fit african american woman lifting iron in home gym

Whether you’re looking to lose weight, tone up, or just get in overall better shape, weight lifting should be apart of your routine! Here are 8 reasons why women should be lifting weights.

A lot of people prefer walking as a means of exercising. Of everyone aged 15 and up, more than 30% prefer this exercise over other means. However, if you want to get more benefits, you need to start lifting weights.

You might hear some rumors about how lifting makes you bulky and that you need to continue or everything will turn to fat. Those are false, and it keeps you from experiencing the real benefits of resistance training.

Here are some of the most tangible advantages of strength training in your exercise regimen:

#1: More Effective Fat Loss

The purpose of lifting weights for women isn’t limited to gaining shirt-ripping biceps. A lot of people think that weightlifting only adds size to women. The truth is that when compared to pure cardiovascular exercise, resistance training burns you more calories.

The fact that your body’s ability to burn fat increases during and after heavy weight training makes it more effective compared to cardio. After you finish this exercise, your body continues to get more oxygen after hours and even days of doing it. It increases your body’s metabolism and calorie consumption.

#2: More Burnt Calories

Increasing your strength and lean muscle mass with strength training makes your body use calories in a more efficient manner. The contractions made by your various muscles contribute to the calories you burn each day. Standing burns more calories compared to sitting the entire day.

The more muscles you contract, the more calories you can consume. If your lean muscle mass is more than the fat in your body, you have more. That means you burn through more calories.

#3: More Womanly Curves

Contrary to the popular myths, the more you build muscle mass, the faster your body takes a womanly hourglass shape. Endurance exercises often produce the same results. The main difference is that the weight you lose is due to both fat and muscle tissue loss.

When you lose these, you won’t gain the lovely curves that come with it. Lifting weights for fat loss allow you to create and sustain an hourglass figure.

Exercising can uplift your confidence, knowing that you don’t have to worry about muffin tops and the like. You can wear Monsta Clothing for women’s bodybuilding each time you want to show off your new figure.

#4: More High-Quality Sleep

If you want to have great skin, you need some quality sleeping time. Spending time with heavy weights can help with that. You get more quality sleep because it’s easier for you to fall asleep at night and wake less before the morning.

It’s most effective when you do it in the morning. The intensity of the exercises can also affect your sleep quality and makes it longer than usual. What this means is that you get a better figure and boost your mental health too.

#5: More Energy

Getting into resistance training could increase the expenditure of energy hours after you finish training. This is a good thing for your body because affects the balance of energy and oxidation of fat. A lot of studies point out that even a minimal level of resistant training is enough to give positive effects to these processes, making you more energetic.

A lot of health experts advise that instead of getting coffee for energy, you should get a barbell and start exercising instead. The energy you get from both can be the same, but the latter doesn’t make you gain weight.

#6: More Heart Health

Fat burning workouts can help reduce the risk of you getting heart diseases later on. Weightlifting is one of the approved healthy exercise forms by the American Heart Association. Studies found that people doing weight exercises reduce the risk factors that lead to heart disorders such as:

• Larger waist circumference
• Elevated blood pressure
• Higher blood sugar levels

Despite increased heart rate during weightlifting and training, you get lower blood pressure and resting heart rate the morning after.

#7: More Bone Health

As you get older, the risk of you losing both your muscle and bone mass is higher. This is especially true for people experiencing menopause. After all, women at this age no longer secrete estrogen, which is responsible for reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Engaging in resistance training is the best way to counteract the bone mass loss and decrease osteoporosis. Studies show that postmenopausal women participating in a year’s worth of exercise saw an increase in their spinal bone mass by 9%. The earlier in your life you begin exercising, the lesser risks you have in losing bone mass later on.

#8: More Stress Relief

In general, doing exercises relieves you from stress, allowing you to manage it more effectively. Studies show consistent results when it comes to getting lower negative reactions to stress by doing resistance training. Basically, the more you exercise with weights, the better you can manage your stress and find peace of mind.

More studies prove that moderate weightlifting exercises help improve memory as well as cognitive abilities. It’s a great benefit especially for older adults who need to stay sharp and on top of their game. That’s why, instead of sulking and eating a tub of ice cream while watching dramas, you’re better off blowing steam by hitting the weights.

Learn More Benefits of Lifting and Exercise Today!

Everyone deserves to feel strong and have determination and confidence in the things they do. Whether you want to fit into skinny jeans or dealing with a stress-filled work, you want to be at your best. That’s why it’s important for you to keep your body at its peak condition.

Doing resistance training alongside endurance training can help you lead a better life not only in the physical sense. Your mind becomes healthier and the energy you gain helps you accomplish more for yourself and your family. Integrate lifting with your fitness plan and start feeling stronger and more confident today!

If you need more useful tips to improve your health, we have health-related articles that can help you get started on your journey. We also have other guides available, like this post showing how you can get a great butt!