If you are a woman and you have a higher level of body fat than you would like and you are trying to make a decision, "Should I be doing a strength training exercise program to help me lose weight?" Some women would say, "No, because I will bulk up and I will end up looking bigger and fatter." Let us take a look at that myth for a moment and examine why it is incorrect. When your percentage of body fat is high, that fat is stored in areas that are obvious like your tummy, hips and thighs and it is also stored within the muscles of your body. It is sort of like the marbling of meat that we buy to eat. When you have high levels of body fat similar fat is stored inside our muscles too. That fat takes up a lot of space within the muscle tissue so it makes the muscles bigger than they are normally if you were lean. So, you already have larger muscles and in fact if you start using them and they become stronger they will also become leaner and smaller when you are at a lower percentage of body fat. Once we hit 30 years we start to lose our fat burning machinery - our muscle tissue - at the rate of one half pound per year unless we work our muscles on a regular basis. With this loss comes a drop in our metabolism (the rate our body burns fuel). This likely is the reason why your body fat percentage has risen as you simply are not burning as much fuel (calories) every hour as you used to. Your muscle strength is vitally important as you get older and if you do not do enough muscle maintaining activity it can lead to the sort of weakness, frailty and loss of physical function that lands people in nursing homes somewhere down the track. So, toning up your muscles and building back your metabolism is the very best way to lose any excess weight. Toned muscle tissue will increase your metabolic rate both day and night. Strength training exercise will also keep your bones strong which is especially important for women. Along with many increased health benefits just 2-3 strength training sessions each week will make you stronger so everyday tasks and activities are easier. Your energy levels with increase and you will find you have more 'get up and go'. You will maintain joint strength and flexibility which means you will be less likely to experience back, knee or hip problems as well as managing your weight better and easier. You can even improve your mental and emotional health and reduce the risk of depression - all excellent reasons to make strength training the center-piece in your fitness program. Strength training is every woman's ticket to a higher quality of life and greater disease protection. You will get an all-over body strengthening both inside and out that no other activity or type of exercise can compare with. So, get started and grab the multitude of health benefits for yourself.
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