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STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN: Breaking the Shackles

Certain beliefs are passed on through generations and are deeply rooted within us. Many of them are not true in today’s world and we still find ourselves shackled to it.

 A common MYTH which I too believed in my early days was that; Strength training is for Men who want to develop a muscular figure and Women should stick to cardio workouts to lose weight. If you don’t believe me just walk into a normal gym and the common sight you would come across will be that the strength / weight training area will be crowded with Men on machines and the cardio section will have women sweating it out on the treadmills. No doubt, now the scenarios are changing for good.

My journey in the fitness industry has changed my perceptions and I want to encourage every woman out there holding themselves back from strength training and living in the comfort of Cardio workouts. Yes! LADIES “It is time to BREAK THE SHACKELS”

CARDIOVASCULOR EXCERCIES are essential components of any workouts. Simply put, you engage your body in a rhythmic activity that raises your heart rate to such a zone where you start burning your body fats and calories. The most common cardio exercises we usually indulge are jogging, swimming, and brisk walking, cycling, dancing etc.

On the other hand, STRENGHT / WEIGHT / RESISTANCE TRAINING is a type of workout which trains the muscles to increase their strength and anaerobic endurance by including muscular contraction with use of free weights, machine weights and our own body weight.

We often see Woman body builders and assume weight / strength training will lead to a Masculine figure. All those muscles you see have been developed by years of intense gym training with strict diet and supplement regime.

The same strength workout can affect differently on a male and a female. Men will tend to build bigger muscle than women because of the higher presence of the hormone TESTOSTERONE in men. So it’s highly unlikely that women will develop bulky muscles like men with normal strength training.

Before we move to the next part, I would like to acquaint you all with 2 commonly used words.

1.           Metabolism: All chemical reactions involved in the process of maintaining the living state of cells.

2.           Basal Metabolism Rate (BMR): The rate at which the body burns its energy at the state of rest for continuing the vital functions of the body and survival of its cells.

Cardio exercises are no doubt a fat burner but I would say it’s just not enough for losing weight and toning up the body. Strength exercises have much more benefits like improved hormones, metabolism, and muscle strength and muscle endurance.

When you do strength training the muscles gets stretched, contracted, worn and torn and move out of their comfort zone. This calls for the body’s need to repair the muscles back and there comes the metabolism and BMR into play. The body starts burning its energy for the repair and new formation of the muscle cells hence the BMR goes up for close to 48 hrs compared to that of 20 mins in post cardio workout.

When metabolism goes up, body heat increases, the endocrine system starts working in a balanced state and the hormone production of the body smoothens. Weight training plays a vital role in the regulation of stress hormone like Cortisol and Adrenaline. These hormones regulate various functions in our body right from blood sugar, blood pressure to memory.

So let’s get the facts straight;

•             Women do not have the hormones to develop large muscles like men so don’t be afraid you won’t look masculine.

•             Weight training will help you increase leaner muscles.

•             Studies have proved that strength training will boost metabolism for up to 48 hrs post exercise which is almost the double of what a cardio session would do to you.

•             Calorie burned during strength training session is less than the calories burned in cardio session but it’s the after burn which makes strength training more effective method to lose weight.

BENEFITS OF STRENGHT TRAINING:

•             It makes your muscles, bones, ligaments stronger, improves posture, strengthens joints, and reduces cardio vascular diseases.

•             You become almost 25% stronger with regular strength training.

•             It will increase your physical performance with greater stamina and body strength, which will help you to easily manage your daily activities.

•             It gives you proper toning and makes you look more attractive with no loose skin and flabs.

•             Increases the production of dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin which are the mood elevating hormones for our body thus fighting over depression.

•             Reduces Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) - now that’s great news!!

•             Can be used as rehabilitation for those with osteoporosis, arthritis and other joint related weaknesses.

•             If you are overweight or obese, strength training is a better option to start with, as cardio may hurt your knees and may take a toll on your lungs whereas strength training will slowly increase your stamina, increase strength, regularize your breathing and then you can go to your cardio exercises.

To sum it up, I do not look down to CARDIO but I insist, please do not run away from strength training. A perfect mix of cardio and strength workouts should be aimed for long term fitness benefits. Being an athlete by nature, I love my long runs and elliptical but my fitness journey has made me realize that it’s the strength training that did a magic on me. It’s not only about weight loss but it’s about seeing your body become stronger, agile and changing for good.