Strength training can be pretty intimidating for women who are new to the gym. It can feel awkward and uncomfortable being in a weight room surrounded by men who are grunting and dropping huge weights. You might even feel embarrassed and anxious, thinking everyone’s watching you.
But once you get past the initial awkwardness and make weight lifting a regular part of your workouts, the benefits are incredible. Lifting weights provides advantages that hours of cardio just can’t match.
Sure, looking good in pictures and on social media is nice, but weight lifting is about so much more than that. Alongside eating a healthy diet, incorporating weight lifting into your routine can be a life-changing habit that significantly enhances your quality of life and happiness over the years. While having strong, shapely curves is a plus, the lifelong benefits of weight lifting are even more important. Here are four key reasons why every woman should lift weights beyond just wanting to look good.
First, there’s sarcopenia, which is the natural loss of muscle mass starting around the age of 30. If you’re not doing any form of resistance training, you’ll naturally start to lose muscle. This leads to feeling more tired, experiencing muscle weakness, and having decreased stamina. If you don’t use and challenge your muscles, your body will break them down because they require a lot of energy to maintain. That’s why incorporating strength training into your routine is crucial as you age. The more muscle you build now, the more you’ll have as you grow older.
We all look forward to enjoying retirement with plans to travel, start new hobbies, and spend time with loved ones. To make the most of these years, you’ll want to stay out of retirement homes and hospitals. Staying healthy and living independently requires maintaining healthy muscle mass, which makes everyday tasks easier because you’re stronger. Muscles also help prevent injuries by improving balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls.
Additionally, having more muscle mass contributes to higher bone density, which is especially important for women as they hit menopause. When estrogen levels drop, so does bone density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Strength training slows bone loss and increases bone density by putting stress on your bones, which stimulates the formation of new bone cells.
Social media can make us feel horrible about our bodies with its unrealistic standards and heavily edited images. But strength training can change that. It builds your confidence as you shift your focus from how you look to what you can achieve with your strength. Meeting lifting goals and seeing your progress can boost your self-esteem and positively impact all areas of your life.
Lifting weights teaches you to push through discomfort and keep progressing despite the challenges. This mental strength and resilience aren’t just beneficial in the gym but also in everyday life. Consistently pushing yourself in the weight room builds discipline and a mindset that you can tackle any problem life throws at you.
In short, weight lifting transforms both your body and mind in ways that will improve your overall well-being. Stick with it, and you’ll see these benefits and more, which is why every woman should lift weights.
