Long gone are the days of women getting “bulky” from lifting weights!
Over the past 5 years, I’ve noticed a change in the gym. More women are venturing away from the cardio section and into the weight room. More women are lifting weights, building muscle, and embracing their bodies – not spending hours on the hamster wheel treadmills.
I’ve been in the fitness industry for nearly a decade now. I’ve always encouraged women to take up space in the gym. It’s been my motto that the body you want has more muscle on it than you believe. But building muscle also has benefits for women’s hormones and long term health.
Why lifting weights is important for women
1. Lifting weights builds muscle and muscle helps increase your metabolism.
When you are struggling with hormonal dysfunction, your metabolism naturally slows, making it difficult for your body to detox, for your body to lose weight, and so on. By focusing more on muscle building over cardio, women can build a healthy metabolism while supporting their hormones through low intensity workouts. When our body’s metabolism is functioning properly, we have more flexibility with our goals – whether that’s weight loss, visible muscle, strength gain, or general health!
2. Strength training lowers androgen levels.
You know those little black hairs on your face or maybe you have some adult acne? Yeah, I’ve been there too, and it sucks! These symptoms are typically because of increased androgens for women with hormonal dysfunction. Luckily strength training does decrease androgens and reduces those annoying symptoms.
3. Strength training reduces insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance does have similar unwanted symptoms as higher androgen levels – excess hair, skin tags, and more – oh my! But one annoying symptom is increased belly fat. If you are carrying around the midsection spare tire, you may want to lean into your insulin resistance levels. Most people believe cardio and a ton of sit ups does the trick to reducing belly fat. However, cardio can do the opposite of that (read more here). Instead of cardio, strength training can improve your insulin resistance and decrease belly fat!
4. Finally, strength training can be used as a preventative method!
It’s no secret that as women age, we lose muscle mass and bone density. Guess what strength training does? Helps women maintain their muscle mass and bone density! It also helps prevent diseases, cancers, and diabetes. And for a fun bonus! Strength training does have an anti-aging effect on women too! Heyyy!
I do understand the fear that women will get “bulky” or “manly” if they lift weights. I’m here to tell you that I’ve been trying to get bulky for 10+ years, and I have yet to do it!
In all seriousness, it’s a valid fear. However, women do not have the hormones or genetics to get “bulky.” It would take steroids to do so, and that’s not what I’m about here at Action Ashley Coaching!
So please do not fear getting bulky. I promise you, you won’t get bulky, but you will see some amazing results while feeling your very best and supporting your hormones on the way!
If you have any questions on strength training, reach out to me! I’d love to chat!
