Strength training is a vital component of any active woman's fitness plan. According to Dr. Michael Pollock's research on resistance training for health, strength training helps to develop strong bones, control weight, reduce injuries, increase stamina, and sharpen mental focus. In addition to its many other benefits, strength training, when combined with proper diet and rest, promotes lean muscle growth in women.
Strength Training
Strength training uses body weight, resistance bands, free weights and weight machines to build and strengthen muscle. According to Dr. Edward Laskowski, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic; and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, strength training using the proper weight or amount of resistance builds and tones muscle. Effective strength training exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, dumbbell exercises, and resistance machines.
To add muscle mass, women need to lift heavier weights. Select weights that allow you to complete the exercise with proper form and exhausts the muscle after six to eight repetitions. Beginners starting with one set of six to eight repetitions can increase the amount of weight, repetitions, and sets after a few weeks of strength training. After several months of training, using heavier weight and lower repetitions, most women will experience a 20 to 40 percent increase in muscular strength, says the American Council on Exercise, or ACE.
Diet
Muscle burns more calories than fat. As you replace body fat with lean muscle mass, your body uses more calories. Women adding muscle mass while strength training need to consume more calories than they typically would eat. While the amount of extra calories differs for each person, depending on current weight and metabolism, eating more results in muscle growth, says the ACE. An effective strength training diet includes a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. When building muscle, your protein consumption needs to increase to .8 gram to 1 gram per pound of body weight per day. For a 120 pound woman, that is between 96 and 120 grams of protein per day. Healthy sources of protein to include in your diet are skinless chicken breast, eggs, and fat-free milk. Consuming calories over six small meals, rather than the traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner, provides your body with a steady supply of energy to fuel muscle growth.
Stretching
Strength training causes your muscles to contract and become less flexible. Stretching before, during, and after exercise keeps your muscles flexible and reduces the risk of injury. In addition to maintaining flexibility and reducing risk of injury, stretching improves your blood's circulation to the muscles, which can speed muscle recovery and growth.
Workout Frequency
Effective strength training requires exercising all of your major muscle groups. The frequency of strength training workouts is your decision. Workouts can include all major muscle groups in one workout three to four times a week, or working a particular muscle group each day. Whatever workout frequency you select, avoid exercising the same muscle groups on consecutive days. Muscles grow when properly rested. Providing at least 48 hours for recovery allows your muscles to grow most efficiently.
Factors Influencing Muscle Growth
Testosterone, genetics, and body type all affect how your body responds to strength training. Women, on the average, have one-tenth the testosterone, the hormone attributed to muscle growth, of men. Genetics often predetermine how a woman's body responds to exercise, the type of muscle fibers found in the body, and the ratio of testosterone to estrogen, ACE says. Genetics also determine a woman's body type. Women fall into three categories of body type: mesomorph, or muscular; ectomorph, or slim and light; and endomorph, or a rounder, thicker body. According to the American Council on Exercise, women with a mesomorphic body type respond faster to strength training. Ectomorphs benefit from strength training, but most likely will see significant strength increases accompanied by slow muscle growth. Endomorphs add muscle mass during strength training and often need to reduce body fat to notice added muscle.
References
- Resitance.pdf
- MayoClinic.com: Strength training: Get stronger, leaner, healthier
- American Council on Exercise: How Women Build Muscle -- Strength and Resistance Training
- American Council on Exercise: Putting on the Pounds -- Weight Management - Fit Facts
- American Dietetic Association: Strength Building and Muscle Mass -- Nutrition for Life
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