Strength training

An important part of women’s health

Writer - Karen Rice uncovers the truth about resistance training for women

When it comes to resistance training, women are resistant.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise and two periods of strength training each week. Yet many women do not pick up weights out of fear of bulking up and gaining weight. In a 2011 opinion poll conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 20 percent of women said they accomplished the CDC’s recommendation.

Poor advice and false information may be to blame. 2ne of the more widely circulated myths is that women who lift weights will bulk up.

Melissa Hill, head of training at the Jones Center in Springdale agrees that women are often misinformed about the bene¿ts of strength training, and are afraid it will make them too muscular. But that’s just not true. “I tell them it’s almost impossible to do that,” she says. “They just don’t have the body for it.”

It’s a fact that people who “bulk up” eat and train speci¿cally for that purpose. The Women’s Heart )oundation says that high levels of estrogen make it dif¿cult for women to become too muscular. When they strength train, rather, women’s muscles will improve in tone, endurance and strength instead of size. According to the IDEA Health and )itness 1etwork, strength training will help the average woman lose more fat than she’ll gain in muscle. That makes it an ideal activity for women who want to lose weight. Melissa has been a personal trainer for more than 20 years, with a degree in Health Science and an emphasis in Exercise Science. She has seen ¿rsthand that when women add resistance training to their exercise routines, that’s when real change happens.

“Cardio will only get you so far,” Melissa says. “When you add strength training it works so much better.”

In order to illustrate how resistance training can help her female clients burn calories and lose weight, Melissa uses the analogy of the body as an oven. She says that without building muscle, a person can do cardio µall day long’ and never see the bene¿ts.

“Your muscles are like the heating element. If the heating element is out, it doesn’t matter how much you exercise or do cardio,” Melissa explains. “You will never burn anything, you will never cook anything.”

A study from researchers at the University of 1ew Mexico found that the body will take between 15 minutes and 8 hours after exercise to return to a resting state. That means that a person continues to burn calories after exercising, a phenomenon known as “after-burn” or “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.” The more intense the workout, the longer the after-burn may last.

Studies performed at the Quincy, Mass., South Shore YMCA found that the average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle, but lose 3.5 pounds of fat. With that lean muscle addition, resting metabolism increases and more calories can be burned each day.

Melissa says that when it comes to reaching ¿tness and weight loss goals, nothing does it like strength training.

“Walking is good if you sit at a desk all day. That’s a good place to start,” she says. “But if walking alone worked, we’d all be skinny.”

Weight training has other bene¿ts as well.

As Melissa puts it, “It’s not all about ‘am I gonna look good,’ it’s about what that body needs.”

Weight training strengthens the muscles and bones that support the body. So it can also help decrease a woman’s risk of osteoporosis, improve posture and reduce back pain.

Here are some other bene¿ts of strength training for women’s health:

· Reduces risk of heart disease by lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol.

· Builds stronger muscles and connective tissues that can increase joint stability.

· Improves the way the body processes sugar, which can help reduce the risk of diabetes.

· Reduces rates of depression. A Harvard University study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more con¿dent and capable.

Strength training is an important component of ¿tness and health, and should be part of women’s workout regimens. But how to begin?

)or starters, Melissa suggests women go to a local gym or ¿tness club and look for an exercise class with strength training or resistance training in the description.

Women can also consult with a personal trainer who can teach them proper form. This ensures that the exercises are being done ef¿ciently while reducing the risk of injury. Quali¿ed trainers also can keep people moving toward ¿tness goals. If money is keeping you from thinking about a trainer, Melissa suggests doing group training, and shorter ½ hour sessions.