You see the picture of a perfect body you have in your mind? You are not going to get it through cardio exercise alone! Yes, you will lose weight with cardio, but you are not going to gain a significant amount of muscle mass.

Why should a woman lift weights? Is weight training that important that a woman should consider incorporating it into her exercise routine?  These are the questions I intend to answer in this article. My hope is that when you finish reading this, you will be inspired to start lifting weights, if weight training is not yet your thing.

It is very common to see some women use the Cardio equipment at the gym while they stay clear from the weight machines. One major reason why women stay away from lifting weights is because they fear that strength training will make them get bulky like men. I have had to convince many women time and time again, that lifting weight does not make a woman develop bulky muscles like men.

To start with, women usually produce low level of testosterone (a steroid hormone that is responsible for such increase in muscle mass in men) to make that kind of increase in muscle mass to occur. Another major factor that is responsible for increase in muscle mass is the amount of weight being lifted consistently over a period of time. For a significant increase to occur in a muscle or muscle group, specific amount of weights must be placed on it

Why you should lift weights

Running, swimming, cycling and dancing, are all forms of Cardio exercises cannot produce the benefits of strength training. The principle of specificity states that, the benefit you gain from your exercise program is determined by the type of exercise you do. If all a person does is running, she cannot expect to gain muscular strength from that type of training, and if all a person does is weight lifting, she cannot expect to have the cardio-respiratory fitness of a runner.

Except you are an athlete whose training must be sport specific, you should not shy away from any type of fitness training.

I am aware of the fact that a large percentage of women who exercise are exercising for weight loss, and because many of us have been told that running or any form of cardio exercise is the best for weight loss, we really don’t care about the components of physical fitness (i.e. muscular strength, endurance, cardio endurance, and flexibility), all we care about is what is reflected on the “scale” when we weigh ourselves.

As a matter of fact, one of the challenges we face as fitness professionals in Nigeria, is that, more than 90 per cent of the people we serve, come to us because they want to lose weight. Therefore if the exercise routine doesn’t leave them panting and drenched in sweat, they don’t see it as being effective.

It is true that you burn more calories during an hour of cardio training than you burn during an hour of strength training. I know for many people, the amount of calories they burn during an exercise session is a key motivator, and that is fine, there is nothing wrong with that at all. But here is the “big deal” about strength training: you see the picture of a perfect body you have in your mind? You are not going to get it through cardio exercise alone! Yes, you will lose weight with cardio, but you are not going to gain a significant amount of muscle mass, that will make your body look well-toned and trimmed.

When you lose fat without toning your muscles, what you get is the flabby skin you don’t like. But when you add strength training to your exercise routine, as you are shedding off the excess fat, your muscles are also getting defined, giving your body the appearance you’d love to show off!

Am I suggesting that you should ditch your cardio exercise? Not at all. I would never tell you to develop one component of fitness to the detriment of other components. What I am saying is that you should start lifting weights!

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that, healthy adults should do 2-3 days of strength training per week, while the recommendation for cardio training is 3-5 days per week, and the recommendation for flexibility training is 5-7 days per week.

How do you get started? Talk to your instructor at the gym and ask for help on how to get started. You can also hire a Personal Trainer, or buy some strength training dvds if you don’t have a gym membership.

Make strength training an integral part of your exercise routine today, and see how it pays off on your physique.

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Esta Morenikeji is a fitness instructor and fitness blogger. Once upon a time she weighed 92kg, now weighing in at 67kg, she teaches people how to lose weight and keep fit in a fun way. She blogs about fitness and weight loss at www.zonefitness.com.ng and tweets from @estamorenikeji

 

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