Health and Wellness
Is Lifting Safe And Beneficial For Women?
Many women are frightened to go to the gym and lift weights. It is because they have seen the boys getting ripped and muscular. Working out is always beneficial for everyone. If you think about whether women should lift weights or do bodybuilding or know lifting belt’s purpose, you have come to the right place.
Bodybuilding is not a small profession. It is a vast field, and new trends like body engineers are also a part of it. You may have seen a few female bodybuilders compared to male bodybuilders. It is because society still thinks bodybuilding and lifting weights is only men’s job. You can also find a few women’s gym accessories on online marketplaces.
However, it is a wrong mentality. This article will inform about the five myths about weightlifting and the advantages of lifting weight for women.
5 Myths about weightlifting for women
You may have heard that if women lift the weight, she starts to gain muscles and become muscular as men. There are many more such myths that prevail in people’s thoughts. We are here to bust those myths.
- Women should not do lift heavyweight because it’s harmful to their health.
Women can also excel in weightlifting, & the best example is the women from the Olympics. They are excellent at this sport. And if you even do weightlifting for bodybuilding, it will not be harmful to your health until you do all these exercises in the proper form.
You may think that only men can lift hefty weights, but some strong women weightlifters can outlift the guys from your gym. So, lifting weight is for men as well as women. Similar to other home improvement items, you can also buy women’s gym accessories online.
It is not dangerous to lift the weight. However, the only condition is that you should do it properly and take an appropriately nutritious diet. And some studies have also shown that weightlifting sports like CrossFit and Powerlifting have a low risk of injury compared to other popular sports like football, soccer, and running.
So, it is proven that women from all age groups and backgrounds can learn weightlifting with the help of an experienced coach. Even Pregnant women can also lift weights.
Some research also illustrated that lifting weights in pregnancy is beneficial if you do it in proper form. For this, you must have prior experience in weightlifting. However, it is always good to consult your doctor before starting any exercise during pregnancy.
- Women get bulky when they lift weights.
One more popular myth about women’s bodybuilding is that women tend to get bulky as men when they lift heavyweights. They gain more weight and muscle while doing the same.
People gain muscle mass when they lift weights for a long time. However, the research also shows that women’s and men’s physique is not much different in muscle building. It means if you choose a plan for muscle building, you will gain muscle. So, while selecting a project, you should take care of this thing.
If some woman spends a lot of time in the weight room and not doing cardio or another exercise, it may result in a bulky body. So, if you are planning to lift the weight, make sure you make enough balance between weight training and cardio.
Muscle building is a slow process, but it requires constant input. If you lift weights three days a week, it won’t make a significant difference in your body. If you are consistent in this process, it might be possible that casual weightlifting may become your love for a lifetime.
- You shouldn’t weightlift during weight loss.
It is a prevalent misconception that cardio or running is the best exercise for weight loss. However, it is not valid. Only cardio is not an effective way to weight loss.
Weightlifting is also a good or even better way for burning fat, according to recent research. Even after weightlifting, up to 6 hours, your calories will continue to burn. Whereas, in cardio, when you stop doing it, your calories will not burn after exercise.
While lifting weights, it is essential to wear comfortable clothes. For women, Shopsees has a stunning collection of leggings. You can check it online and buy it at budget-friendly prices.
When you lift weights, your body needs more energy to recover, and that’s why it continues to burn for an extended time. Weightlifting has another benefit, which is getting a lean physique. If you want to weight loss and you lift weights, you will gain lean muscle mass. So, it helps you to burn calories even with daily activities.
It is a fact that the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you can burn.
- You must lift lightweight and more reps to tone your muscles.
Typically, women’s workout schedule includes bodyweight exercise or lightweight liftings and lots of reps. This conventional method claims that these smaller weights and more reps help tone muscles without becoming more prominent. You can also find resistance bands on various online marketplace websites.
The word muscle toning here is misleading. It is because it claims to shape muscle without gaining muscle mass or bulking up. However, it is not valid. According to research, it is a fact the one cannot get a muscle definition without gaining muscle mass.
You can develop bigger muscles from small ones, but you can not change the shape of the muscle. For this, you need to undergo medical surgery.
Furthermore, muscle toning here targets the shape or part of your body. For example, whether it is stomach or thighs, muscle toning means to make it leaner. However, this spot reduction should not be your goal if you want to achieve positive results. It would help if you focused on compound exercises like weightlifting and deadlifts to lose fat from your body.
- It is tough or scary to learn weightlifting for women.
As a beginner, it is true that walking into the gym and doing exercise can be anxiety-provoking. People feel being judge by others. This can be serious trouble for women particularly.
Well, it is true, you may face this situation. But you must know is that you can’t learn anything if you don’t initiate it. Similarly, for a few days, you may feel uncomfortable or being a judge. Still, when you learn about exercise and all related stuff, it will become your habit to go to the gym.
If you are new to weightlifting, finding a good coach or instructor is essential. It helps you to prevent yourself from injury and also allows you to achieve your goal faster.
Benefits of Weightlifting for Women
Increased and well-developed bone density
Medical research shows that most women experience weak bone density after menopause. In such an event, weightlifting helps to build more substantial bone density. It helps postmenopausal women to gain bone growth and mineral density.
Improved metabolism
Nowadays, many women are suffering from a slow metabolism. This results in more fat. Slow metabolisms restrict your body from burning more fat. And if you are not burning calories, it will store as fat. It is a sensational issue for women suffering from PCOS disease.
Strong joints
Women tend to have more ligaments injuries than men. While doing weight liftings and squats, your hip strengths improve, and you develop stronger muscles. It supports the bones and joints and prevents you from any joint injuries.
Improved posture, mobility, and balance
As mentioned earlier, your developed bone density, strong legs and hips, and powerful upper-body strength provide you strong posture, mobility, and balance. This protects you from shoulder and back injuries.
All in all
Weightlifting is not a gender-specific activity or sport. The most important thing you require is a good form while doing it. It is highly suggested t consult a good coach if you are new to the gym.
You can buy many other gym accessories from an online shopping website. I hope this article helps you to widen your horizon towards women’s bodybuilding. Comment below if you have any questions.
Author Bio:
Kunal Thakkar grew up in India, currently located in Ontario, Canada. He has an immense interest in writing and researching about new things happening in the world. Kunal works in the field of digital marketing for more than six years. Apart from this, he loves to play cricket. Kunal writes early in the morning, then spends the rest of the day working as a digital marketer at Shopsees.