27/03/2024
THE BENEFITS OF STRENGTH TRAINING FOR WOMEN.
LADIES 5 minutes read might change your life?
The benefit of strength training for women are obvious ones – health, fitness, shaping and toning – but Im convinced that more than any other form of exercise, strength training can also have a hugely positive impact on mental health, giving self-esteem and body image in particular a boost.
It is also really important to get into the habit of strength training before your body begins to change as the menopause approaches, although it’s never too late to start.
What is strength training and why is it important? Isn’t cardio enough?
Strength training complements cardio and should be a part of everyone’s fitness mix in some form. Cardio certainly has its place – the main benefit is burning calories and strengthening the cardio respiratory system – but the more strength training you do, the more muscular you become and the higher your metabolism will be, so you need to burn more calories just to exist. Also, if you do strength training in tandem with regular cardio workouts, you’ll be moving a body that has a higher muscle-to-fat ratio and will burn even more calories doing cardio.
Strength training can also address postural issues, or help guard against these developing. It can help avoid injury – people who just run a lot can get knee and back problems purely because they don’t have enough strength in their core to hold the correct form while running.
How can strength training help women in particular?
Building strength training into your routine early on will really help you at the perimenopausal stage and during menopause when hormones affect bone density, osteoporosis becomes a risk and other ailments can arise. Strength training during that time can offset these risks. Build strength training into your life in your 20s and 30s, and when your body starts to change – usually in your 50s – your routine won’t have to change quite as dramatically as it would if you were starting from scratch.
BEING A STRONG, TONED WOMAN IS CELEBRATED
Also, the female aesthetic has changed: being a strong, toned woman is celebrated these days, rather than the previous ideal of being thin. The advertising industry presents a far more diverse range of body shapes and sizes now, which is great, and that “strong woman” image is a particularly positive one. Gone are the days when women think that they are not going to end up looking like a bodybuilder – unless they want to, of course, but that’s a different story.
With strength training, a woman’s body shape will change and you may find certain parts measure differently. The waist and hips may end up smaller, and the tops of the thighs may be a little bigger, and around the knee may slim down. It’s redistribution, but it’s pretty marginal. The way clothes look on you and the way you’ll feel in them will improve hugely, although of course there’s so much more to it than that.
What equipment is needed? Do you need specialist equipment?
In the short term, no, you don’t need equipment. In the medium to long term, yes, you probably do. You can do strength training with just your bodyweight, but the number of exercises you can do are limited. Plus, if you stick with a programme for a couple of months you will find that your bodyweight doesn’t work you as hard as it used to. Rather than doubling the reps, you can make it harder with weights and still do half an hour three times a week. Kettlebells, barbells and dumbbells are particularly useful.
The other alternative of course and I would say this, is, seek out a reputable Personal Trainer and get expert help, support, motivation and progressive guidance.
How would you recommend getting started? Are there any common mistakes people make when starting?
Put it in your schedule so that it becomes a ritual that you stick to. That’s the most important thing at first. Start with three times a week for four weeks. Just that. Don’t worry if you can’t quite do all the reps – creating the habit is the most important part.
Also try to figure out what time of day is best for your energy levels: some people are morning people, some are night people. And having a dedicated space to work out in helps.
I would recommend writing your intention down as you’ll find you’re far more likely to stick to it. Go for simple, achievable goals. How long do you need to leave between sessions? Is it that important?
When you work your muscles with resistance they get damaged and repair back stronger, so having a day off between sessions for the repairs to happen is crucial. For three strength workouts a week I’d leave at least one day of rest between each session, but even an advanced strength training programme will ensure there’s a degree of rest. That might be active recovery, which means some kind of aerobic activity instead, or you may be alternating between opposing or distinct muscle groups.
My muscles are really sore the day after a workout – is that bad?
This ache in your muscles is called DOMS, which stands for delayed onset muscle soreness, and it’s a sign that you’ve worked at the right level. While it varies from person to person, if you’re doing a new exercise with resistance that you’ve never done before, the chances are you will feel an ache for two, possibly three, days afterwards. All beginners will experience it, but even a seasoned weight trainer who takes a break from regular training will feel the same thing.
It’s an ache, not a pain, so it’s different to feeling injured, which is more likely to be around a joint than a muscle.
How can I tell if I’m using the right weight or resistance?
If you do the exercise through the full range of movement at a slow and steady pace for the prescribed number of repetitions, and you don’t feel that the last one or two are tough, your weights are too light. If you’re getting to, say, 10 of 15 reps and it’s too much for you, the weights or resistance you’ve chosen is too great.
If you are new to this, do make sure that all the reps are manageable before you even consider increasing the resistance. It is hard to tell if you’ve got the resistance right the first time you do it, but it’s better to do 15 easily than 10 and need to give up.
How soon after I start strength training will I notice a difference?
It depends where you’re looking. You’ll notice changes in your body and in your head. The body is probably the slowest, because recruiting muscle mass takes longer, but your endurance and strength should increase within two to three weeks. And you can start playing around with range and resistance then, pushing yourself a bit more. You will often find that certain muscle groups improve quicker than others. Typically, with women, the legs get strongest quickest, and the biceps and triceps trail behind a little.
There’s another hugely important change that typically happens when you take up strength training: it’s to do with body image, or rather the awareness and appreciation of your own body. When you’re doing cardio, you tend not to look at yourself because you’re focused on the pavement you’re running on or what’s around you. With strength training, the focus is on your own body.
I recommend training in front of a mirror – it will change how well you work. You’ll be able to correct yourself, and also over time it will change how you feel about your body. You just appreciate your body so much more. In my experience you simply don’t get that from any other form of training.
It’s empowering, – the women I have helped over many years have ended up mentally stronger and happier. It’s transformed their relationship with their body, especially if they’re starting from a place where they’re not entirely happy with it or proud of it.
My mantra is POSITVE MENTAL ATTITUDE with this we can all improve and with persistence and consistency make significant changes often which we could have never believed.
Glyn Amos MSc; Personal Trainer.
