Why Women Should Lift Weights
Are you thinking, “oh no I don’t want to get bulky and big like a man or those women with BIG muscles?” I get it! I was thinking exactly the same thing when I first started to exercise at a gym. Hi, I’m Fatima, a Personal Wellness Coach who once upon a time was afraid of the gym. I am going to talk to you about “Why I BELIEVE women should lift weights”.
Fast Forward >>> some years later and the scales have gone up but I could not be happier… WHY? More Muscle equals Less Fat.
PSSSTT.. if you are a guy reading this…DON’T look away, why not pass it on to a woman in your life… Wife, Partner, Sister, Mother or Friend. You never know it might be just what they need to hear to start lifting the iron!
Let me tell you WHY WOMEN SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS…
- Muscle is what gives you the “toned” body you are looking for (9/10 times when asked “What is your health and fitness goal?” Women will tell me it is to tone up).
- Muscle is firm and dense like a piece of fillet meat and fat is soft and wobbly like butter!
- 1kg of Muscle burns through more calories or uses more energy per hour than 1 kg of fat. Do you know what that means?… It means that even when your sleeping your body is burning through more calories per hour. More muscle = a more efficient body.
Need more reasons…
- The more muscle you have, the higher your bone density. Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis, if your bone density is high, it means your bones are stronger. This is super important for women.
- Planning on becoming pregnant any time in the future? A physically stronger body will support your body through the pregnancy and the bounce back post pregnancy. Show me one woman that does not think this is a good idea and I will shut up right now!
- More muscle = more strength. The more muscle you build the stronger you can become, I have not met a woman that has not LOVED the feeling of becoming physically stronger. It feel good as a women to feel physically strong!
If you still want to know more take a look at this article Cardio versus Weights – What Should I Do?
Women and men’s bodies are different (ummm yeah obviously!!) LOL
Simply put (no offence intended here) biologically men were built to hunt and protect, women were built to gather and have babies. The reason I am sharing this is simple. Men have more testosterone, which simply means it’s easier for them to build muscle when they pick up a weight. Women however may lift the same weight and train just as hard, even harder than some men and not turn into the female version of incredible hulk because they do not have the same hormone make up as men.
If you want to lose weight, change the shape of your body and feel stronger, you MUST MUST MUST incorporate weight training into your week. Cardio alone will certainly increase your cardiovascular fitness, but cardio alone will not build you a strong body composition.
So… time to go lift some weights! 😉
Fatima, xo
