Fortunately, nowadays, you can already see more women doing strength training and gradually not sticking to aerobics classes as they used to. In any case, bodybuilding in women is still a subject of some myths, especially with regard to increasing muscle mass.
This is because many women still believe that if they do strength training, they will wake up more muscular the next day, limiting themselves to training with the small pink dumbbells in the gym.
In order to achieve your goal, whether it be to tone up or lose fat mass, it is essential that you carry out an adequate strength training routine, with the appropriate exercises and loads that are consistent with that objective.
Stay here with some of the fundamentals that govern bodybuilding in women and the reasons why you should implement it in your routine.
BODYBUILDING IN WOMEN: 7 FACTORS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
1.fat mass loss
If you think that bodybuilding is only for increasing muscle mass, you are wrong. Although many people think that it only serves to increase volume and restrict themselves to cardiovascular activities to lose fat mass , know that strength training comes at the top of the activities that you can do to burn calories.
The great advantage of bodybuilding for women is that it will increase the body’s ability to burn fat both during and after training.
After completing an intense strength training session, your body will continue to burn additional oxygen, this is called the EPOC index . This index may remain high hours or even days after the end of the training, depending on the intensity of the training.
2.More muscle and increased metabolism
As you build strength and muscle mass, your body will use calories more efficiently. Constant muscle contractions will therefore increase your metabolism.
Obviously, the more intense the activity, the more potentiated this last factor is, as sitting burns fewer calories than standing, standing burns less than walking and the latter burns less than running.
By having more muscle mass, you will thus increase the number of calories you burn at rest.
3.curves
This point is the culmination of the two previous ones, because by toning your muscle mass and burning fat mass, you will thus implement the desired curves in your body. To do so, you need a good strength training routine with some cardiovascular component, the latter not to be preferred, as in many cases.
By focusing only on cardiovascular exercise, you will be burning calories but not boosting EPOC (post-workout oxygen consumption), something that is boosted with strength training.
4.stronger bones
As you age, the loss of bone mass and muscle mass increases. Postmenopausal women are at increased risk because the body no longer produces estrogen, a hormone that is critical for bone health.
Weight training in women is an excellent way to combat the loss of bone mass, thus leading to a decrease in the risk of osteoporosis.
5.Cardiovascular health and diabetes prevention
Recent research shows that strength training may lower a woman’s risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to 2016 studies conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Health .
By performing strength training you will be making your body more sensitive to insulin, which will make your body more resistant to a set of current metabolic diseases. This type of training will have as adaptations the fact that it lowers blood pressure and improves your cholesterol.
6.Stress
There is a high correlation between strength training and the reduction of stress and anxiety, especially in women.
Studies show that women subject to strength training show a considerable decrease in anxiety levels , and it has been consistently reported in different investigations that women are considerably more sensitive to the anxiolytic effects of this type of training.
7.Mental health
Research carried out by the British Journal of Sports Medicine , has shown that exercise, in this case strength training, has modulating effects on the structure of the brain and its blood supply. This will have an effect on neurogenesis (formation of new neurons in the brain), and on the secretion of endorphins, which will improve your mood.
At the same time, it was demonstrated that bodybuilding in women had positive effects in reducing depressive symptoms, with strength training being a powerful ally in the fight against psychological illnesses.
IN SHORT…
Bodybuilding in women has numerous benefits, ranging from reducing stress, depressive symptoms, metabolic diseases and improving self-image. In this article, you have an idea of the advantages that strength training can have on your health. The next step, if you haven’t already done so, is to put it into practice!