Strength training was once thought of as a "manly" activity and was avoided by most women, especially those wanting to lose weight. Common misconceptions about strength training made many women wary of setting foot in a weight room. Strength training can enhance your weight-loss endeavors, tone your muscles and help improve your overall health and well-being.
Strength Training Misconceptions
Despite concerns to the contrary, regular strength training is unlikely to make your muscles big and bulky. Men produce significant amounts of the muscle-building hormone testosterone whereas women, as cited by Sandra R. Grabowski & Gerald J. Tortora in their book "Principles of Anatomy & Physiology," produce around one tenth as much. This means that women are very unlikely to develop big masculine muscles. A well-designed strength-training program will enhance a woman's figure and should focus on your legs, butt, upper back, core and arms.
Strength Training Benefits
In addition to improving your strength, working out with weights has a number of other benefits to offer. Strength training will make your bones, as well as your muscles, stronger. Your bones become more dense and stronger when exposed to weight bearing exercises. The denser your bones, the less likely you are to develop osteoporosis--a condition where bones become weakened and more prone to fracture. Strength training can also improve your posture by strengthening the muscles between your shoulder blades-your mid trapezius and rhomboids. Breast weight can cause you to develop a rounded upper back and strengthening your upper back muscles can help prevent this.
Strength Training and Weight Loss
In addition to burning calories as you work out, strength training can also keep your metabolism elevated 24/7. Muscle is biologically active tissue--that is to say it needs energy to sustain it. Adding a small amount of muscle to your frame through regular strength training will elevate your metabolic rate even when you are at rest. The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you will burn on a daily basis and the more you can eat or, if you restrict the amount you eat, the more weight you will lose. According to fitness authors Caroline Sandry and John Shepherd in their book"Tailor-Made Training for Female Body Shapes, " one kilogram of muscle-around 2.2 pounds, will require an extra 77 calories a day to sustain it.
Whole Body Workouts for Weight Loss
Many men who regularly workout with weights use a split-training program. Split programs involve training different muscles on different days and are a method commonly used by bodybuilders who work out specifically to develop larger muscles. Split routines are effective in bodybuilding but, because of the stop/go style of training employed in a split routine, are not ideal for weight management. For weight management, regular whole body workouts are far more effective.
Strength Training Methods for Weight Loss
To make strength training more weight-loss orientated, try performing your regular workout as a circuit. Instead of performing multiple sets of an exercise and resting between sets, move through your workout by performing one set of each exercise in turn and only resting when you have completed all of your exercises. After a brief pause, work through your program again performing as many laps as desired. In addition to toning your muscles and burning plenty of calories, circuit weight training will also enhance your aerobic fitness.
References
- "Tailor-Made Training for Female Body Shapes "; Caroline Sandry and John Shepherd; 2009
- "Principles of Anatomy & Physiology, Ninth Edition"; Sandra R. Grabowski & Gerald J. Tortora; 2000
- "Designing Resistance Training Programs"; Steven Fleck and William Kraemer; 2003
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