their families, jobs, and homes, so they need a good night’s sleep! Studies have shown that strength training greatly improves sleep quality, helping you to fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, and wake up less often through the night.
Improved Heart Health
While your blood pressure will temporarily rise after lifting weights, research has shown that regular strength training will protect your heart in the long run. Studies show that, while heart rates will increase during heavy bouts of strength training, blood pressure and resting heart rate are significantly lower the following morning. People who lift weights are also less likely to have heart disease risk factors like elevated blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, a large waist circumference, and high triglycerides. Overall, lifting weights has been shown to keep the cardiovascular system in better working order, and the increased muscle mass enables people to move more, which keeps the momentum going in the right direction.
Better Bone Health
As women age, they are at risk of losing bone mass. This is often due to osteoporosis, a condition that occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone tissue. Osteoporosis affects 10 million Americans, 80 percent of whom are women, and postmenopausal women are at the greatest risk for the disease.
Lifting weights is an excellent way to combat the loss of bone mass and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. When you lift weights, you put stress on your bones, which triggers your body to make them stronger. This reduces the risk of broken bones and fractures. One study found that, after a year of resistance training, postmenopausal women increased their spinal bone mass by 9 percent.
Reduced Diabetes Risk
Lifting weights helps your body process sugar, which can help prevent Type 2 diabetes. Or, if you already have diabetes, regular weightlifting has been shown to improve the body’s ability to control blood sugar as well as taking diabetes medication. If you combine strength training and aerobic exercise, it could be even more beneficial than taking drugs for diabetes. However, make sure to consult your physician before making any changes to your diabetic medication or using exercise to control your blood sugar.
Boosted Balance
Everyday activities like standing on one leg to put on a sock can be challenging as the years go by, and that’s mainly due to the age-related deterioration of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Aerobic exercise uses mostly slow-twitch muscle fibers, but lifting weights maintains the ability of fast-twitch muscle fibers to activate. Fast-twitch fibers are those that assist us with speed and power movements, and are also the fibers that help us catch ourselves when we lose balance.
Psychological Benefits of Lifting Weights at the Gym
While you might not associate lifting weights with better mental health, regular strength training has been shown to benefit the mind as much as it does the body. Some of the surprising psychological benefits of weightlifting include:
- Stress relief — Research has shown that people who regularly strength train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer negative reactions to stressful situations as those who don’t exercise.
- Depression relief — A meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials showed that strength training reduced the symptoms of depression among adults. Strength training was most effective at relieving the symptoms of people with mild to moderate depression.
- Increased self-esteem – Strength training gives you a sense of accomplishment that naturally boosts your mood and self-esteem. Also, studies have shown that the increased muscle mass and body definition that comes with strength training gives people a better body image and increases their belief in their physical abilities.
- Improved cognitive function — Research indicates that, in older adults, strength training can delay declines in memory, attention, and decision-making abilities.
- Improved overall mental wellbeing — Strength training can be a meditative practice. As you lift weights, you’re focused only on the task at hand, which detaches your mind from any other worries you might have. Once you’ve finished your session, you can look back on your performance and reflect on your accomplishments, as well as areas you need to improve. You also get a deep sense of satisfaction when you reach goals and realize that you’ve lifted weights that would seem impossible even weeks before.
While lifting weights is not a replacement or substitute for professional medical help, it can be a powerful tool to help you cope with mental health challenges and the pressures of life.
Ladies, it’s Time to Lift at AFAC Gym!
From fitting into our favorite jeans to playing with our kids, managing a successful career, and enjoying our life’s passions, all of us women want to feel confident, strong, and determined in everything that we do. Lifting weights can benefit all areas of a woman’s life, helping us to feel healthier, stronger, and unstoppable! And, not only will the quality of your life improve when you strength train, but regular exercise like weightlifting can also help you live longer.
Whether you’re a woman who is just beginning her weightlifting journey or you’ve been lifting for decades, AFAC gym has all the strength and resistance training equipment you need to take advantage of weightlifting’s many benefits. The staff and personal trainers at AFAC gym are here to support you at every level of your fitness journey and help you achieve the results you’re hoping for.
To get more information about being a member of AFAC, the best gym in the Thornton, Colorado, area, stop by or give us a call at your convenience. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.
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