Does Lifting Weights Make You Healthier? 5 Benefits of Weightlifting
Written By: Taylor Rao
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When it comes to working out, there are many different directions you could take when deciding which type of routine is best for you, and what type of results you might see from each one. As women, it’s common to have goals to tighten and tone the body, especially when some of us believe what we’ve been told in the past that more intense exercises like weightlifting can make a woman look “too muscular.”
But listen, the rumors aren’t true –weightlifting is not only for men or for future bodybuilders. Lifting weights both big and small have significant fitness benefits and can positively impact your overall health. To begin, start referring to weightlifting by its more modern name, “strength training,” which covers a lot more ground in the world of fitness and puts the emphasis on the idea that everything you do in the gym is helping to make you stronger. Stronger physically, but also stronger mentally as well. Here are five benefits of weightlifting to help you get motivated.
Weightlifting can boost your metabolism
When you build muscle by lifting weights, you are also burning fat. Your metabolic rate increases during a strength training workout and allows you to quickly and efficiently burn calories during a workout. According to Healthline, your metabolic rate stays at an increased level for up to 72 hours after strength-training exercise. So essentially, you continue to burn additional calories after your workout.
At the popular national group fitness gym OrangeTheory, their philosophy is similarly based on an “after burn” effect, which is produced by “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption,” or EPOC. Their signature one-hour program design produces an increased metabolic rate for up to 24 hours after the high-intensity interval workout.
Weightlifting makes you stronger
Consistent strength training, even 2-3 times per week, will begin to build up your endurance both inside and outside of the gym. When you lift weights on a regular basis, you will start to find everyday tasks easier such as bringing in your groceries or lifting up your children at home, allowing you to feel more confident in your ability to move your body in a comfortable, fluent way.
When you first begin, you will want to start with a modest load if you are using free weights in a gym or following along with a group fitness class. You might consult with a trainer in your class or at the facility so they can learn more about you, and your current fitness level and also grasp what your goals are for weightlifting. If you start out at the right level, it will be important to track the progress along the way and start reaching your goals every time you go up a weight in dumbbells or kettlebells. This is part of the mental strength you’ll build by finding the energy to keep pushing and lifting heavier as time goes on. It’s addicting!
Weightlifting can help you appear leaner
Many of us know by now that the number you see when you step on the scale is not always an indication of your overall fitness and health. But why is that? Well, you will start to see when you begin weightlifting that as you build muscle mass, you start to lose body fat. And muscle takes up less physical room on your body –so you will look more lean without necessarily shedding pounds off your body. For example, you could see inches lost on your waist but still be around your starting weight, making your clothes fit better or possibly even having to size down in your pants.
Weightlifting improves your flexibility
You might think weightlifting involves more strict body movements than a fitness activity like pilates or yoga, but many positions you’ll find yourself in while lifting weights are also designed to increase your mobility and range of motion. Hip-hinging movements, overhead presses, and lunges all can be done with weights in hand –and if you stick to it, you will start to notice a greater ability to get low and feel deep stretches while performing these movements and others.
Weightlifting lowers your risk of heart disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it’s been proven that regular physical activity can act as a force against cardiovascular disease for both men and women and especially as we start to age. Most people think that heavy cardio activities are the most helpful, but the truth is lifting weights can also help lower your risk of heart disease or experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
While you don’t want to overdo it and lift too often (or too much weight), even one hour of weightlifting a week can help improve your overall health and protect you from serious illness for years to come.
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