Why Women Should Do Strength Training

What exactly is real training?

I'm talking about "real training," but what exactly is that? Sports magazines are full of smiling women on fitness mats holding a 2kg kettlebell or doing side raises with weights on one leg. Unfortunately, if you train this way, you'll never achieve your fitness goals, simply because you're only minimally stimulating small muscle groups. By real training, I mean the systematic application of stimuli to the muscles, forcing them to constantly adapt to the load and thus become stronger.

Common reasons why women prefer to avoid actual training:

- I lose weight faster with cardio;

- I don't want to get a man's body;

- I feel uncomfortable in a weight room because everyone is looking at me.

You can probably sense it coming: in this blog post, I'm going to absolutely debunk all these arguments and ensure you have no reason not to do strength training.

I lose weight faster with cardio

It might seem that way, but in reality, it's not. While cardio can certainly help you lose weight, strength training can help you lose even more in the same amount of time. If you're training to lose weight, I do recommend adding compound exercises to your workout routine. By training multiple, preferably large, muscles simultaneously, you'll get your heart rate up and gain muscle mass. Don't get too worried about a male body (I'll get to that later), believe me, it doesn't happen overnight. When I talk about compound exercises, I'm thinking of exercises like clean and press, burpees, and squats. I also recommend doing "active rest" between exercises. It's a misleading name, because active rest is anything but restful. Active rest can include things like skipping rope, jumping jacks, and high knees. Do your active rest for about 20 to 30 seconds between exercises instead of a proper rest.

Now you might be wondering why this type of training is more effective for weight loss than cardio. This is because with this type of training, you really work your body, which means you use a lot of energy. The rule of thumb is that for every kilogram of muscle you gain, your body burns about 100 extra calories at rest. That's an extra 100 calories your body burns without you having to work at all.

So why does it seem like I lose weight faster with cardio than with strength training? This is because while doing cardio, you use energy, but in some cases, you also burn muscle. This results in a lower weight on the scale and a slimmer feeling.

When you do strength training, you're guaranteed to gain muscle mass. This, as mentioned earlier, is beneficial because it increases your basal metabolic rate (what you burn at rest). However, the downside is that the scale may give an unrealistic picture of your progress. Strength training also allows you to shape your muscles better. Furthermore, a workout consisting of compound exercises alternating with active rest often burns more calories than a cardio workout.

I don't want to get a man's body

The image many women have of strength training is that they'll become immensely muscular, like female bodybuilders from Arnold Schwarzenegger's golden age. Let me start by saying that these female bodybuilders, before becoming so muscular, trained intensively every day for years. Moreover, the results these women achieve are often not solely due to their years of intensive training. Although it's often denied, it's safe to assume that almost all of these female bodybuilders helped their bodies along by using steroids. In short, it's impossible to achieve such a physique overnight. You only achieve such a body by dedicating your entire life to it for years with nutrition, training, and supplements. Even for men, it's a significant challenge to build the muscle mass these female bodybuilders have, even though men naturally have more testosterone (the hormone in steroids).

There are also different strength training methods. For example, you can train for muscle growth with very few repetitions and a lot of weight using maximum strength training, or you can train for greater muscle definition with less weight and more repetitions. This will not give you a large body, but rather a well-defined one.

I feel uncomfortable in a weight room because everyone is looking at me

In a weight room, you can't avoid people watching you. I do it myself. As a personal trainer, half my job is observing. When I'm watching, I check your posture and sometimes offer a tip. But I understand that you might feel uncomfortable in a weight room. Luckily, you've come to GorillaSports.nl, where you can buy all the necessary strength training equipment for your home. This way, you can effectively work on your figure in your own private weight room. You can, of course, make it as big as you like. Just a few kettlebells, dumbbells, and a barbell, and you're ready to go!

Conclusion

I'd like to advise all women who are actively working on their figure (or want to be) to start strength training. I promise you, you won't end up with a bodybuilder's figure! Plus, with Gorilla Sports fitness equipment, you can work out in the comfort of your own home. Think it's a daunting task? Then make it your New Year's resolution for 2016. And trust me, those around you will support you, and chances are you'll even enjoy it!

Success!

Author: Bart Kaats