Why do women need strength training? The best exercises for women

Not infrequently, when you come to the gym, you can see that most girls train on cardio machines, while guys prefer training with iron. Sometimes even the mention of strength training makes girls nervous. But few people know that the benefits of training with iron are much greater than those of cardio training. Just don't get me wrong, cardio is a healthy and important part. training process. But doing only cardio, it is difficult to make a beautiful and toned figure, which most girls dream of.

The benefits of strength training for girls:

1. The combination of strength and cardio training accelerates the fat burning process

Training on a program that relies solely on cardio will lead to further stagnation. The metabolic rate will gradually decrease due to the body's adaptation to monotonous loads. Therefore, it would be correct to add to training program strength training while reducing the amount of cardio.

2. Increase calorie expenditure

Strength training actually increases the metabolic rate. Which, in turn, makes the process of burning subcutaneous fat more efficient. This happens by increasing the number of mitochondria in cells, through a process called mitochondrial biogenesis. As you know, mitochondria are a kind of energy station of the cell, an increase in the number of which leads to an acceleration of metabolism. Numerous studies have shown that strength training contributes to these processes.

3. Give beautiful shapes

Most women think that the best way achieve beautiful sports uniforms is long-term low-intensity cardio. In fact, an athletic figure is achieved by building muscles. If you only do cardio throughout your workout, then your metabolism will gradually decrease (this was mentioned above), and with it your muscle mass. As a result, weight loss will be achieved, but for the most part due to muscle reduction.

4. More energy throughout the day

Strength training significantly increases physical and psychological well-being throughout the day. It often happens that after the next cardio on the treadmill, there is no energy left for other daily worries, and all day we feel like a squeezed lemon. Strength training, on the contrary, increases the concentration of beta-endorphin in the blood, a hormone that has an anti-stress effect.

5. Improving Heart Health and Insulin Sensitivity

The heart, like any other muscle in our body, can be trained. As you know, cardio is effective method ohm to increase its functionality and endurance. However, the combination of cardio and strength training has the same positive effect, but has a number of other benefits, one of which is increased insulin sensitivity. This means that the body will be more efficient in using the energy received from food for gaining muscle, rather than storing it in fat.

6.Improve bone health

Osteoporosis and osteopenia are becoming more common diseases and are increasingly found in both older and younger people. One of the reasons for this kind of disease is a decrease in bone density, which further leads to fractures. Strength training, on the other hand, increases bone density and elasticity.

7. Strength training increases sex drive

If you are even a little familiar with female endocrinology, then you know that estrogen is the main female sex hormone. However, the female body also produces a small amount of testosterone (male sex hormone), the growth of which in women increases attraction. Just don’t worry that a couple of strength training sessions a week will give you stubble or a coarsened voice.

8. Improve sleep

On average, an adult's sleep should last 7-8 hours. But often girls have insomnia different reasons. Numerous studies have shown that weight training can significantly increase sleep duration and quality. This will help many people get off their insomnia medications.

9. Improve mental health

Many women, having come to the gym, begin to complete because of their figure. Trying to somehow fix it, they start doing it for hours. However, strength training is the best cure for depression. We touched on this issue in passing in paragraph 4. The fact is that hard training is a strong stress for our body. To avoid this, the body increases the release of endorphins into the blood, as a result, after a workout, a person has a feeling of joy and peace.

What are the benefits of exercising with weights for a figure?

1. than more muscle the better your metabolism.

Muscle mass is one of the most important factors in the metabolism. The more muscle you have, the better your metabolism, because muscle cells consume much more energy than fat cells. For example, 1 kilogram muscle tissue daily consumes about 15 calories per day, and 1 kilogram of fat - only about 5.

Feel the difference?

This means that a person with a higher percentage of muscle in the body burns more calories, regardless of whether he is working out in the gym or lying on the couch. Therefore, the main benefit strength training for weight loss is to improve your metabolism.

2. if you are engaged only aerobic training you are losing muscle.

Aerobic training is an important element in the weight loss system. By doing aerobic exercise, you burn fat. But at the same time, you burn muscles. And without including strength training in your fitness plan, those muscles don't recover. Roughly speaking, you lose weight, lose weight, but not only at the expense of fat cells, but also at the expense of muscle cells.

3. improve the quality of the body.

It is strength training that improves the quality of your body. Sitting on diets and doing, attention, only according to aerobic programs, you will not get rid of a flabby body. A beautiful figure is taut figure. Therefore, if you want not just a visual "Thinness", but an elastic body, then be sure to pay attention to training with dumbbells and barbells.

Your results should not be determined by the numbers on the scale, but by the ratio of fat to muscle in your body. You can lose weight well without strength exercises, but can you reduce the percentage of fat in the body? Unlikely.

4. burning calories after training.

Burning calories within 24 hours of exercising is another undeniable benefit of strength training for weight loss. Only in the event that during aerobic programs you burn calories only directly during classes, then after strength exercises your body will consume energy for another day. This is because the body needs a lot of nutrients to build muscle.

Of course, this does not mean at all that after power loads you can eat everything. Remember that in order to lose weight, you must expend more calories than you consume. This principle is the main basis for losing weight.

5. After strength training, you will be able to keep the result longer.

Back to the first point: muscle cells consume more energy. We will assume that you have decided to take a break from fitness or you do not have the opportunity to exercise yet. You did not work on muscle mass, and it decreased accordingly under the influence of diets and aerobic exercise. What is the result? Your metabolism will be very low.

And here are two options: either you will need to keep yourself on a very strict diet. Or you will gain weight. Therefore, always remember that strength training is work and for the future. You train your body now, but you can enjoy the result for a long time to come.

All these arguments confirm the importance of strength training for weight loss. Only if you want to create a toned, elastic and beautiful body, then do not be afraid to work with dumbbells.

Here is what is written in the article “Why women should not lift weights”:

It's all about the special structure of the female skeleton. In the fair sex, the bones are much more fragile and thin than in men. Including the spine, which bears the main load when lifting heavy objects.

With systematic (and sometimes one-time!) lifting of weights in women, the vertebral discs are gradually displaced, which in a few years can lead to such a serious disease as a vertebral hernia.

But the truth is that the wrong performance of strength exercises leads to injuries and degenerative changes in the spine, regardless of gender. At correct technique the load on the spine is minimal.

In addition, weight training involves a gradual increase in load in parallel with the growth of muscles and strength indicators. So the health risk practically disappears.

2. Strength training can end with uterine prolapse

The prolapse of the uterus is the displacement of the fundus and cervix below the physiological border due to the weakening of the muscles of the pelvic floor and ligaments of the uterus. There are many reasons for this disease: from birth defects in the development of the pelvic organs to injuries sustained during childbirth. Heavy lifting is almost always mentioned as a risk factor. Some doctors advise against lifting more than 5 kg as a preventive measure.

However, do not confuse weight lifting and competent strength training! Carry bags of cement without preparation, with no correct technique(With round back) and especially in old age (50% of cases of uterine prolapse are diagnosed in women over 50) - really unforgivable stupidity and a health risk. However, strength training is something else entirely.

If strength training with sensible weight gain and proper technique were to promote uterine prolapse, many female athletes would suffer from this ailment. The facts say otherwise.

Women involved in sports tolerate pregnancy and childbirth much better, recover faster after them and have fewer problems with the pelvic organs.

After strength training, oxygen debt increases, which requires a fair amount of calories to cover. According to a recent study EPOC Comparison Between Isocaloric Bouts of Steady-State Aerobic, Intermittent Aerobic, and Resistance Training, after strength training, oxygen debt persists for 21 hours: all this time the body burns more calories even in a calm state.

Therefore, if a girl wants to lose weight, she needs weight training, and not long walks or low-intensity jogging in the cardio zone.

5. Strength training does not help you lose weight, but, on the contrary, increases body weight.

Strength training helps replace fat with muscle. Your weight may stand still or even increase, while the volumes will decrease.

It is not for nothing that fitness models urge not to navigate by weights, but to measure their progress with a centimeter tape.

A great visual example is this photo of fitness blogger Kelsey Wells. In the first photo, the girl weighs 65.8 kg, in the second - 55.3 kg, in the third - 63.5 kg.

mysweat life

Why does Kelsey look leaner, fitter and more athletic in the third photo than in the first, even though she weighs only 2kg less? Just because of the percentage muscle mass. First, the girl lost fat, reducing the weight to 55.3 kg, and then gained 8 kg of muscle mass.

As you can see, strength training reduces body size, but increases weight due to muscle growth. So do not be afraid of such a quality increase.

6. Women should choose low weight and high reps.

In the gym, you rarely see a girl who does, for example, deadlift or heavy weight squats for 3-5 reps per set. Much more often, girls choose light dumbbells and do 20 lunges per leg, endlessly squat with an empty bar or bodybar, or work out on simulators with light weights, performing many repetitions per set.

This pattern of women's training naturally stems from the myth that women shouldn't lift weights. Since you can’t work with a lot of weight, you need to do a lot of repetitions with a small one.

But working with large and small weights has different goals.

By doing 1-3 reps per set at 80% of your one-time max, for example, you are training absolute strength. By doing many reps with low weights, you increase strength endurance.

To understand exactly how the muscles react to a particular load, you need to understand their structure. Muscle fibers are fast and slow.

Slow fibers (red, oxidative, subtype I) use aerobic metabolism (with the participation of oxygen) for long-term muscle activity. They are hardy, small in size and do not hypertrophy well. That is, training with low weight and multiple repetitions, you will not soon achieve a relief body. Proof of this are marathon runners, triathletes, cyclists - hardy, sinewy and thin.

Fast muscle fibers(white, glycolytic, subtypes IIa and IIb) work during short-term high-intensity exercise. They are larger than slow fibers and hypertrophy well.

Exercises with high weight and low reps train white muscle fibers that grow quickly and provide a beautiful figure for powerlifters, weightlifters, sprinters.

If you want to quickly increase the definition, be sure to include short-term intense work in your workout: exercises with heavy weights and low reps.

If you do not have specific goals in, you can diversify your workouts and increase both strength and strength endurance by alternating loads. For example, in one workout, perform exercises with a lot of weight and a low number of repetitions, in the second - with an average weight and an increased number of repetitions per set, and in the third - with a small weight and a large number of repetitions.

As you can see, the type of exercise does not depend on gender, but on the tasks that you are pursuing. In women's training, there is a place for cardio loads, and multi-repetitive exercises with low weight, and work with weights close to a one-time maximum.

Build your workouts wisely, take care of the right technique and carefully increase the working weight, and strength training will give you health, strength and a great figure.

Most women are afraid of iron and simulators like fire. Suddenly, after strength training, biceps of terrible sizes will grow, shoulders will expand, like men's, and in general the figure will lose femininity? At the words “simulator”, “dumbbells”, “barbell”, many people draw in their imagination a cyborg woman, vaguely similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

All this is speculation! Strength training makes the body not only and not so much slender, but also embossed. Press, elastic hips and arms without "jelly" - isn't this the dream of any fitness fan?
And dispel the terrible myth "Strength fitness makes the figure masculine." In fact, this is impossible in principle, since any lady is protected from the opportunity to build up (and “outgrow”) muscle mass genetically. Firstly, the high percentage of estrogen in the female body contributes to a smooth and very slow process of building muscle mass (muscle piles are the result of the influence of the male hormone testosterone, which we have very, very, little in the body).
Secondly, any woman has about twice as much fat under the skin as a man, and most of this fat is located in the pelvis and hips. In women, the mass of muscle tissue is only 30-35% of the total body weight, in men - about 10-12% more. Features of the physique will never make a man out of a young lady, even if her muscles are sufficiently developed.

A few words about the benefits and virtues of strength training

Yes, with strength training, muscle mass of the body (and overall weight) increases, but at the same time, voluminous fat cells are burned, the figure looks slim and toned. They are not only effective in skeletal muscles, but also strengthen the heart muscle and smooth muscle muscles: a “muscle corset” appears, which firmly holds everything internal organs. In addition to all of the above, strength training has another benefit: it increases the mineral content of the bones, stimulates them with muscle tension, and improves joint strength and stability.

Strength exercises for women are specific. Their goal is not to build up huge muscles, but to correct the figure and work out problem areas. It is strength fitness, and not diet or aerobics, that is the most effective way to form an elastic, strong body.

Buy perfect figure with the help of shaping is not always possible. Maybe and Have you noticed that volumes are decreasing, but appearance not happy. Instead of fat deposits, saggy skin appears - and no cubes. Don't worry, it's time to go to the gym.

Contraindications

Before picking up dumbbells and swinging arms and legs, you should check the condition of the spine, consult an endocrinologist. Osteochondrosis, scoliosis, chronic thyroid disease and gynecological disorders may require a limited load.
Strength exercises are prohibited in hypertension, arrhythmia, asthma, after a heart attack, as well as during menstruation and pregnancy.

Trainers are different...

The first thing you will see in gym, this is a lot of different dumbbells, weights, metal structures, called actual simulators. The choice of simulator and weight depends directly on what goal you set for yourself.
Many people think that strength training is just dumbbells and a barbell. In fact, the workout also includes squats, twists, push-ups - any exercise that develops and strengthens muscles. Recently, bodybars have become more and more popular (a bodybar is gymnastic stick weighing 3-5 kg, which can be practiced even at home).
When choosing trainers in gym you need to be guided not by the principles of “like-dislike”, “male-female”, but taking into account individual parameters: height, length of arms and legs, joint mobility. Everything else doesn't matter.

How much to "hang" in grams?

If you need to lose weight, choose a small weight (0.5–1 kg), and perform each exercise at least 15–25 times. If your goal is to shape the relief, the number of repetitions should be reduced to 8–10, and, on the contrary, the weight should be increased (up to 2–3 kg). The instructor will help you figure out what weight you need - this is his responsibility. Do not rush to take the heaviest dumbbells: a large number of repetitions with a large weight disrupts blood flow, and, consequently, increases fatigue. By the way, with dumbbells, as well as exercise equipment, and other weighting materials, you can start exercising only when the muscles are already prepared, have gained their initial tone and have ceased to remind themselves of pain after training.
Failure to follow the instructions when working with simulators and with a barbell not only does not bring benefits, but can also harm your health and figure. It is important not to force events, gradually increasing the load.
Remember to keep your back straight and stretched. When lifting weights, the spine is loaded, the muscles become strong, but less flexible, which increases the risk of injury. Each movement must be performed slowly, exhaling on effort and inhaling on relaxation.

Workouts by the hour

The best option for classes is 40-45 minutes 2-3 times a week. From a physiological point of view, best time for loads - from 15.00 to 16.00. After strength training, the body needs 1-2 days to recover.

If you train regularly and persistently, the first results will be noticeable after two months. Long breaks in training (more than 1-2 weeks) lead to the fact that the body loses the accumulated results, so you will have to adapt to the loads again.
And further. Experts recommend combining strength fitness with other types: running, aerobics, swimming, etc.

Menu for the iron lady

If you are serious about building your body, you need to balance your diet. The main thing is to provide the material for building muscle tissue and the necessary energy for training. For some more and burn excess fat so that the muscles do not "hide" under the fat layer.

At strength fitness any diet is contraindicated, since reduced nutrition leads to the burning of protein and, as a result, the depletion of muscle tissue, the appearance of stretch marks, and a decrease in skin elasticity (while the fat remains intact). Diets slow down metabolism - and instead of using fat reserves, the body begins to accumulate it in reserve.

Muscle mass is not harmed by carbohydrates, but by fats of animal origin. For example, butter, any fatty, spicy, salty meat dishes. At the same time, it is absolutely impossible to refuse meat, because animal proteins are the main building material for a relief figure.
2-3 hours before training, you can safely refresh yourself with a plate oatmeal with dried fruits.

Healthy foods - apples, lean meat, fish, cottage cheese, cheese. After class, it’s good to drink a glass of kefir or natural low-fat yogurt for an hour. Provided that you do not suffer from excess weight. Otherwise, replace dairy products with freshly squeezed juice or unsweetened fruit.

Most women are afraid of iron and simulators like fire. Suddenly, after strength training, biceps of terrible sizes will grow, shoulders will expand, like men's, and in general the figure will lose femininity. How true is this and do girls need strength training? We talked about this with Aesthetic City.

Anastasia, should girls be afraid of strength training?

Absolutely not! The stories that if a woman takes a dumbbell more than 3 kg, then her body will become inelegant and grow muscles is just a myth! Women's strength training makes the body slim and sculpted.

There is such a group of people - "bodybuilders", they belong to the category professional athletes. This is no longer the division of fitness that we position. Here they have a goal to pump up and gain muscle mass, and not just get in shape and adjust the figure. It is the people involved in bodybuilding at a professional level that women represent when talking about strength training, training with barbells and dumbbells with a large working weight.

It is impossible to build muscle by simply doing strength training, since any lady is protected from the opportunity to increase (and “overgrow”) muscle mass genetically. Firstly, a high percentage of estrogen in the female body contributes to a smooth and very slow process of muscle mass formation (muscle piles are the result of the influence of the male hormone testosterone, which in our body is very, very, low (normal testosterone levels in the male body are 200- 1200ng / dl, when women do not exceed 15-70ng / dl) Secondly, in women, the percentage of subcutaneous fat in the body is greater than in men, and most of this fat is located in the pelvis and hips, this is due to the need for safe gestation offspring In women, the mass of muscle tissue is only 30-35% of the total body weight, in men - about 10-12% more, because of this, the rate of energy consumption in the female body is 10-15% less than that of the male. Plus, the features of the physique will never make a man out of a young lady, even if she has sufficiently developed muscles.

What is important to know when doing strength training?

Your working weight. The working weight is the weight with which we can make required amount repetitions with maximum impact. It is divided into two types:

- free weight. It includes barbells, dumbbells, discs, etc.

- own body weight. Exercises with own body weight: push-ups, pull-ups, squats and others.

Features of the choice of starting working weight depend on the degree of preparedness of the girl, more precisely, each group of her muscles. The weaker the muscles, the less working weight will be and vice versa. In addition, it all depends on the tasks. Even with the same muscular development, different goals pursued require different working weights.

What are the benefits of working with weight?

Strength training includes physical exercise with resistance, that is, the muscles begin to work in a negative phase, which entails a good stretch of the muscle fiber. And this is very important, because a large amount of muscle mass is immediately involved and at the same time there is a large energy consumption.

In general, the benefits of strength training for girls in the gym are endless, as it helps to treat metabolic diseases, speeds up metabolism, strengthens all body tissues, speeds up recovery from various diseases, helps prevent injuries and pain syndromes, often improves sleep quality, relieves stress due to the release of hormones.

Strength training improves heart function, normalizes blood pressure. They also improve coordination by developing the core muscles, which are responsible for stabilizing our body in space. They increase libido, due to the consumption of hormones during training and then its natural recovery.

What features of the female body should be taken into account?

First, it is the training experience. Secondly, the state of health. Condition is very important on the day of training. The trainer should not make a program in advance without asking how the client feels. That is, based on the state, we give appropriate exercises and a certain weight.

Girls have such a feature that during the menstrual cycle and within 2 weeks after it, a “moment of power” occurs. Then it makes sense to increase the intensity and working weight.

Every 3-4 weeks, the training program changes, as it is wrong to do the same thing for a long time. Muscles need to be given a “rollback” by changing the methodology and using the same muscle groups, but with different movements.

Is it true that female strength training is an effective way to lose weight?

Losing weight is one of the biggest benefits of strength training. In strength training, we spend a lot of calories due to the fact that we work with extra weight. From it, the result is visible much faster than just, for example, from running or aerobics.

Also, strength training is indispensable for body shaping. Girls in the gym can lift the shape of the chest, round or reduce the buttocks, burn subcutaneous fat at the maximum ratio.

Women often have one of problem areas are hands. There is a good work with the triceps, muscle fibers are strengthened, due to the fact that blood circulation improves, all congestion in this local area is removed, there is a good intoxication. The blood flow is accelerated, the body temperature rises, therefore, the fat burning process is more active.

How often do you need to practice?

It is best to attend training 3-4 times a week. Can be included between strength training and group classes. It is very important, in terms of weight loss, to combine strength training with cardio.

After a strength training session lasting 45 minutes with breaks between exercises of 30-60 seconds, it is recommended to work out on cardio equipment for 20-30 minutes. For fat burning, this is the best. In strength training, we first spend calories from food intake, then glycogen goes into consumption, and then in cardio training, subcutaneous fat burns. It's the only way to get to him quickly.

Are there contraindications?

Strength training has no categorical contraindications. In principle, you can do everything, you just need to control the technique and know your worker. training weight. If, for example, for young girls it is 15 kg, for women (35-40 years old) - 8 kg, for the older category - 3-5 kg, no more than 1-2 kg is recommended for pregnant women.

In female strength training, technique is very important. Because when you work with additional burden the risk of injury increases. Ideally, such training is always carried out under the strict supervision of a personal trainer.

If you dream of a slim and beautiful figure, our personal trainers help you with this! Become part of our team! Details by phone 222-54-54.

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