Weightlifting for women is one of the best ways to prevent premature aging, meet your body composition goals and to maintain overall health- yet so many ladies are still concerned about lifting heavy and “bulking up.” We think it’s time to de-stigmatize strength training for women. Below we’ve outlined some of the benefits of a regular strength training routine:
Lifting heavy will add lean muscle mass and help you build curves! You don’t need to worry about building a masculine figure- it takes a long time to increase lean muscle mass. Of course there is always the exception, but we’re talking about the vast majority of women. What you can expect is a sleek, strong and lean looking body. To get these types of results we recommend lifting to fatigue with a max of 8-20 reps. This can be modified for short periods of time, lifting heavier in the 2-7 rep range.
Strength training not only increases your muscle mass but it also increases your cognitive ability. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society included 68 women and 32 men with ages ranging from 55 to 86. All participants had a mild cognitive impairment, they were then randomly assigned to two groups. One group did weight training 2X a week for 6 months, lifting 80% of the maximum amount they could, while the other group did stretching exercises.
All participants were given cognitive tests at the beginning and end of the study and 12 months after they finished the study. The group that did the weight training scored significantly higher at the end of the study than at the beginning and retained that gain 12 months later. The gain in test scores was also greatest for those who had the greatest gains in strength while the scores of the group who performed stretching exercises declined somewhat.
By lifting weights you are able to create metabolic and functional changes in your muscle that protects the body from injury, disease and increased body fat. Strength training has been proven to turn on protective genetic pathways that keep your heart healthy while improving your metabolism and by also resetting the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA axis- our central stress response system that acts as an intertwining of the central nervous system and endocrine system.)