Enough with the excuses, ladies. You can and should lift weights.
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1. Build the Body You Want
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Women are often seeking ways to lose fat and tone their bodies. Lifting weights does both.
Whether your goal is to get a lean, athletic look, or you just want to change the shape of your body, strength training is the answer. Progressive strength training with free weights can help you change the shape of your body and achieve the look you want. You can lose fat and improve your health with cardio, but lifting weights is what changes your muscle definition and shape.
2. Self-Confidence
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Most women don't associate boosted self-confidence with weightlifting, but a strong correlation is evident. As women embark on a weightlifting regimen and increase their physical strength, their mental strength increases simultaneously. This often results in improved self-confidence.
3. Self-Imposed Limitations
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Unfortunately, many women believe they'll never be able to do a bodyweight pull-up or 10 traditional push-ups. But with a proper strength training program, those goals become much more obtainable. Once women reach milestones, they begin to shatter their self-imposed limitations, opening the door for future personal growth.
4. Everyday Tasks
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Getting stronger in the gym is great, but improving your daily life can be even better. Women who lift weights often find out how much easier everyday tasks become, even if they were once challenging or exhausting. Whether it's lifting up your children, carrying groceries or walking up stairs, you'd be surprised at the impact weightlifting can have.
5. Focus on What Your Body Can Do
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We all want to look better, and it doesn't help that society pressures us into feeling like we have to look a certain way. Because of this, we obsess over our bodies—how they look, what size pants we wear and how much we weigh.
But lifting weights allows you to discover and be proud of what your body can do instead of worrying about how it looks. Learn to love your body, not just for its appearance, but for the amazing things it can do.
6. Stress Relief
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After a long day at work or school, few things relieve stress better than a good weightlifting workout. When you focus on getting stronger and beating your previous workout's marks, all of your worries are often brushed aside. You can finish a workout feeling energized and sometimes even with clarity and solutions to your problems.
7. Variety of Options
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Some people incorrectly assume lifting weights means you have to do specific exercises and that if you don't have the right equipment, you can't get results. Whether you work out at a fully stocked gym or you just have dumbbells at home, you can lift weights effectively and get the results you want with a variety of exercises.
It's all about making the most of what's available. No matter where you live, how much money you have, or how old you are, you can lift weights in a way that works for you.
Nia Shanks
Author Bio 8 of 9
Nia Shanks is a coach, health and fitness writer, and host of the Lift Like a Girl Podcast. She helps women build the bodies they want by becoming the strongest, most awesome version of themselves. You can find out more at her website, LiftLikeaGirl.com.
Links:
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