Muffin Top-Less

“I don’t strength train because I’ll bulk up like a man… I don’t want to look like a body builder!”

“News flash ladies – it’s physically impossible for you to bulk up without hormone treatment or some other artificial intervention. Women lack the growth hormones required to get as muscular as men. We simply don’t produce the amount of testosterone required to gain muscle mass like men (or female body builders who are taking supplements to support growth) do.

The fact of the matter is, if you want to be fit, lean and toned, you need to do more than just cardio. You should be incorporating strength training workouts into your routine  IN ADDITION to your cardio workouts! The COMBINATION of cardio and strength training is what will get you the results that you’re looking for – feeling strong and looking lean!

But that’s not all!  There are so many benefits for women that come from incorporating strength training into an exercise regimen:

• Improved muscle tone (and increased self-esteem)! I don’t know about you, but I always feel better about myself when I am looking fit and trim – lean muscles are sexy!
• Increased bone density! A healthy bone is more dense; meaning that it has more calcium stores, is stronger and has a higher bone density. Weight bearing exercises, or strength training, help to deposit calcium stores within your bones, leading to healthier, stronger bones!
• Increased immunity to illness! Several studies have now found that strength training increases both the number and the amount of activity of immune cells whose primary jobs are to detect and destroy cancerous and virus-infected cells! In addition, muscle is your body’s way of storing protein – which is essential in the production of antibodies when your body is fighting an infection.
• Ability to slow (and even reverse!) the aging process! A recent study conducted at McMaster University Medical Center showed that lifting weights can actually reverse the aging process in the muscles. Participants in the study not only got stronger, but the molecular mechanisms which generate power for their muscles became as active as those found in much younger people.
• Your body will metabolize food and drink more efficiently! When you strength train, you experience a boost in your resting metabolism… so if you are trying to reduce bodyfat, you’ll be able to do so more easily! The reason for this is that strength training increases muscle fibers, and as such, they consume more energy – which boosts our metabolisms.

So now we know the benefits of strength training… but why else aren’t’ we doing it?”

By Janine@ThePurpleGiraffe
Full Article: http://shesafitchick.com/2012/01/weights-for-women/