With strength comes confidence, they say – and women can benefit from weight training with desirable results.
It’s advantageous for women of any age to engage in a routine exercise regimen and a great way to encourage confidence and strength is to train with weights.
Yet some women are concerned that one of the end results is ‘bulking up’ from lifting weights.
Here are some ways you can lift weights and still keep your healthy, yet girlish physique.
Remember: ‘strength’ over ‘weight’
It’s important to know the difference between weight and strength training. Weight training will help you gain weight and implies stresses on the muscles. Strength training occurs when you perform fewer than five reps with the weights. This concentrates more on your neurons rather than muscles.
Avoid the ‘deadlift’
The famous deadlift – the daddy of weightlifting techniques – is designed to work more than one set of muscles at once. You likely don’t want this, unless your choice is to look like Lady Schwarzenegger. However, you can modify the technique in order to bypass its muscle-packing ability.
Olympic weightlifting is more intense than deadlifting and works just about every muscle in your body – quicker. You’ll be able to lift more weight than ever and more quickly, too, which activates your fast-twitch muscles.
These two techniques are not for the novice weight trainer – nor are they meant to keep muscle mass off. It’s best to consult with a qualified trainer before attempting a new weight training regimen of any kind.
Burn a bit of fat in your fitness program
How your physique ends up looking depends on the amount of body fat you’re carrying. If you work out with fast paced circuits (such as the ones in Warwick Women’s Workout), your metabolism will help burn fat and tone muscles at the same time – hence, helping you to get stronger by lifting weights without the unwanted bulk.
More benefits
Lifting weights can also help your mood for the better. Depression symptoms are said to wane when strength training, which in turn increases the flow of endorphins in your bloodstream.
At Warwick Women’s Workout, we have strength training equipment specifically intended for a woman’s workout. Ask one of our trainers about how to properly lift weights!
