Why Women Should Lift Weights to Lose Weight

In my never-ending journey of weight loss and physical self improvement, my research brought me to the topic of weight training for weight loss.

Why, as a woman would I want to lift heavy weights?

Won’t that make me get bulky?

Isn’t cardio best for fat loss?

But I found out that strength training has a ton of benefits, including weight loss, boosting insulin sensitivity, creating and maintain lean muscle and boosting metabolism.

And no, it will not make you look like a bodybuilder.

Find out why women should lift weights to lose weight and how it can benefit your overall health.

*Disclaimer: Before starting any new exercise routine, please consult with your physician. This blog post is my opinion and does not constitute medical advice.

8 Benefits of Strength Training For Women (including fat loss)

Build & Maintain Stronger Bones

Strength training helps increase bone density, which can help prevent osteoporosis, a condition that causes bones to become weak and brittle. This is especially important for women, as they are more at risk for osteoporosis after menopause. Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones, making them more likely to break. It is often referred to as the “silent thief” because bone loss happens gradually with no symptoms until a break happens.

Accelerated bone loss after menopause is caused by drops in estrogen levels, which disrupts the body’s natural bone maintenance process.

Research suggests women can lose up to 20% of their bone density within the first five to seven years following menopause [source].

Keep your bones strong and healthy into your older age by lifting weights for both your upper and lower body 3-4 times per week. 

Strength Training Boosts Metabolism For Fat Loss

Why else should women lift weights to lose weight? Resistance training on a regular basis will increase your lean muscle mass and help you burn more calories. It also increases your body’s ability to burn fat during and even hours after exercise due to the body’s increased need for oxygen. That’s because more oxygen = more calorie burn = increased metabolic rate (yes please!).

Your body also burns more calories post-workout while repairing the muscles you’ve worked.

As your body builds muscle, it also needs more calories to maintain that muscle. The more muscle you gain, the better your body becomes at burning calories, even when sleeping.

 

Resistance training also helps promote muscle and bone health – both of which can decline in women as they age (screw you menopause).

Building Muscle Creates A More Shapely Figure

Have a flat booty? While weight lifting might not guarantee you a Kardashian backside, it can help improve upon the curves you do have. Muscle building can lift areas that might be sagging and tighten areas that have a little extra jiggle.

However, to see the results of the muscle you are building, you need to burn the fat on top of those muscles and continue to lift heavier weights over time to fully build the muscle.

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Improves Heart Health & Prevents Disease

Strength training can help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and strengthen your heart. This can reduce your risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death for women.

Strength training for women can also help reduce the risk of developing other chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and some cancers. For example, weight lifting can help improve insulin sensitivity, which is beneficial for women (like myself) that suffer from PCOS and insulin resistance.

 

Building Strength Improves Posture & Balance

Strong muscles can help you maintain good posture and improve your balance. Better balance and control can help prevent falls, which are a common cause of injury in older women.

 

Regular Weight Lifting Can Reduce Pain

Strength training can help relieve pain caused by conditions such as arthritis and back pain.

 

Exercising Improves Mental Health

Strength training and exercise in general can help improve your mood, reduce stress and boost your self-esteem. Personally, I’ve found weight lifting to be a great reliever of stress after a long day of work. I also fall asleep faster and sleep better on the nights that I lift heavy – it totally wipes me out!

 

Building Strength Increases Functional Fitness

Strength training can make it easier to do everyday activities, such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, and gardening. After lifting heavy weights for the last six months, I feel stronger in general. Everyday tasks just seem easier and those stairs to my train platform don’t make my legs burn like they used to

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Strength Training For Women Myth – Lifting Weights Makes You Bulky

The fear of getting bulky or too muscular is a common myth among most women when they start lifting weights. My husband even expressed this fear when the heavy dumbbells and kettlebells I ordered starting arriving at my door. I explained to him that he didn’t have to worry about being married to a female bodybuilder.

Women will not get Schwarzenegger-sized muscles from lifting heavy weights; we simply lack the required amount of testosterone to build super huge muscles. In truth, female bodybuilders have to work their ass off for their big muscles by spending hours each day in a gym, carefully monitoring their diet and taking additional supplementation or hormones to boot.

For most women, I’m pretty sure you would not get even remotely close to this type of muscle-building action when you lift weights to lose weight. And if you feel you’ve achieved the muscle building results you want, you can always adjust your strength training routine to maintain these results and not build further muscle mass.

Genetics also play a role in your ability to build muscle and contributes to the shape of those muscles as well. Some women will have naturally leaner muscles while others will build muscle more quickly.

What does contribute to the “bulky” look? FAT.

 

That’s right. It doesn’t matter how much muscle mass you carry, if it’s covered in a thick layer of fat, you’re not going to see the definition of those muscles. If you’re looking to get lean and ripped like Jessica Biel, you’ll need to get your body fat percentage to around 20% or less.

More Muscle = More Weight

I feel it important to mention that muscle is more dense than fat, but takes up less space then fat. While 1 pound of muscles weighs the same as 1 pound of fat, fat will take up more space on your body. This also means that muscle the size of a tennis ball will weigh more than fat the size of a tennis ball due to the density of fat. Women starting a resistance training routine can expect to gain weight on the scale if they are successful at gaining muscle because of this principle (e.g. a 5 foot, size 6 woman with little muscle mass will weigh less than a 5 foot, size 6 woman carrying more muscle mass).

Don’t let this “weight” gain put you off from resistance training; remember, you are gaining muscle, not fat. Focus on how your body looks and how your clothes fit instead. I experienced three months of “no weight loss” with my scale when I started weight training in late 2015. But…I lost inches all over my body and finally fit into a pair of jeans that previously had to be sewn on.

I started to take measurements of my chest, waist and hips and monitored my results over time. My weight on the scale didn’t budge, but my body got smaller and I could slowly start to see some muscle definition peeking out from the fat folds.

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My Results 

I’m currently 9 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I’ve also gained a lot of muscle to boot. I’ve dropped from a size 10 to a size 7 pant size (my goal pants are a size 6, and I’m really close! They zip up now!). More importantly, I can see the results of my hard work in my muscle definition.

While I still have fat to lose (I’m at around 28% body fat) my arms are slimmer and more toned, my butt has lifted and my legs are leaner. More importantly, I feel more confident in my body. After having a baby, I never thought I’d be able to feel comfortable in my body again, but I’m actually in better shape now than before baby!

Not only can I see, but I can feel the progress. When I get to a point where a move isn’t as difficult on the last 1-2 repetitions, I increase my weight. There are also certain moves (like lunges) that I had difficulty performing when I first started that I no longer dread. My balance, endurance and flexibility have all improved.

RELATED READING: 5 Ways To Stay Motivated On A New Exercise Program

 

Weight Training Tips & Resources

Just realized you should lift weights to lose weight? I suggest you read my post on how to pick the right weight.  I also incorporate cardio and HIIT workouts to burn more fat and I track my calories to ensure I’m not overeating. 

Some of the YouTubers I follow for strength training include:

• Cheryl Colombe (weight training for 40+ women)
• Christine Salus
• Melissa Bender
• BodyFit By Amy
• DanielPT Fitness
• Heather Robertson

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Have you tried to lift weights to lose weight yet ladies?

I hope you incorporate some weight lifting exercises into your daily routine to stay strong and healthy, you won’t regret it!