Weightlifting and How It Changed My Life
By Mirella, Personal Trainer – Mirella Fitness
Many women opt for hours of cardio in their fitness routines and neglect the power of weightlifting. I was always a cardio bunny, spending hours pounding the streets around my hometown. I loved it…it gave me an escape. But I never achieved the type of body I wanted. I also enjoyed workouts with weights, classes at the gym, home workouts via VHS, but it wasn’t anything serious. By serious, I mean, lifting real weight!
Like many women, I was all about the ‘burn’, and that was only felt through smashing myself with lots of endurance! Hours pounding the streets or the treadmill. It wasn’t until I got serious about the weights that I realised how addictive building strength could be. And how easy it can be to change my body and maintain the results.
There are many misconceptions about women and weightlifting, particularly when it comes to women’s physical appearance. Not only can lifting weights help women achieve their fitness goals, but the health benefits (both mental and physical) are huge. Here are just a few…
- Increased muscle mass – not only does it make you look leaner, but it raises your BMR (calories your body burns at rest). This means you’ll need to eat more to maintain your muscles, win win!
- Increases strength – from the age of 30, women begin to atrophy (lose muscle) so it really is important to strength train so you can continue to carry shopping, sit on the toilet, climb stairs or even mountains as you go into old age!
- It’s fun – weight lifting itself is a fun and effective form of exercise. Using your newfound strength to do things you couldn’t previously do, like a chin up!
- Confidence – knowing your own strength (and knowing how easy it is to get stronger) is a huge confidence booster, not to mention going into the gym and feeling like you are a warrior woman! Forget the cardio for achieving a toned body… weights are where it’s at!
- You can shape and sculpt your body – weight training gives you the ability to focus on certain muscle groups and attain the physique you desire. Some of my favourite exercises for women focus on achieving perky glutes!
- Bone health – women’s bones are at risk of osteoporosis as we age. Lifting weights increases bone density, particularly around menopause, and helps keep bones healthy.
As well as the many benefits above, weightlifting also helped me to build a better relationship with food. I now love food, without having a guilty relationship with it. I no longer restrict myself or use it as punishment. Instead, it nurtures my body and fuels my workouts.
As a Personal Trainer, I have really enjoyed helping so many women learn to lift safely and effectively, and ultimately find a love for lifting weights too!
So, if you’re tired of working out endlessly, living a miserable life by restricting foods and calories, and still not seeing the results you want, then perhaps it’s time to look at how weights could make you feel amazing!
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