Why All Women Need To Incorporate Weights Into Their Workouts
When a woman wants to lose weight, the internet or even fitness magazines sometimes advise them to take a particular diet pill or an appetite suppressant or to drink a homemade concoction that will help with weight loss. When it comes to the exercise accompanying the pills or drinks, it’s usually just a lot of cardio. Cycling, running, dance fitness, and even HIIT (high-intensity interval training) are all excellent forms of cardio and are great for keeping your heart strong. However, there is one type of fitness that women don’t talk enough about and don’t engage enough in – strength training.
Strength training often brings the image of intimidating muscular men with abs of steel and biceps that look like they’ve been sculpted from rock. Well, it’s time to learn about exactly what strength training can do for women, too – and no, it isn’t going to make you look like a bodybuilder!
A woman’s body is not designed to build muscle the same way a man’s is. Even if a woman performs the exact same exercises as another man at the very same time, she wouldn’t see the same results in her body as the man would. It all boils down to hormones (we’re looking at you, testosterone!) and physiology.
Strength training has so much to offer both in, as well as out of, the gym. You would be surprised at how much you come to learn about yourself simply by lifting up heavy weights and putting them back down again! And yes, it is that simple!
It Won’t Be Easy… At First
It is important to know that before you start anything new, there is a very good chance that you will not be good at it. This is normal, and this is no reason not to continue pursuing the activity or hobby at hand. With resistance training, you won’t be able to walk into the gym and suddenly be able to lift the 300lb deadweight! New things take time, and learning the proper technique takes time, too. Invest in the time to learn the right form, and you will soon be reaping the benefits like the pros!
You Will Learn To Be Confident and to Push Yourself
When you pick up weights a couple of times a week and grow strong in muscle and in your core, a wonderful thing happens – you grow strong in your confidence as well, and you feel you are more powerful than who you were. It is normal to feel afraid, nervous, or even intimidated by those who are regulars when you are just starting out, but if you pull through, the rewards are grand! One day, when you are lifting the weights you never dreamed of being able to move, you will feel an immense sense of conquering the world – and it won’t matter whether you have the six-pack or not!
You Will See Results in All Aspects of Your Life
Strength or resistance training requires a different mindset from that of cardio. It requires you to be consistent, focused, and determined. These are excellent qualities to exercise and will be of great benefit to your mental health. This type of training is also about patience and discipline. Developing an attitude like this will help you go further in achieving the goals you have in other aspects of your life. This will teach you never to underestimate yourself and the rewards you can receive by pushing yourself that little bit more, every time.
You Will Learn to Love Yourself
This is perhaps the ultimate reward. For women especially, self-love and appreciating the body that you have can be a challenge. Women feel pressured in so many ways to look a certain way or to have a certain body that it can be draining. But with resistance training, you begin to view your body in a new light. It won’t matter that you don’t have a washboard tummy or that you don’t sport a tiny waist. It won’t even matter if you have love handles! Because with enough practice, you will be strong and confident to your core and you will carry yourself better. A confident woman who carries herself well is far more attractive than even a supermodel who doesn’t show her strength, either inside or out.
If you want to start strength-training, head on to your local gym and ask for assistance if you have no clue how and where to start. Don’t feel embarrassed! At least, you’re trying, right?