Whether you’re looking to start your strength training journey or seeking to enhance your fitness routine, discover how lifting weights can transform your body, boost your confidence and improve overall wellness.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding around weight training for women. Many women are concerned lifting weights will cause them to ‘bulk up,’ gain weight or get bigger,” says Lynsey Booker, exercise physiologist at OhioHealth. “Lifting heavy weights for fewer reps creates more intensity, which builds lean muscle and improves your bone density.”
The benefits of strength training for women
In addition to increasing your overall strength, decreasing body fat, building lean muscle mass and providing a full-body workout, strength training offers additional benefits for your overall health and well-being.
Bone health
As women age, our risk of osteoporosis goes up. This is especially true after menopause, when estrogen levels go down. Lynsey says that research shows weight-bearing exercises to be a natural booster of bone-building estrogen.
Increased metabolism
Increased muscle mass helps you burn more calories throughout the day and maintain a healthy weight. That’s because when you build muscle, it boosts your body’s metabolic rate and changes your body composition.
Mind-body connection
In addition to the release of feel-good hormones that comes with any form of exercise, Lynsey explains that strength training increases your mind-body connection, improves cognition and reduces anxiety and stress by teaching your body how to cope with it.
“One of the benefits of strength training that I really appreciate is the boost in confidence from increased distress intolerance,” says Lynsey. “I have learned that lifting something I never thought I could or completing a workout despite my fatigue builds my confidence to have the difficult conversation I’ve been putting off or thought I couldn’t handle.”
Considerations before you begin
Before beginning any exercise or strength training program, it’s important to discuss your plans and goals with your healthcare provider. A crucial part of any healthy fitness routine is drinking plenty of water and eating healthy, whole foods as much as possible. Lynsey says that even if you are trying to shed a few pounds, you shouldn’t skip meals since they provide the fuel for your workouts.
It’s common for it to feel tougher to get to the gym during the week of your menstrual cycle. Because your body is going through a lot during your period, Lynsey says it’s important to honor how you feel and what you can accomplish.
“I generally recommend women pull back on the intensity of their weightlifting routines during the week of their cycle to avoid injury and over-stressing their body,” she says. “Higher intensity workouts can be a good idea in the weeks leading up to your cycle.”
When it comes to lifting weights, proper form is important for injury prevention. A proper warm-up will help get your body primed for movement. Bodyweight squats are a great place to start. In addition, Lynsey says you should prioritize the quality of your repetitions and your form over the number of repetitions you complete.
“Ego lifting is a recipe for injury, as is poor form. Don’t push past your comfort levels until you have a solid understanding of weightlifting form,” says Lynsey. “It’s better to be strategic about adding challenges gradually.”
Techniques to build strength
For women just beginning a strength training program, Lynsey recommends using movement patterns that mimic your everyday body mechanics. Keeping it simple at the start is important until your body adapts to new stressors. Lynsey explains that these movement patterns provide “compound exercises,” which means they require multiple muscle groups to complete.
Suggested movements include:
- Squat
- Lunge/single-leg movement
- Push
- Pull
- Bend
- Core
For women who have conquered the basic mechanics of weightlifting, Lynsey says that mixing in tempo work can be a fun way to mix up your routine and increase your mind-muscle connection. An example of a tempo squat is to take three seconds moving down into your squat, pause at the bottom then pop back up. Because this movement pattern increases the time your muscles are under tension, it’s a good way to increase the intensity of the workout without adding additional weight.
Variety keeps it fresh
Variety can make your workouts more interesting and fun, as well as challenge your body in new ways. Strength training two or three times a week and getting 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise five days a week is a good general guideline. Lynsey adds that if you’re strength training correctly, it can serve as cardiovascular exercise. It’s also okay to break up your workout throughout the day.
“Not everyone has the time to spend hours at the gym every day. If you can find ways to break the cardio up throughout the day, it can have similar metabolic benefits,” says Lynsey. “It is important to stay active throughout the day when you can, even if that simply means parking your car farther away or walking for 10 minutes after lunch. It all adds up.”
