Hit the weights women

A gym is separated into two very distinct areas – the cardio area and the weights area. This also appears to separate the sexes too – the cardio area is always swarming with women and the weights section is always full of men. Day in, day out, I see the same women walking into the gym, they head straight to a cardio machine, sweat profusely on it for half an hour, maybe do a few crunches, then leave. Sound familiar? And day by day these women’s body shapes do not change…at all. Not surprising really.

Weight training is an incredibly important part of any training program. Its benefits extend to many aspects of health including increasing lean body mass and bone density, improved body composition, strength, biomechanical health, hormonal effects, psychological effects, cardiac health benefits…and let’s not forget the pure satisfaction of a toned and shapely body.

On initial introduction with most of my female clients I need to spend time to explain these benefits as it seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to associate weights with a huge body building physique (which hasn’t been helped by recent pictures of Jodie Marsh!). This leaves most people running away from me as I approach them with a set of dumbbells! But I cannot stress enough how important weight training is for anyone seeking health and aesthetic benefits. Women who train naturally have a very limited potential to develop a large increase of muscle bulk. Body composition will certainly change with increases in muscle mass with a corresponding reduction in fat mass and overall girth reduction…and who doesn’t want that?

 A paper published in the NSCA Journal showed the results of multiple studies that clearly highlighted that weight training in women causes “a reduction in fat weight, an increase in lean weight and either no change or only a slight increase in total body weight. All demonstrated significant increases in strength and in most cases these changes were associated with no change or a decrease in lower body girths and only minimal increases in upper-body limb girth.”

Weight training also has the potential to improve your life expectancy….what more do you need to know really! Based on almost a decade of research, professors at Tuffs University have reported that the top two markers to predict life expectancy were muscle mass and strength.

And on a vanity note – for every 1lb of muscle you gain, you will burn around 50 extra calories a day!

So, the take home message here ladies is get in that weights area, get strong and get lean!

For more advice or to book a training session with me to learn how to incorporate weight training into your routine please call or email using the contact info on the other page. J