Is Strength Training for Women a Good Thing?

From current research, it seems that strength training for women may offer some very good fitness returns for your time.

However, unless women are training for a sport, it seems that many kept there fitness regime limited to just doing cardiovascular type training. And although there is nothing wrong with cardiovascular training, the fact is, both strength training and cardiovascular training has its place in a well-rounded fitness program.

I am not saying that one form of training is better than the other; certainly, there are unique benefits to both training methods. Nevertheless, it is important that women take a closer look at the exclusive benefits that strength training can offer to their fitness programs.

Strength training for women is no different from the strength training men do. Certainly in my experience women should train with the same number of sets and repetitions as men. The loads women lift will differ from men, but women should work out with the same percentages of their repetition maximums as men do to  elicit the same training results.

Strength training can benefit females in ways that exceeds the benefits that men get from this exercise protocol.

For example, women suffer from osteoporosis more than men.  This is a condition that could make you more susceptible to bone breakage. Women begin with less bone density than men and lose bone mass more quickly than men as they age.  This is especially true of menopausal women where the fall in oestrogen levels can lead to an excessive loss of bone mineral.

Another example of why women might benefit from strength training is the fact that women have less lean body mass in their upper bodies than men. For that reason, they have far less upper body strength than men – a distinct disadvantage when having to lift everyday objects.

Women are also more likely to develop lower back problems than men partially due to the lean body mass issue eluded to above, but also owing to their proportionally longer torsos.

The Benefits of strength Training for Women

Over and above all other training modalities, women will benefit from strength training in several ways.

1. Research has proven that strength training can increase your bone density. The earlier you can begin to take steps to elevate bone mineral loss, the better. It is clear that the greater your bone density before meThe anabolic hormone, testosterone, is a main contributor to building and maintaining lean muscle mass.
   
2. Several studies have shown that of all the training modalities, strength training has the biggest effect on raising testosterone levels. Women generally have significantly lower levels of this hormone than men, which put them at a disadvantage when trying to increase lean body mass. Strength training is, therefore, a very effective way to help your body produce and maintain testosterone levels.nopause begins, the less your risk of osteoporosis in later life.
3. Finally, in general, exercise increases your metabolism during the initial bout of exercise and for a period of time afterwards. Although depending on which research you read, the period could range from two hours up to 48 hours afterwards.  This could result in several hundred extra calories being burnt after you have stopped exercising – great for anyone wanting to lose weight.

How Should You Design Strength Training for Women?

Well, as I have indicated earlier, strength training for women is no different from any other form of resistance training. Strength training theory have established how you should train to achieve a particular training result. This is summarized in the article on strength training exercises. You will get ideas of exercises, the number of sets and repetitions you should aim for depending on your fitness goals.

In addition to the information you will get from the article on strength training exercises, to get that testosterone boost we discussed earlier, you will need to design your training in a particular way. You will need to:

• Do compound workout rather than single muscle exercises;
• Lift heavy and by that I mean 75-100% of your 1RM;
• Limit the rest recovery between sets to between 1.5 to 3 minutes.

I hope you found this aricle on strength training for women useful.

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