Hopefully long gone are the days that just guys lift weights and more and more women embrace hitting the gym to lift weights rather than just doing cardio.
The misconception of ladies who lift will get too bulky seems to be less and less as I see more women training in the gym, which is great.
If you are still a little unsure of the whole thing, here are some great benefits to lifting weights over just doing cardio alone.
Sculpt all of the right curves
Lifting weights is going to put muscle on your body, change your shape, and change the way you fit into your clothes. Cardio alone is not. A lot of women get caught up in spending hours in the gym on the treadmill. Don’t get me wrong—it’s important to do some cardio. I do cardio, but lifting weights will definitely add curves.
It burns a ton of calories and boosts BMR.
A high-intensity weight lifting session can burn up to 500 calories per hour. Weight lifting has also been scientifically proven to boost BMR (basal metabolic rate) for up to 24 hours post-workout.
Not only are you burning calories in the gym, but also afterward when you’re on the couch relaxing. The more intense the workout, the more calories you’ll burn post-workout via boosted metabolism.
Improves cardiovascular health.
Weight lifting is a great way to get the heart pumping and improve its strength. It also serves to increase HDL cholesterol (the good type), and lower your RHR (resting heart rate). A lower RHR means that the heart doesn’t have to work as hard on a day-to-day basis, which ultimately allows it to keep pumping blood for many more years later in life.
Bone health improves
Osteoporosis and osteopenia is more common in females (both young and old), which can likely be attributed to physical inactivity and lack of load-bearing exercises. Weight-bearing exercise in particular provides mechanical stimuli or “loading” important for the maintenance and improvement of bone health, whereas physical inactivity has been implicated in loss of bone density. In fact, low bone mass is a major risk factor for fractures in females, and one of the most effective ways to reverse degeneration of bones is to consistently train with weights.