​​​​​​​Benefits of Lifting, and It Doesn’t Make You Bulky!

We’ve heard it many times, especially among women, that lifting weights makes you bulky. While lifting heavy will promote hypertrophy in muscles leading to growth in muscle tissue, it still won’t lead to that “bulky” look.

Men have higher levels of testosterone, and women have higher levels of estrogen. Having higher levels of testosterone is what helps men gain muscle and lose fat much easier, while having higher estrogen makes it harder for women to gain muscle and lose fat.

With that being said, women can still gain good amounts of muscle, and it will come easier to some than others. The actual size of muscle gained has to do with skeletal structure, size and testosterone levels, hence why women don’t get that ‘bulky’ look.

Another factor of gaining a lot of muscle has to do with food and how much you are eating. If you put yourself into a large caloric surplus, you will gain weight faster. If you utilize your strength training you can gain a lot of muscle during this time. If you are eating at your maintenance calories or slightly below, the odds of you gaining a large amount of muscle is slim.

This mindset is what prevents some people from wanting to get into the gym and lift weights. There are SO many benefits to strength training, so let's take a look at a few:

Increase in bone density

• When we put stress on our bones (coming from the tugging / pushing on the bone) from strength training, we get stronger, denser bones.

Stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments

• Stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments promote great joint stability and just overall better movement of the body.

Help in the decrease of fat mass and increase in skeletal muscle mass

• It’s no secret that lifting weights will increase your skeletal muscle mass, but it also plays a role in lowering your fat mass.

The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest

• Strength training leads to lean muscle mass gain, which is a “fat free” tissue that is highly metabolic, leading to more calories burned. Lifting weights is so good because it promotes fat loss, but maintains muscle, which in turn burns calories at a higher rate.

Helps in managing your blood sugar levels

• When you train your muscles, it improves glucose storage by storing it as glycogen, aiding in the lowering of blood sugar levels.

The “mind-body” benefit

• Strength training actually helps us boost our brain power, you’ll feel better, and you’ll stimulate your brain to want to move more! Strength training is also directly correlated to improving your mood.

Lowers risk of injury

• The stronger out muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments are, the risk of injury goes way down.

Improves heart health

• Strength training is known to decrease blood pressure, and lower your bad cholesterol, leading to a healthier heart!

As we now see, lifting promotes a better overall quality of life.

Are you ready to start your journey with strength training? Our trainers at fitness together can certainly help you with that, so you can start getting stronger and setting your mind and body up for even greater success!

Photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nenadstojkovic/50425016047/in/photolist-2jPToup-2hpgWhA-2m7H1Mh-2kENbfk-RoAfR8-2m7117q-2f9XSAr-2mtGizC-L3aSwg-2m5VMZg-2mTYrMs-2jQ9Foy-weBxVP-7zQm3s-6DZs2d-2kkvUFq-2k6ykxp-MJsuh5-2jPNLT3-KwL1SX-28rEbQ6-2kNPtWT-2jswUte-5TNiv1-2jQyeLt-2jQuEEm-7QUSQu-2jsJoB6-2m6YN78-2gBDG5c-2m1JE42-2jRf1ei-2m4GKak-2m4myYR-2mEkubK-2gNCyAB-2mHhjso-2kcqjcT-2jRbsxA-2m4Lpip-28hoHM7-2kFtvSJ-2gNCrrL-2m1JE7i-2kxVqqs-2kDewyQ-2a3uWDf-8jfGhX-2kEGgP2-8ovnkx