Ladies Lets lift: live longer. live stronger.

Now the gyms are back open it may have crossed your mind to get back into your fitness routine. Instead of heading straight to the treadmill or spin bike, why not try something new - strength training.

Strength training: it isn’t all about maxing out on the weights in every training session or lifting the heaviest weight physically possible! Maybe you’ve stepped into the free weights section and considered picking up a set of dumbbells or eyed up the barbell on the squat rack feeling unsure and uneasy.

Many women have the fear that lifting heavy weights in the gym will cause them to resemble a body band completely devoid them of their curvaceous female figure, rather than creating the lean and toned physique they envisioned. But lifting weights won’t bulk you up to look like the Incredible Hulk! This is BS and feeds into the stereotypes that are keeping many women away from the weights and not experiencing the benefits that can be achieved with strength training, helping you to live in a happier and healthier body. Strength training improves muscular fitness by exercising muscle groups against an external resistance, progressively overloading muscles to create a stimulus for adaptation to become stronger.

A tendency found in women is to avoid the free-weights section and head straight to the cardio machines with a perception that they have greater benefits to health and/or body appearance. This isn’t necessarily true! The American College of Sports Medicine recommends taking part in strength-based training at least 2 times a week to maintain musculoskeletal health and positively influence risk factors for diabetes and heart disease; improving insulin resistance and lowering blood pressure.

Weightlifting and strength training has numerous benefits that promote health both physically and mentally, helping us to perform everyday tasks with more ease such as carrying the weekly shop from the car into the house or even simple pleasures like opening your favourite jar of peanut butter or chocolate spread! The most apparent benefits identified with strength training include improved muscle definition and strength, body composition changes, metabolic efficiency (how well the body utilises fuel), and reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and chronic disease.

But what are the benefits to strength training and weightlifting?

1. It is An Extremely Effective Fat Burner

Muscle tissue is metabolic, meaning it burns more calories. Strength training requires more energy from the muscles than when at rest. During exercise, we breathe faster and our heart works harder to pump more oxygen and carbohydrate (fuel) to our exercising muscles. After we’ve finished exercising, oxygen uptake actually remains elevated in order to restore muscles to their resting state, known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC describes how long oxygen uptake remains elevated after exercise in order to help the muscles recover. Studies have shown with strength training, there's a higher EPOC up to 38 hours after training. This means you burn more calories after your workout, known as the afterburn effect, and can last for several minutes to several hours after a session.

A 12-week progressive weight training program intervention by Cullinen and Caldwell found not only an increase in strength but also an increase in fat-free mass (muscle) and a reduction in body fat. Training consisted of 2 sessions per week (only 2 sessions!) with only 6 types of lifting exercises per session in untrained women (all abilities can see results!). Favourable changes in body composition were obtained without imposing a caloric restriction. So, in combination with a high protein diet you can still eat your favourite treats whilst undertaking weight training and see fat loss results.

2. Protects Bone Density & Fights Against Muscle Loss

As we age, we are at risk of losing bone density and muscle mass, but strength training is a great way to fight against this! The earlier you begin weightlifting the greater the chance you have at maintaining musculoskeletal health later in life. Improved bone density helps to prevent sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and osteoporosis (weak and fragile bones) as we age. These are prevalent in both men and women; however women are at a greater risk of osteoporosis as they age. During the menopause there is a decline in the level of the hormone oestrogen, resulting in a decline in bone density. Many moves like squats and lunges actually strengthen your joints whilst mimicking functional movement patterns (think bending down to pick up the shopping or getting up from a chair) which makes everyday activities easier.

3. Maintains Fat Free Mass & Improves Muscular Strength

Strength training ultimately makes you feel and look fitter and stronger. It’s important in the maintenance of fat-free mass and improving muscular strength. By improving muscular strength it can make everyday tasks easier and as stated above prevents the loss of muscle mass as we age. Plus, it's always a great feeling to add the weight lifted to the bar or be able to lift that dumbbell for an extra rep - seeing improvements in your performance!

It’s also a great way to burn calories as it uses large muscle groups that require high caloric expenditure in order to perform the exercises required. As you increase fat-free mass your body will use calories more efficiently and it helps to increase resting metabolic rate, meaning your body will burn more calories when you aren’t exercising. In the hours following strength training there is an increase in energy expenditure. This chronic increase in energy expenditure following strength training may favourably affect fat oxidation (fat utilised as energy) to assist in the prevention of obesity through creating a negative energy balance, as concluded in a study by the National Institute of Health. A negative energy balance (expending more calories than you consume) ultimately facilitates reducing body fat levels.

4. It is a Countermeasure to Chronic Disease

Strength training and its effect on chronic disease has been reviewed and revealed to have many positive effects on reducing disease and their risk factors, particularly in the onset of sarcopenia, heart disease, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. Low muscle mass and low strength have been deemed the strongest factors associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, so performing strength training for the recommended 2 times a week can significantly reduce this risk. Strength training has also been shown to reduce pain and inflammation whilst increasing strength by up to 59% in those with rheumatoid arthritis, an effective medication! Cognitive function can also be maintained later in life if strength is maintained, reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or even mild cognitive impairment. Strength training is not only a physical workout to keep the body healthy, but also a mental workout to keep the brain functioning effectively.

5. Improves Mental Health & Wellbeing

Another reason to lift weights? It is a brilliant way to manage stress and generally improve our mental wellbeing. Research has found that people regularly undertaking strength training are better able to manage stress and stressful situations compared to those who don’t exercise. Furthermore, weightlifting has been found to consistently correlate with significant reductions in anxiety and depression, with increases in positive mood states following strength training. This is attributed to strength training causing elevated release of endorphins, or our natural ‘feel good’ chemicals. This is why we feel that natural ‘high’ post-training which adds to reductions in stress, anxiety, depression and increasing self-esteem.

Strength training has the capability to improve all aspects of your life to make you feel fitter, faster and stronger both mentally and physically. Strength training just twice per week can significantly lower all-cause mortality rate and improve your quality of life. So, now that the gyms are open again don't be afraid to head into the weights area and get lifting! What are you weighting for?

References

American College of Sports Medicine. Selecting and effectively using free weights (2011). http://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/selecting-and-effectively-using-free-weights.pdf

Cullinen, K., and Caldwell, M. (1998). Weight Training Increases Fat-Free Mass and Strength in Untrained Young Women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 98(4), 414-418.

Hurley, B.F., Hanson, E.D., and Sheaff, A.K. (2011). Strength training as a countermeasure to aging muscle and chronic disease. Sports Medicine. 41, 289-306.

Hurley, K.S., Flippin, K.J., Blom, L.C., Bolin, J.E., Hoover, D.L., and Judge, L.W. (2018). Practices, Perceived Benefits, and Barriers to Resistance Training Among Women Enrolled in College. International Journal of Exercise Science. 11(5), 226-238.

Kirk, E.P., Donnelly, J.E., Smith, B.K., Honas, J., LeCheminant, J.D., Bailey, B.W., Jacobsen, D.J., and Washburn, R.A. (2009). Minimal resistance training improves daily energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise. 41(5), 1122-1129.

O’Connor, P., Herring, M.P., and Caravalho, A. (2009). Mental health benefits of strength training in adults Review. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 4(5), 377-396.

Weingberg, R.S., and Gould, D. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Physchology 4th Edition. Human Kinetics, pp 395-405.