How do you keep fit? Perhaps you enjoy running or join a weekly yoga class. Whatever you’re doing, I predict that many of you aren’t at the gym lifting weights
Unfortunately, weight training has a gender stereotype attached. It’s for men, right? The only weight training women should do is with a 1kg dumbbell – they certainly shouldn’t be dead-lifting, shoulder pressing or curling heavy weights. Wrong. Today we’ll tell you why weight training is essential for women and how exercise doesn’t have a gender.
The beauty of weight training isn’t about expanding and bulking up. Quite the opposite in fact, weight training is one of the best tools to aid weight loss. After training with weights, your body needs more oxygen. When your body uses more oxygen, it requires more caloric expenditure. So, in a nutshell, the more weight training you do, the more calories you’ll burn post-exercise (even when you’re sat on your bum watching the telly) – and we like the sound of that!
It’s true that cardio can shift as much weight as strength training. But it’s what you lose that counts. I think we can all agree, if you are strength training then you’re definitely building muscle. So what are you losing? You’re losing fat. However, during cardio your body loses both fat and muscle – which might look great on the scales but it doesn’t make you look much better in the mirror.
If you are anything like me, you can get bored easily. The best part of weight training in comparison to cardio is that it isn’t boring. It doesn’t require you to just run on a treadmill for an hour. If your exercise regime isn’t keeping you engaged, chances are you will talk yourself out of it. If you’ve never tried weights, it’s a fantastic way to get you excited about your fitness again (and if you ask me, I’ve never been in a boring weights session yet).
Our fitness instructor Julie says,
As you get stronger and more toned, you begin to feel better both in your clothes and out of them! You become much more aware of how your body functions and this carries over into everyday life… No more struggling to carry all those shopping bags. You learn to hold yourself better and work your core muscles constantly, therefore instantly improving your posture.
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