At VIP Fitness, we use strength training to benefit both men and women. While some women worry they’ll build bulging Hulk-like muscles. Nothing could be further from the truth. Female hormones prevent bulking up. Women bodybuilders have a grueling workout and strict diet to build their muscles. Some even take it a step further using chemical methods.
Women can improve their body composition.
That also boosts their metabolism to make it easier to lose weight. Muscle burns more calories to maintain, so the more you have, the more calories you burn 24/7. Muscle tissue is more dense and weighs more per cubic inch. Even if you don’t lose weight, you’ll lose inches. Your clothes will fit better, your posture will improve, and the backaches and pains of poor posture will disappear.
The older you get; the more important strength training becomes.
Once a woman passes menopause, the risk of osteoporosis increases. Osteoporosis is the leaching of calcium from the bone. It weakens them and makes them brittle. When the muscles tug on the bones, they calcify to stay strong. The more it tugs, the more dense the bone becomes. If the muscles aren’t challenged with weight-bearing exercises, there’s no need for the bones to be strong. When the calcium leaches, the bones become weak. Strength training can help recalcify the bone. Younger women have a limited risk due to estrogen. Menopause changes all that. Studies show that menopausal women who are inactive have twice the bone mass loss as active women.
Avoid high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and menstrual cramps with strength training.
You’ll lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and improve insulin sensitivity by doing strength training. When your blood sugar is high, your body sends insulin. Insulin signals the cells to open and uptake the sugar. Insulin resistance causes the cells to be less responsive, so the body makes more insulin. Exercise helps burn glycogen stores in the muscles and gives them the capacity to hold more, making cells more receptive. Insulin resistance causes belly fat, food cravings, and weight gain. Improving insulin sensitivity makes weight loss easier and can help reverse type 2 diabetes.
Unless people work hard to stop the process, the body starts losing muscle in the mid-thirties. You lose between 3 to 5% every decade. Lack of strength can cause the inability to do the activities of daily living in senior years and impede independent living.
When you do strength training, you’ll reduce back pain, arthritis pain, and chronic depression. You’ll have more energy and a better attitude. Obesity leads to chronic and terminal illness. Strength training can reverse or prevent it.
Women with menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes, can be helped with strength training. One study found that 15 weeks of training cut the occurrence of hot flashes in half and helped shed menopausal weight gain.
Strength training can help improve the quality of health during pregnancy. It can reduce complications during pregnancy and make delivery easier. Always check with your healthcare professional before starting any exercise program.