Women today are realizing the profound benefits of strength training in their workout routines.  The myth in the world of health and fitness of  women “bulking up” with weight training is being put to rest at last.  The truth is that by strength training, women will reap more benefits than they possibly could imagine. 

In the past, women relied on cardiovascular activity and a low calorie diet to change their physical appearance. Unfortunately, low calorie diets merely punish the soul and plummet the metabolism.  And without consistent strength training in your program, change in your physique will be an impossible goal.  Also, with out strengthening your muscle tissue, ligaments, and tendons through strength training, all that cardio can lead to injury. We now know that strength training is absolutely essential if we wish to create visual changes in our bodies, and we've discovered that the benefits of strength training extend far beyond the visual.

As work is performed against resistance in a strength training program, muscle mass and muscle tone is improved.  This newly formed muscle tissue is functional, meaning it does work and therefore requires energy to do what it does, i.e calories.  As opposed to body fat, or what is known as adipose tissue, which is energy.  As long as you are on a good nutritional diet, this new muscle tissue will draw the energy it needs from that body fat, and will require more calories.  That means that your metabolism begins to go up, way up.  Your BMR (basal metabolic rate- the number of calories it takes to run your body in a day w/o exercise) goes up, and your body composition will begin to change.  Your body fat percentage goes down, which comes with all kinds of benefits, including having a leaner body with the capability to live an active life with a reduced risk of injury.  This is all equally true in both women and men.  Sometimes the difference lies in how the training is implemented.  Heavier resistance and fewer repetitions lead to larger muscle fibers and what is known as hypertrophy.  While lighter resistance and more repetitions still garner the benefit of improved muscle tone and muscle mass, making you a leaner, stronger, sleeker version of you.  The problem is that some women take this notion to the extreme and do exercises with far too light a weight and far more reps than is necessary.  If you don not use heavy enough resistance than your muscle tissue will have no reason to improve, and you will not gain the myriad benefits of weight training.  You should use a weight that is challenging for 15-25 reps, without losing form in any way.  Your form and technique is far more important than the weight or the reps.  If your form falls apart at 8-10 reps, than it is too heavy.  If you have not already, seek the advice of a fitness professional to ensure that you are doing things correctly, and always using correct technique, tempo, resistance, and rest periods.

Middle-aged women can gain particular benefit from strength training.  When you work against resistance in a strength-training program, you are also putting that resistance on your bone structure.  This not only reduces risk of osteoporosis in younger women by maintaining bone density, but studies have shown that bone density actually increases in older women who have exhibited signs of bone density loss.  As mentioned earlier, strength training not only improves the quality of muscle tissue, but it also increases the strength of connective tissue, reducing the risk of injury. 

The women in this study were all post menopausal, and some of their ages were in the 50's and 60's. They made some remarkable changes in their lives as they got stronger. One woman described going rollerblading with her children. Another went canoeing with her husband.  Strength training gave these women back a youthfulness that they thought they would never see again.

As a woman, you should not fear weight training, but instead embrace it with vigor.  Incorporating strength training into your workout routine will bring benefits of lower body fat %, higher metabolism, improved muscle tone, reduced risk of osteoporosis, reduced risk of breast cancer, reduced blood pressure and cholesterol, reduced risk of injury, not to mention an improved self confidence to move about and live an active life, and the list goes on.  Again, for the safest, most effective program, you should seek the advice of a certified fitness professional.

Feel free to write if you have any questions.