Women tend to avoid weight training out of fear that they will become too bulky or look masculine. The women on our team at HomeGrown Lifting assure you that’s not how it works. Lifting weights benefits everyone, including ladies, and we have some tips to get you started.
Benefits of Strength Training for Women
- You will burn more calories at rest. Since more energy is needed to maintain muscle than fat, this will help you meet your goal of losing or maintaining weight.
- The sooner you begin building muscle, the less you’ll lose as you age. Several studies have shown that women lose as much as 22% of their muscle mass between the ages of 30-70. Over time, that void can be filled with fat which takes up 18% more space than lean muscle. You can prevent your pant size from going up with consistent lifting sessions.
- Even if you’re not at high risk for osteoporosis, you can help defend yourself against this disease by lifting weights. When you lift, your engaged muscles pull on tendons which pull on your bones. This added stress increases your bone strength.
- Want to keep your heart and brain working at maximum capacity? Yep, weightlifting is the answer to that, too. Muscle contraction forces more blood to the heart, which then recirculates oxygenated blood to the muscles, allowing them to continue exerting effort. Research has also shown that combining mental stimulation with strength training can help protect brain function in older adults
Getting Started
No one wants to embark blindly on a new fitness journey, and those who do are more likely to be injured. One of the essential tips is never to skip your warm-up. Cold muscles are more easily injured than warm muscles; getting injured isn’t fun. Not only will you slow down your exercise routine, but it could cause pain outside of exercise or incur a visit to the doctor.
We encourage you to stick with basic exercises when you’re starting. Proper form is essential for any physical training; you’re more likely to recall that information when performing a few foundational exercises instead of many complex ones.
Setting motivating yet achievable goals will help you to maintain your commitment even if you do not see results as quickly as you would like. Pushing your limits is the only way you will grow in your lifting journey. Let’s say you currently cannot perform a single pushup. Set a goal to perform five. This is a realistic goal that also sets the bar higher.
Know when to stop for the day. A common mistake many weightlifters make is believing that fatigue and muscle pain are the same things. The two are separate afflictions of your muscular system. Fatigue is when your muscles have worn out for the day. You may not be able to perform that last set of reps as easily as when you began. You’re going to feel the fatigue, but it clears up quickly. Soreness could be an indicator of injury but not always. If your muscles are sore, you have exceeded your limits and will feel sore for a few days.
Contact Us
HomeGrown Lifting was born when our founders had difficulty finding weightlifting equipment that met their quality standards. We’re proud to manufacture all our products right here in the US rather than supporting foreign businesses. Get in touch with us with your questions or to order your strength training necessities. We’re based in Nicholasville, KY, and are happy to serve the lower 48 United States.