10 benefits of weight training for women

I have often overheard women speak about why they feel they can’t engage in weight training. There are one or two misconceptions that do the rounds about the topic so I often hijack the conversations and use it as a platform to educate.

One of the most common misconceptions is it “will make me look like a bulky body builder”. The truth of the matter is, body builders train a certain way, follow a certain diet and consume certain supplements to help them achieve their look.

In order to bulk up and essentially gain weight or increase your body size, you would have to start off by increasing your food intake substantially. Body builders eat a lot in order to feed their muscles. Secondly, body builders train a certain way.

When it comes to weight training there are three methods, based on what you want to achieve:

• To increase strength, choose a heavy weight you can lift five to eight times.
• To increase muscle size (bulk up), choose a relatively heavy weight that you can lift 12 to 15 times.
• To increase muscle endurance, the weight would need to be a lot more bearable so it can be lifted more than 15 times.

Picture: iStock

So, if you don’t want to bulk up, then opt for increasing strength or endurance.

Thirdly, men easily bulk up because their bodies naturally produce a high amount of the muscle-building hormone, testosterone. Women typically have low levels and for that reason women body builders resort to supplementing with testosterone.

It is important to understand that weight training can be done in a variety of ways:

• Using free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and sand bags
• Using machines, for instance, leg press, shoulder press, leg curl, calf raise machines
• Using your body

I have always said the body is the best weight one has because you carry it with you every day. It can be utilised as a weight by doing functional exercises, such as burpees, push ups, jump squats, lunges, sit ups etc.

Picture: iStock

Ten benefits of weight training for women:

1. It burns more calories and therefore helps to burn fat.

2. It increases your metabolism.

3. It builds muscle (but not too much).

4. It strengthens muscles.

5. It defines and tones muscles.

6. It strengthens bones, therefore improving bone mass.

7. It decreases the risk of osteoporosis.

8. It increases bone density and therefore reduces the risk of fractures and broken bones.

9. It strengthens joints, ligaments and tissues, therefore reducing the incidence of injuries.

10. It enhances your mood and therefore reduces stress!

This is because exercise in general releases endorphins that reduce stress and anxiety.

Picture: iStock

Start off by incorporating two 30 minute sessions of strength training a week into your current training programme and take it from there. If you have a gym membership and are unsure of what exercises to do, you can start of by joining a group training class that uses weights or engage a personal trainer for a few sessions.

Alternatively, if you are confident in your abilities, you can look up some exercises or programmes online and use them in the gym. The easiest is to start off with a full-body workout routine.

If you don’t have a gym membership and train at home, do not despair. There are home strength-training exercises that don’t require equipment and can be done anywhere.

Push ups, squats, lunges, mountain climbers and burpees are a few of them. You can look up more on the internet and go on to YouTube for demonstrations on how to perform them correctly.

Hopefully after reading this, women who never considered weight training will give it a try.

Zulu is a qualified biokineticist and cofounder of PopUpGym. Follow her on Instagram: @letshego. zulu Twitter: @letshegom. Facebook: Letshego Zulu

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