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FAQs:

What is Strength Training?

Strength training, like resistance training, uses opposing force or load to build strength across your body and increase your muscle mass. Strength training is a method of training that helps you increase your muscular strength and build muscle mass and can use many different types of training. The goal of strength training is to provide a stimulus to the body that requires an adaption response. Strength training for beginners, however, focuses on compound exercises. These are movements that recruit multiple muscle groups until you've built enough strength to isolate muscles and work them to their limit.

What is the Purpose of Strength Training?

Strength training may enhance your quality of life and improve your ability to do everyday activities. Strength training can also protect your joints from injury. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls. This can help you maintain independence as you age.

Why Strength Training for Women is Important?

Weight training not only strengthens muscles but also increases bone density. This reduces the risk of fractures and broken bones. It also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability which, as a result, helps prevent injury. Weight lighting can also increase spinal bone density and create a strong and healthy spine. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women’s best defense against osteoporosis. It can also help with correcting bad posture, and building a strong back and core will also help prevent any lower back pain.

How is Strength Training for Women Different?

Strength training for women is exactly the same as strength training for men. It involves using your own body weight, dumbbells, and other weights or trying resistance band workouts to build muscle mass, strength, and endurance. You can also attend classes like Crossfit or take on a personal trainer at your gym.

A good training program should be well-balanced and focused on strengthening all musculature. You should always be lifting at an effective intensity for growth, progressive overload, and effective recovery, regardless of gender.

Adding resistance to your workouts and slowly increasing this resistance over time – such as by increasing the weight of your dumbbells – is called progressive overload. Other forms of resistance include barbells, kettlebells, and weighted plates. Doing this forces your muscles to adapt and encourages them to grow stronger over time, a process that works for both men and women. 

Although, one difference between men and women when it comes to weight training is that women tend to recover faster than men due to higher estrogen levels. Women can move between their sets quicker while maintaining the same level of intensity. Women may also find that their performance, metabolic rate, and recovery vary throughout their cycle, due to differences in circulating hormones such as estrogen. 

Despite this, there is a huge training gap between men and women. Research from the University of Northern Iowa suggests that only about 20 percent of women do any form of strength training regularly, with body image up there as one of the main barriers, compared to 50 percent of men. 

One worry for women can be not wanting to bulk up too much when weight training. Weight training can be slightly misunderstood in that sense. It's actually really quite difficult to bulk up, as women have much less testosterone than men. It wouldn't really happen unless you trained for that specific purpose and looked at the nutrition side too.

How Many Days a Week Should a Woman Strength Train?

You need to be consistent with your strength training. Two weeks on, and one week off won’t quite cut it – make a plan and stick to it. In general, strength training two to three times a week will see your strength increase by around 10% in as short as a fortnight. After a few consistent months of strength training, you should see an increase of around 20-30% from where you started. But, crucially, this will be different for every individual depending on lifestyle, nutrition, and recovery.’

Does Strength Training Burn Fat?

Yes, strength training can help you lose fat mass. One of the key benefits of resistance exercise is the maintenance and improvement of healthy body fat, through building muscle and losing fat. Resistance exercise can also counter unwanted weight gain and help combat the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

While it may not rack up as many calories burnt on your fitness tracker compared to cardio-based at-home workouts or LISS cardio like running, increasing your muscle mass helps to increase your metabolism and this, in turn, helps you burn more calories in the hours after your strength training workout. 

This is known as the after-burn effect, or more specifically, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). But when it comes to strength training and losing fat, there's something else to bear in mind. Typically when you start exercising, especially if it's for the first time in a while, your hunger hormones will shoot up —leading to the urge to consume more food. 

This is where eating enough protein and the benefits of protein powder come into their own. Studies from the Harvard School of Public Health show that this nutrient, present in almost all of the food we eat to some degree, helps us to feel full and supports the health of growing muscles. To get the most out of your training, aim to consume one gram of protein for each kilogram of your ideal body weight.

Is Strength Training Good for Women’s Health?

Weight training is extremely beneficial for women. The benefits of strength training go far beyond aesthetic/body composition or weight loss (although it helps with that as well). Strength training can also reduce the risk of heart disease and increase bone density.

Does Lifting Weights Make Women Get “Bulky”?

This is a common myth in the fitness world. Lifting weights does not make women bulk up – but it does help them achieve strong, toned muscles. The truth is that bulking is difficult, and building bulky muscles requires extra calories, genetics, and a really intentional and consistent muscle-building routine. Women won’t get bulky from doing workout routines like this one.

What Weight Training is Best for Women?

The best strength training exercises for women are some of the classics: squats, deadlifts, chest presses, and back rows. Compound strength training exercises (or exercises that engage several muscle groups at once) are extremely effective for women looking to build muscle.

What Happens When Women Strength Train?

Resistance training improves strength in key areas like the core, legs, lower back, and upper body. It improves heart health according to the Mayo Clinic, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Exercising regularly can reduce the risk of heart disease in women.

How to Stay Motivated While Strength Training?

Feeling yourself getting stronger is great motivation. But you might go through stages when it is tough to stick to a training schedule. Having a health or exercise professional track your progress can motivate you to keep going. This may also help you to train at your level, so you stay challenged without feeling like it is ‘too hard’. Try mixing up your exercise routine to keep it fun and engaging. For example, you might train in your local park or gym once a week, and train with a friend once a week. When training with a friend, you can motivate each other and share your goals and successes.

Myths of Strength Training For Women

• Strength training will cause women to become big and heavy. The truth is that strength training helps to reduce body fat and increase lean mass. These changes may result in a slight increase in weight since the lean mass is more dense than fat (note: if this disturbs you throw the scale away and look more at yourself in the mirror!). Strength training will result in increased strength, no change or a decrease in the hip and waist perimeters, and a slight increase in the perimeter of the upper body. Only women who are genetically predisposed to hypertrophy and who participate in high-volume and intensity workouts may see substantial increases in the circumference of their limbs.

• Women should use different training methods than men. Women are often encouraged to use machines and to do many repetitions slowly because they are afraid that the use of free weights, manual resistance, explosive movements, or exercises that use their body weight as resistance will cause injury. In fact, there is no evidence suggesting that women are more likely than men to injure themselves during strength training. The most important factors to reduce the risk of injury are based on exercise technique and training individualization.

• Women should avoid high-intensity training or training with high loads. Women are usually encouraged to use smaller weights in their strength training (i.e., light dumbbells) but the problem is that these light loads are substantially below what is required to promote physiological adaptations. Women need to train at intensities high enough to promote adaptations in bones, muscles, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. When the intensity of the exercise is low, that is, when the stimulus is insufficient, the physiological benefits are minimal. To maximize the benefits of strength training, women should train close to their maximum. For women who have had children, imagine that this is what you have to “push” to get the greatest benefits. In short, there is no reason for women to train differently from men with regard to training intensity. If you intend to get different results, you need to leave aerobic classes and pink weights to start lifting real weights.

Equipment to Use for Strength Training

Strength training can involve equipment, but you can also use your own body weight for resistance. Exercises using your body weight include:

- squats

- wall push-ups

- calf raises

- bridges

If you prefer to use equipment, strength-training equipment includes:

- free weights, for example, dumbbells and medicine balls

- resistance bands

- machines, for example, leg press and rowing machines

Machines help you stand or sit in the right position so that you exercise correctly and minimize your chance of injury. Machines are often found in gyms — ask the gym staff for help. Hand weights and resistance bands are inexpensive. You can store them easily. Incorrect use can be dangerous. It is important to learn how to use these properly to avoid injury. Start with light weights or gentle resistance until you improve your technique.

10 Benefits of Strength Training for Women

When you’re weight training, you shouldn’t rely exclusively on the scale to gauge your progress. You can use a body fat tester or a tape measure to track how many inches you’re losing. The size of your body will shrink as you shed fat and build muscle, but your weight may not change as dramatically as you expect. Besides, what’s more important, the number on the scale or how you look in selfies? If you’re still not convinced that you need to lift weights, here are 10 reasons you should reconsider.

1. Burn More Fat

Researchers at Tufts University found that when overweight women lifted heavy weights twice a week, they lost an average of 14.6 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of muscle. The control group, women who dieted but didn’t lift weights, lost only 9.2 pounds of fat and gained no muscle. When you do an intense weight training program, your metabolism stays elevated and you continue to burn fat for several hours after working out. During regular cardio exercise, you stop burning fat shortly after the workout.

2. Change Your Body Shape

You may think your genes determine how you look, but that’s not necessarily true. Weight training can slim you down, create new curves, and help avoid the “middle-age spread.” So, no, you won’t bulk up — women don’t have enough muscle-building hormones to gain a lot of mass as men do. If you keep your diet clean and create a calorie deficit, you’ll burn fat.

3. Boost Your Metabolism

The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle loss. Weight training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you’ll burn all day long.

4. Get Stronger and More Confident

Lifting weights increases functional fitness, which makes everyday tasks such as carrying children, lifting grocery bags, and picking up heavy suitcases much easier. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular weight training can make you 50 percent stronger in six months. Being strong is also empowering! Not only does it improve your physical activities, but it also builds emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.

5. Build Strong Bones

It’s been well-documented that women need to do weight-bearing exercises to build and maintain bone mass. Just as muscles get stronger and bigger with use, so do bones when they’re made to bear weight. Stronger bones and increased muscle mass also lead to better flexibility and balance, which is especially important for women as they age.

6. Improve Mood

You’ve probably heard that cardio and low-impact exercises such as yoga help improve mood; weightlifting has the same effect. The endorphins that are released during aerobic activities are also present during resistance training.

7. Improve Sports Fitness

You don’t have to be an athlete to get the sports benefit of weight training. Improved muscle mass and strength will help you in all physical activities, whether it’s bicycling with the family, swimming, golfing, or skiing… whatever sport you enjoy.

8. Reduce Injuries

Weightlifting improves joint stability and builds stronger ligaments and tendons. Training safely and with proper form can help decrease the likelihood of injuries in your daily life. It can also improve physical function in people with arthritis. A study conducted at the University of Wales in Bangor, United Kingdom, found that mildly disabled participants who lifted weights for 12 weeks increased the frequency and intensity at which they could work, with less pain and increased range of movement.

9. Get Heart Healthy

More than 480,000 women die from cardiovascular disease each year, making it the number one killer of women over the age of 25. Most people don’t realize that pumping iron can also keep your heart pumping. Lifting weights increases your “good” (HDL) cholesterol and decreases your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. It can also lower your blood pressure. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people who do 30 minutes of weightlifting each week have a 23 percent reduced risk of developing heart disease compared to those who don’t lift weights.

10. Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

In addition to keeping your ticker strong, weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) by as much as 23 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 weeks of strength training can improve glucose metabolism in a way that is comparable to taking medication. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood.

How to Start Strength Training in a Safe Way

Follow these steps to starting a strength-training regime in a safe way:

1. Get a health check: before you start strength training, it is important to get checked by a health professional.

2. Movement screening: a qualified exercise professional, such as a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist, can give you a ‘movement screen’. This will determine what exercises are safe for you to do based on your body’s abilities.

3. Find a safe space to work out: before you begin, check that you have enough floor space to exercise and for any equipment you are using. Ensure that the floor you are working out on is slip resistant and free of items you could trip on.

4. Set your exercise goals: build up your muscles slowly by setting realistic goals that motivate you to do a little better each time you train. A good session should include strength training for different muscle groups.

How to Avoid Injury While Strength Training

The best way to avoid injury is to learn the correct technique, also called form, for each type of strength-building exercise. If you are using strength training to recover from illness or an existing injury, talk to your doctor, physiotherapist, or exercise physiologist. They can advise you on the best way to avoid injury and the exercises that will best help you to recover.

Common injuries associated with strength training include lower back, wrist, elbow, groin, and rotator cuff injuries.

The Lower back strain occurs in the muscles around your spine. This can happen when you use weights that are too heavy, or with the wrong posture — for example, when performing squats or lifting weights. Avoid this strain by getting your form right before you add weights to your workout.

Wrist strain can occur when the wrist is under excess pressure — for example, during push-ups or when lifting a barbell in front of your body while squatting. Reduce the pressure and avoid injury by using light hand weights.

Elbow pain happens when you lift heavy weights and repeat the same movement each time you exercise. Choose lighter weights, mix up your moves, and keep your wrists in a neutral position while lifting weights.

Groin pulls tend to occur during strength exercises such as lunges and squats, which engage your inner thighs. Reduce your chances of groin pulls by doing a full warm-up before your workout, including stretching your inner thighs.

Rotator cuff injuries can occur when an exercise involves lots of shoulder movement. To avoid injury, choose the right weights for your strength level, exercise regularly, and gradually build up your strength. Maintain good posture while you exercise.

Tips for Getting Started in Strength Training

If you’ve never tried strength training before, walking into a weight room can be intimidating. You can also injure yourself if you aren’t sure of the proper form. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

1. Hire a trainer — While trainers can be pricey, working with a trainer (even just a few times) can help you understand proper form, improve the muscle-mind connection and learn how to structure a workout properly. This will give you the confidence to continue working out on your own, knowing that your workouts are safe and effective.

2. Get a workout buddy — If the gym feels intimidating at first, bring a friend, which can make exercise more fun and less scary. A buddy can also hold you accountable for your fitness goals.

3. Start slow — A new workout plan is exciting, but don’t get carried away. Strength training places stress on the muscles and joints. Over-training can cause fatigue, injury, or lack of interest over time. Start with two strength training workouts per week and increase as you feel comfortable.

4. Adjust nutrition — Food fuels the body to perform and recover both in and out of the gym. You may need to adjust your nutrition to support your workouts. Talk to a registered dietitian to learn more.

When to Expect Results from Strength Training

You don't need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions a week. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

1. Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits.

2. Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

3. As you incorporate strength training exercises into your fitness routine, you may notice an improvement in your strength over time. As your muscle mass increases, you'll likely be able to lift weight more easily and for longer periods of time. If you keep it up, you can continue to increase your strength, even if you're not in shape when you begin.

How to Find a Qualified Personal Trainer

One of the best ways to find a personal trainer is by word of mouth. Try talking to people in your circle of friends or with common interests to see if they train with anyone whom they’d recommend. Most fitness industry organizations (like the National Academy of Sports Medicine or the American Council on Exercise) also have a search feature on their website that helps you locate a personal trainer.

Finally, calling around to your local fitness facilities can also aid in your search. Many locations offer a free initial consultation that can help ensure the person you are working with is the right fit for you.

In order to ensure your trainer is a good fit, make sure they are:

1. Available during the hours you’d like to exercise

2. Qualified and experienced in training individuals with similar goals

3. Responsive to your questions or input

4. Affordable

5. A good communicator

6. Motivating

Sources:

Women’s Health

BODi

Integris Health

Woman & Home

Women’s Health

NML

Mayo Clinic

BH Live Active

The Strength Clinic

Health Direct

Very Well Health

The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 (in the United States) immediately.