Do women need weight training?

**Prince** · 04-15-2010, 10:31 AM

Do women need weight training?

The Benefits of Resistance Training For Women
by Will Brink

Why Women Need Weight Training!

It’s nice to see that in 2010 the mainstream media is finally starting to “get it” when it comes to the benefits of resistance training (weight training baby!) for women. I wrote an extensive commentary on the topic a while back, that debunked the myths and covered some of the science of why women specifically benefit from weight training. For example, some of the benefits listed were:

Enhanced bone modeling to increase bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis
Stronger connective tissues to increase joint stability and help prevent injury
Increased functional strength for sports and daily activity
Increased lean body mass and decreased nonfunctional body fat
Higher metabolic rate because of an increase in muscle and a decrease in fat
Improved self-esteem and confidence

A recent piece in The Sydney Morning Herald called “Anti-ageing – get with the strength” attempted a more cosmetic approach to why women benefit from weight training, and then add in some of the more physical/medical benefits of weight training for women:

Skin treatments like Botox and retinol might be high profile anti-agers, but they don’t tackle the pointy end of ageing that’s tucked away in nursing homes – the muscle wasting that leads to Zimmer frames and loss of independence. It’s not just the wrinkling of the outer skin that makes a 60 or 70 year old body look older than that of a 30-something. It’s also what’s happening to the stuffing inside – when muscles start shrinking, bodies sag and posture droops. This doesn’t just affect how a body looks, but how it functions – ever-weakening muscles make it harder to get up the stairs or out of your chair.

That’s the bad news. The good news is there’s an antidote – strength training. It was great to hear Professor Hal Kendig, head of the ageing, work and health unit at the University of Sydney, spruiking strength training in the Sydney Morning Herald last week when he said that if older women want to stay out of nursing homes, they should lift weights. He’s right. But wouldn’t it be better still if women got the strength message earlier, say, in their 40s when creeping muscle loss begins? It’s not like men don’t need this message too – they do. But women need it more because they generally have less muscle to begin with and get frailer faster than men. Women also put less value on strength. If you were to guess which physical feature would be high on most women’s wish lists, you can bet strong muscles wouldn’t be up there. All our lives we learn we need good hair, good skin, good boobs and good legs, but strength? Not really our department.

Yet muscle is a real asset and building it has anti-ageing benefits for women, in how they look and how they function. Let’s count the ways.
Regular strength training helps your body look younger. It fights the sagging, ageing effect of dwindling muscle and gravity, and makes it easier to stay at a healthy weight. Cardio exercise is important too for both general health and weight management, but it can’t boost muscle in the same way as strength training so you need a combination of both. And it’s a myth that working out with weights makes women bulky – women don’t produce enough of the male hormone testosterone to grow muscles like a man.

Strong muscles make you less accident prone. We hear a lot about preventing osteoporosis, but hands up who’s heard of sarcopenia? It’s the medical term for loss of muscle and preventing it is as important as preserving bone. After all, it’s the unsteadiness caused by dwindling muscle strength that leads to falls – that lead to fractures.

Regular strength training helps prevent diabetes. To get the link between muscle and diabetes, it helps to know that muscles soak up blood sugar to use as fuel, The more muscle you have, the more blood sugar they take up and the lower the risk of high blood sugar levels that lead to diabetes.
Stronger muscles give you more energy. How’s this for sad news? A study of 34 to 58-year old women by the University of Michigan found that those who’d lost around 2.5 kilos of lean muscle walked more slowly and had less strength in their leg muscles. These women were hardly ancient, yet muscle loss was already eroding their strength.

The Brink Bottom Line:
Well, the above is at least a step in the right direction in that it pushes the benefits of weight training for women. That’s a good thing. Readers will note the mention of sarcopenia, which is the related loss of muscle mass. I have a full article on that topic for those interested in the details there. Although resistance training is a key player in preventing sarcopenia, it’s far more complicated then the above article would suggest. I’m happy to see weight training/resistance training is slowly but surely not being seen as a “manly” activity and the media getting with the program. Might take another 50 years until they figure out aerobics is overrated (read is close to worthless…), but that’s another blog…

**Kathybird** · 04-15-2010, 10:42 AM

Awesome. Part of the reason I've gotten into this is the tongue lashing my mother and aunt got from their docs about NOT strength training. Mom has osteopena and my aunt has osteoporosis. Plus, I swear after two months of this my face looks slightly younger.

**DOMS** · 04-15-2010, 10:48 AM

Of course they do! Those dishes aren't getting any lighter.

I jest! I jest!

There are so many, many misconseptions about weight training and women. My favourite is the "I don't want to go to the gym and lift those 5 pounds dumbbells because I'll end up looking like those women in those magazines!"

I'd pay good money to have one of those uninformed woman actually tell that to "one of those women in those magazines."

**sassy69** · 04-15-2010, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by DOMS

Of course they do! Those dishes aren't getting any lighter.

I jest! I jest!

There are so many, many misconseptions about weight training and women. My favourite is the "I don't want to go to the gym and lift those 5 pounds dumbbells because I'll end up looking like those women in those magazines!"

I'd pay good money to have one of those uninformed woman actually tell that to "one of those women in those magazines."

But they'll starve themselves and pop all sorts of OTC (or not) drugs to "lose weight". JEEZUZ CHRIST -- woudl you seriously take something like ALLI ---

"Even the makers of the drug, GlaxoSmithKline are upfront about the potential consequences of eating fat while on Alli. They give the following warnings with the product: "Make sure you wear dark pants. Users should also bring an extra pair of pants to work just in case." One pharmacist at a local drug store advises users to start on a day off lest they suffer the embarrassing consequences of an Alli-oops. So in case you're still not clear on the consequences. . .eat too much fat and you will find yourself with diarrhea. Not 'I think I can make it to the bathroom diarrhea' but serious, spontaneous, explosions of diarrhea. "

But they won't clean up their diets or go take a walk every now & then.

**sprayherup** · 04-15-2010, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kathybird

Awesome. Part of the reason I've gotten into this is the tongue lashing my mother and aunt got from their docs about NOT strength training. Mom has osteopena and my aunt has osteoporosis. Plus, I swear after two months of this my face looks slightly younger.

Has hubby been giving you facials? This would be why.

**Will Brink** · 04-15-2010, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by Robert

Do women need weight training?

Dude who wrote that sh*& is a hunk...just sayin'....

**Perdido** · 04-15-2010, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by Will Brink

Dude who wrote that sh*& is a hunk...just sayin'....

That must be the same shmuck that sent me the link to the article to my email address.

J/K

Good article that I've already forwarded on!

**Will Brink** · 04-16-2010, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by rahaas

That must be the same shmuck that sent me the link to the article to my email address.

Same schmuck, but he's so damn good looking I would go gay for him.

**placez** · 04-18-2010, 11:14 AM

no i think all woman have high metabolism

**sassy69** · 04-18-2010, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by placez

no i think all woman have high metabolism

Based on what?

**jcar1016** · 04-18-2010, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by sassy69

Based on what?

Based on his other posts. Hes retarded sassy

**sassy69** · 04-18-2010, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by jcar1016

Based on his other posts. Hes retarded sassy

Yea I pretty much gathered that -- was hoping to possibly inspire something that made a little more sense....

Guess not..

**MsGuns** · 04-18-2010, 03:33 PM

Yes, women need weight trainin to look and feel better.

**Will Brink** · 04-19-2010, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by placez

no i think all woman have high metabolism

I'm not convinced you think at all from this post.

**Kathybird** · 04-19-2010, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by placez

no i think all woman have high metabolism

You haven't actually ever MET any women, have you?

**sassy69** · 04-19-2010, 04:06 PM

I think EVERYONE needs resistance training.

**Will Brink** · 04-27-2010, 06:55 AM

Originally Posted by sassy69

I think EVERYONE needs resistance training.

Of course, but men are not terribly difficult to convince. It may also actually be of greater value to women for reasons mentioned in the article.

**sassy69** · 04-27-2010, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Will Brink

Of course, but men are not terribly difficult to convince. It may also actually be of greater value to women for reasons mentioned in the article.

The funny thing is women are so convinced they'll "get big" but they end up "big" (and fat) anyway.

Holy Mother of God, the ham hocks I've seen on some women would put Tom Prince to shame.

**Curt James** · 04-27-2010, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by sassy69

I think EVERYONE needs resistance training.

Amen!

**Perdido** · 04-28-2010, 03:55 AM

Originally Posted by sassy69

Holy Mother of God, the ham hocks I've seen on some women would put Tom Prince to shame.

**theCaptn'** · 04-28-2010, 04:44 AM

Originally Posted by sassy69

I think EVERYONE needs resistance training.

. . and jerking off, an unbeatable combo

**sassy69** · 04-28-2010, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by CaptRichArund

. . and jerking off, an unbeatable combo

But make sure you're alternating hands so you don't create an asymmetry in your push/pull balance.

LOL!

**theCaptn'** · 04-28-2010, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by sassy69

But make sure you're alternating hands so you don't create an asymmetry in your push/pull balance.

LOL!

werd! GYCH!

**Will Brink** · 07-18-2010, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by sassy69

But make sure you're alternating hands so you don't create an asymmetry in your push/pull balance.

What's the difference between pink and purple?

The strength of your grip!

**Will Brink** · 07-18-2010, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by sassy69

The funny thing is women are so convinced they'll "get big" but they end up "big" (and fat) anyway.

Although I'm never surprised (but always disappointed...) to hear some gal tell me how she wants to avoid lifting weights "because I just wanna be toned and all..." but I'm always blown away when some guy says he does not like women who workout. To me, this says something about how he views women in general.

Fact is, only weak ass men fear strong women. If they don't workout with passion and purpose, then we don't have anything in common. They don't have to be bbers by any means (although I dated an IFBB pro for a time, so it's all good there...) but they have to have passion about some athletic endeavour, be it skating (love skater bodies!), dance, track, or what have you, but be strong, be athletic, train with passion. The passion and purpose you bring to your physical self, is what you bring to the other parts of your life.

If you fear being strong, then you aint for me, and if you fear those that are strong - male or female - look in the mirror for the answer.

Strength, passion, purpose are the ultimate aphrodisiac, which is why female athletes of one kind or another have always been for me. I would step over the naked body of some skinny insecure cardio bunny "who just wants a flat tummy and to avoid those horrible scary muscle things" to get to female athletes of all kinds.

And to be a tad graphic, cardio bunnies may or may not be the best looking gal in the room, but when the lights go off, no one fu&% like a female athlete (especially female bbers...).

Now, to each's own and all that, but I find people - men and women - pass judgments on those who find strength sexy, when they should mind their own f-ing business and stick to the soft non threatening types they prefer....

Rant off.

**Nightowl** · 07-18-2010, 10:37 PM

without reading this article, which in the long run I will

...I think it is a great means for more or a better with physical appearance to even health. Sure, we know too much of something can kill or be not good, but even some of the smaller and best fitness persons have and will be there with their weights, one way or another.

So, great chance to entice those that may have the means for anabolic to that of becoming a competitor.

thanks Prince!

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