30/09/2021
When I talk about weightlifting with other women the most common response I hear is “I don’t lift weights because I don’t want to get bulky.”
So many women fear that if they start lifting weights, they will become bulky and too muscular.
This idea is one of the leading reasons women opt to jump on the treadmill and avoid combining some resistance training into their workouts.

The reality is, you won’t get bulky or lose your feminine figure if you start weightlifting.
It will help you gain muscle, but it would take serious dedication, significant diet changes, and intentionality to drastically‚” bulk up.”
The reason for this is, women don’t naturally produce as much testosterone as men.
Testosterone is what allows men to put on the muscle mass and size that many women associate with weightlifting.
That is why a woman who lifts weights will not see the same change in size that a man will, even if she is lifting proportionally the same amount of weight he is.
Women who choose to give lifting a shot often find it to be incredibly rewarding and see results they never were able to achieve through a cardio-only fitness routine.

Here are 8 of the top benefits women can experience through weightlifting.
1. Weightlifting Helps Build Your Curves
Often women are afraid they will lose their curves when they consider lifting weights.
The truth is weight lifting will enhance curves instead.
If you want a defined, toned, and lean body, lifting is the secret!
You can even target specific areas of your body, like your legs, butt, arms, shoulder, back, etc. with different lifts!
Weightlifting gives you the ability to sculpt areas where you would love to see changes!
One of the most satisfying results from weightlifting is when you begin to see changes in the areas you have been targeting!
2. Weight Lifting increases Lean Muscle Mass
Dropping pounds isn’t always the goal when you are trying to change your body.
The scale can be deceiving because muscle weighs more than fat!
When you begin weightlifting, your weight may stay the same or even increase slightly, while also dropping jeans sizes and losing fat.
This change will happen when you are burning fat and adding lean muscle.
So while you may not see a drop in weight, your body will be stronger and fitter than ever.

3. Weightlifting Burns More Fat than Cardio
One of the standard features found on most treadmills, ellipticals, and other cardio machines is the calorie counter.
These calorie counters estimate the calories you are burning during the exercise.
It may be nice to see a visual with an estimate of how many calories you are burning, but that isn’t the full story.
Thirty minutes of cardio will most likely burn more calories than thirty minutes of weightlifting during that 30 minute period.
However, you will burn more calories overall weightlifting.
Your body uses more energy to repair and maintain muscle than it does fat, which results in more calories burned.
After weightlifting, you continue to burn additional calories following your workout.
4. Weightlifting Induces Better Sleep
Sleep is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body will not function to its fullest capabilities.
This lack of sleep will affect you in multiple ways, but in regards to fitness, this means not being able to burn as much fat and recover adequately from exercise.
Weightlifting can help you to sleep better, deeper and faster by fatiguing your body during the day.
Need I say more?
This benefit is a substantial win-win because muscle growth and fat loss require adequate amounts of sleep.
After all that hard work your body will need that sleep to rest and repair so you can keep at it.
Good sleep is a primary key to achieving your fitness goals.

5. Weightlifting Strengthens Your Bones
Osteoporosis affects over eight million women in the U.S.
What many women don’t know is that weightlifting helps strengthen your bones over time.
Our bones adapt and strengthen when they are put under more stress than they are accustomed to.
Don’t wait until it's too late to start strengthening your bones, start lifting weights now!
6. Weightlifting Improves Your Mood
Good sleep, killer curves, and less stress would make anyone’s mood improve. But we already covered that.
An excellent weightlifting session will fill you with pride and release those uplifting feeling good hormones, endorphins.
You’ll also increase your endurance and feel very accomplished. These benefits will add up to make you feel on top of the world.

7. Weight Lifting Promotes Heart Health
Lifting is great for your whole body, but one misconception is that most believe cardio is the only route to a healthy heart.
While cardio is important for heart health so is weightlifting!
Strength training is a great way to aid cardiovascular function and coronary risk factors.
The American Heart Association even recommends it as a tool to maintain heart health.
8. Weightlifting Fights Stress
Weightlifting helps combat stress, promotes restful nights, and provides an outlet to work out frustrations.
We all cope with stress in different ways, but there are more healthy ways to do it than others.
Next time you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed put yourself through a weightlifting session.
Weightlifting has become my preferred and most efficient way to relieve the stress in my life.
Let us know in the comments what your favorite benefit of weightlifting is!
