Article # 104. Should Women be Scared of Gaining Muscle?

While it’s common for women to fear adding ‘unsightly’ muscle to their figures, weight training offers significant health benefits to women as a result of increasing muscle and bone mass. It is easier than you may think to achieve great muscle tone without appearing 'muscly'. Going to the gym and working toward achieving a slim and toned body doesn't have to mean pumping weights with the boys. There are plenty of options to tone your body and look great without looking like a bodybuilder.

Reasons For Women to Weight Train

Weight training gives you more muscle and bone mass, important for buffering acids. Once you have been slimming down with cardio exercises fo a period of time it is beneficial to begin weight training to achieve toned definition. The best way to do this is by using free weights such as dumbbells. In order to tone, use light to medium weights with high reps. This will burn calories and contribute to the slimming process as well as creating a toned body.The more muscle you have the better your potential longevity. Tests have shown that muscle mass, over total cholesterol or blood pressure, is the premier marker of one’s longevity.

The more muscle you have, the more insulin receptor sites you have and the greater your insulin sensitivity will be. Having more muscle means that diabetes is prevented as you have less body fat. Additional muscle also means you can increase your basal metabolic rate. This means you burn more calories while you are resting.

The more muscle you have, the higher your Basal Metabolic Rate. This means that you’ll burn more calories at rest when you have more muscle. More muscle also means more strength. Additional strength means you are likely to live longer.

Remember that muscle is more dense than fat so weighs more by comparison. Thus whilst the scales may not necessarily show a weight loss, fat loss may have occurred. Take girth measurements to gauge this progress. Train with weights to look and feel better.

Women CAN Train with Weights. Bulking up is not a realistic concern for most women because they have low levels of testosterone. Without a sufficient amount of testosterone most women are actually unable to build bulky muscles so you should not be concerned with gaining muscle from weight training. Women who weight train will not only be leaner and look good, but are more likely to live a longer and happier life.