Lose Weight by Lifting Weights

Why women should add strength training to their workout routine

Mar 19, 2009

Women are missing out on their weight loss potential by not strength training. But adding some weights to your exercise routine is just what you need to get in shape.

Only 21 percent of women strength train two or more times a week, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. But the weight room is actually the ultimate fat fighter.

You Will Drop a Dress Size

The average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat, according to studies by Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts.

In just 10 weeks, that means you can reduce your overall body fat by about 3 percentage points, even if you don't cut a calorie. That means as many as three inches off your waist and hips.

Increase Your Metabolism

Although cardiovascular exercise burns more calories than strength training does while you're in the gym, lifting weights burns more once you leave. That's because strength training increases your body's lean muscle. And the more you have, the more calories you burn all day long.

Women who complete an hour-long strength-training workout burn an average of 100 more calories in the 24 hours afterward than they do when they don't lift weights, according to a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

You Won't Bulk Up

Unlike men, women typically don't gain size from strength training because women have 10 to 30 times fewer hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy than men.

You Decrease Your Risk Of Osteoporosis

Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density by 13 percent in six months.

Strength training builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability, helping to prevent injury.

A recent 12-year study showed that strengthening the lower back muscles had an 80 percent success rate in alleviating lower back pain. Other studies have indicated that weight training can strengthen joints.

You Will Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, increasing HDL (good) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.

Studies suggest that weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes.

You Will Be Happier

10 weeks of strength training reduce clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling does, according to a Harvard study. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more confident as a result of their program, which in turn fights depression.

The copyright of the article Lose Weight by Lifting Weights in Women’s Health is owned by K. Aleisha Fetters. Permission to republish Lose Weight by Lifting Weights in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.