Whether you are a woman who currently does not exercise at all or you spend time performing cardiovascular exercise only, then you need to learn the benefits of weight training. Of course, cardiovascular exercise can improve your heart health and help you shed weight. However, you may not realize that strength training offers many other benefits above and beyond an increase in strength and weight loss alone. Read on to learn five known benefits of strength training for women.

1. Boost Resting Metabolism

Calories burned during cardiovascular exercise and strength training vary depending on the specific exercise you perform and your exercise intensity. However, according to Healthline, numerous studies have shown that a person's resting metabolic rate (RMR) stays elevated for up to 38 hours after a strength training session. Your resting metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns while completely at rest.

Along with this immediate increase in RMR after a strength-training session, you can look forward to increasing your RMR every day in the long run as you build more muscle mass. Since each pound of muscle on your body burns more calories per hour when at rest than each pound of fat, each pound of muscle you gain while strength training helps increase your RMR around the clock. In fact, each pound of muscle on your body burns 7 to 10 calories each day, while each pound of fat only burns 2 to 3 calories each day.

2. Increase Bone Density

Women tend to be more prone than men to developing osteoporosis, especially during and after menopause. While eating a well balanced diet rich in essential minerals like calcium, magnesium and vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis, efficient strength training is linked to increased bone density. Not only can strength training help prevent the loss of bone density associated with osteoporosis, it can even reverse bone loss in the early stages of osteoporosis, known as osteopenia.

3. Balance Hormone Levels

No woman can have a healthy body and mind when her hormones are out of balance. One way to help promote a healthy hormone balance naturally is to begin strength training. Strength training causes your body to release human growth hormone (HGH). While this hormone is excreted to help your body build new muscle, it also helps your body burn more fat. In addition, the human growth hormone increases insulin sensitivity, which helps prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
Strength training also promotes a healthy estrogen and testosterone balance in the female body. When a woman is producing too little estrogen and/or too much testosterone, it can affect her health in a variety of ways, including an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

4. Improve Posture

Improper posture can affect your body in many ways. Not only can it take a toll on your appearance, but it can also lead to back pain and even joint degeneration. Many women do not realize that improper posture is often caused by a muscle imbalance in the body. By correcting this muscle imbalance, you can look forward to posture improvement and a reduction in back pain and other body pain it may trigger. While your personal trainer will suggest the right strength training exercises to help improve your posture, correcting poor posture typically involves strengthening your back, neck and core muscles.

5. Lose Weight More Quickly

A common misconception of dieting and exercise is that the key to weight loss is performing cardiovascular exercise. In fact, dieters who begin strength training can actually lose weight/fat more quickly than dieters who skip the weight training and engage in cardiovascular exercise alone. If you are a woman and currently do not exercise or only perform cardiovascular exercise, then keep these strength training benefits for women in mind.

Contact the staff at Living Proof to schedule your one-on-one personal high intensity strength training session today.