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Why Women Should Lift Weights

Why Women Should Lift Weights

Leave a Comment / Body, Body Composition, Fitness

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!
why women should lift weights
Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash

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

cardio versus weights

CARDIO versus WEIGHTS – What should I do?

Leave a Comment / Body, Fitness

CARDIO versus WEIGHTS – What should I do?

Should I do CARDIO or WEIGHTS? This is a question I get time & time again from people wanting to lose body fat and change their body shape.

The answer is both! But Why?

Cardio and weights each have their benefits but together they can be much more effective.

Let’s start here. Contrary to popular belief 1 kilogram of muscle mass does not weigh more than 1 kilogram of fat mass. 1kg = 1kg no matter what you are weighing. The difference is muscle mass is more dense, firmer and uses more energy (burns more calories) per hour than fat mass. Muscle mass spreads over smaller area than fat mass.

Another way to think of this is to visualise a tonne of feathers and a tonne of bricks, the weight is the same but you would need so many more feathers to reach the 1-tonne weight and they would certainly take up a larger space than the 1 tonne of bricks would.

1kg Muscle -v- 1kg Fat

Why is this important?

Building muscle mass increases your base metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is the minimum amount of energy required to sustain your vital functions whilst at rest.

Think of it this way. There are 2 females, both aged 35yrs, both weighing 65kg and 165cm tall but female “A” had 4kg more muscle mass than female “B”. Female “A” base metabolic rate would be higher than female “B”. This is due to the fact that muscle mass uses more energy than fat mass, even while sleeping. That essentially means the body is more effective when it comes to burning calories with more muscle mass. Calories must be burned to achieve a fat loss goal.

To achieve a 1 kilogram fat loss approximately 3800 calories must be burned while correctly tracking your macronutrient intake.

A one hour weight training session may not burn the same amount of calories as one hour of cardio. Depending on the intensity of each type of workout. The post workout “burn” – the amount of calories your body continues to burn after the workout is higher post weight training than it is post cardio. Studies(1) have shown that the time frame your metabolism is boosted for can be up to a whopping 38 hours.

According to CFDU Crossfit Coach and Something RXD podcaster Raul Valenzuela.

“Roughly there are 7,777 Calories in a Kilogram of fat. (Wow a lot !! that’s like a quite a few happy meals )

This means you need to create a calorie deficit of 7,777 calories in your eating plan to create a 1-kilo weight loss.”

Raul delves deeper into this topic over at his short, sharp and to the point blog. I recommend spending a few minutes reading his article right here: “How many calories should I eat to lose weight”

SIDE NOTE: I recently interviewed Raul on “The Life, Body, Business Impact with Fatima” Podcast. He shared so much gold, check it out #7: Being Paid To Quit His Day Job Changed Thousands Of Lives.

The Final Wrap

Both cardio and weights can help you to achieve your body composition goals. In addition you can increase your fitness and overall health.

An intense, long cardio workout can burn more calories than a weight-training workout BUT it can also get pretty boring! Long cardio workouts can also be difficult to maintain in our busy lives. Another downfall – it does not help to achieve muscle tone, you can only do that by building muscle mass – lifting weights!

Studies show your metabolism may stay elevated for longer after a weights workout than a cardio workout.

Weight training is better to build muscle, which has a host of other health benefits. Increased bone density and reduced risk of injury to name just a couple. Weight training is not just about the “look”.

If you enjoyed this article or have any questions please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Fatima, xo 

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