Strength Training for Women
“Age is nothing but a number”When women decide to shed some pounds and become more fit, they are usually advised to make healthier dietary choices and to exercise.
Common wisdom has it that a program of aerobic exercise is the best way to lose weight, because you will burn more calories during your aerobic session.
What many women do not realize is how incorporating strength training…weight lifting….into their fitness regime will help their bodies to burn more calories all the time, even while sleeping!
Firm, dense muscles burn more calories no matter what you are doing. This is one of the reasons why men can lose weight faster that women. They have more muscle mass and so burn more calories, whether active or at rest.
And firm, dense muscles take up less space. Forget about your scale! When you incorporate weight training into your workouts you may not lose any weight, or you could even gain weight because muscle weighs more than fat….but your measurements will be shrinking!
Weight training helps prevent osteoporosis, too. As you weight train, your bones become stronger because they get a workout along with your muscles.
And it is NEVER too late to begin strength training.
Ernestine Shepherd is one of the world’s oldest competitive female body builders. But she wasn’t always the ripped woman we see today. She didn’t begin weight training until she was a grandmother.
When she was in her middle 50’s she experienced a situation many women can relate to. She went shopping for a new bathing suit and did not like what she saw in the mirror in the changing room. She decided to do something about it!
She still trains every day, and leads fitness classes in her home city of Baltimore.
She is a world class role model for us all!
Weight training, combined with regular cardio workouts and a sensible diet will put any woman on the fast track to fitness.
And don’t worry about becoming muscle-bound. Women body builders work very, very hard to achieve their ripped look.
However, regular weight training will firm up your muscles so they take up less space thus making you smaller and will also speed up your metabolism so you burn more calories at all times no matter what you are doing.
Stephanie Kelley
