Why Women Should Lift Weights Over Excessive Cardio

Why Women Should Lift Weights Over Excessive Cardio

When it comes to exercise, women are more likely to hit the treadmill than lift weights. But, if you're spending extra hours doing cardio to try to lose fat or get fit, it may be time to reach for the dumbbells. Weight training delivers benefits that don't come with aerobic exercise, helping to elevate metabolism and burn calories even when you're not at the gym.

Cardio exercise is still important for any fitness routine. It strengthens the heart, improves blood flow, and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. And, it's a proven fat-burner, using more calories per workout than resistance training. A 154 lb person who goes for a vigorous run burns 590 calories per hour, compared to 440 calories when lifting weights for the same period of time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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That's why women with weight loss goals tend to dial up the cardio, hoping to expend even more calories. But more isn't necessarily better. Researchers are finding that when the body is pushed to certain limits, it may start conserving energy and storing fat for the future. And, after a certain amount of exercise, calorie burn rate can even plateau.

Instead of adding yet another five-mile run to a cardio-centric routine, consider weight lifting.  Load-bearing exercise has a different effect on the body, adding lean muscle weight. Muscle tissue naturally uses more energy than fat tissue, so the more muscle you develop, the higher your metabolism even when you're at rest.

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An article in Current Sports Medicine Reports outlines some interesting benefits of weight training. A person who lifts weights for 20 minutes burns about 200 calories during the workout, and another 25% of calories as muscles recover during the next hour. Over the following three days, resting metabolism can be elevated by 5% to 9%. What does this mean? Crunch the numbers, and two weight training sessions per week could use up about 5,000 calories per month. After ten weeks of lifting weights, a person could add 3 lbs of muscle (1.4 kg) and reduce fat weight by 4 lbs (1.8 kg).

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The gains of resistance training are hard to ignore: increased bone density, injury prevention, and improved confidence and self-esteem. Some people worry lifting weights can lead to too much bulk, but women don't naturally have high enough levels of testosterone to build the huge muscles bodybuilders have.

The bottom line is that aerobic exercise is essential for keeping the heart healthy, but the focus shouldn't only be on cardio. A routine that incorporates resistance training with dumbbells, hand weights, or weight machines helps women increase muscle mass and enjoy the benefits of a longer-lasting metabolic boost.

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