Most women head straight for the cardio equipment and steer clear of the weight room at the gym.  Maybe they’re intimidated by the iron or may be it’s being in the presence of high levels of testosterone.  Whatever the rationale, women should get over it!!  Here are 10 excellent reasons why women need to hit the weights…

Increase Strength

Strength training can provide significant benefits and improve overall health.  Plus, it makes everyday activities easier; like lifting, carrying, etc…

Lose Fat.

Each pound of muscle you gain can burn up to 50 extra calories a day and you can gain nearly two pounds of muscle in just two months by weight training a few times a week.  Better still, you can lose 3.5 pounds of fat at the same time.

No Bulking.

Research shows that women do not typically gain bulk from strength training. Women produce 10-30 times less testosterone than men.  Correct weight training will give you a firm, athletic and shapely body.

Healthy Bones.

Research has shown that weight training can improve your bone density by as much as 13 percent in just six months.  Not only are the bones affected in a positive way, but muscle, tendons and ligaments improve in strength and toughness.  Joint function is also tremendously enhanced.

Improve Performance.

Lifting weights on a regular basis can improve your overall performance in sports and greatly decrease your risk of injury.

Keep Yourself Healthy.

Working out increases natural killer (NK) cells.  These are superhero-like cells that make contact with viruses and bacteria and destroy them before they have a chance to make you ill.  Overall, pumping iron can strengthen your immune system.

Strengthens Your Ticker.

Weight training can improve cardiac function.  It can also increase your HDL (good) cholesterol and lower both your LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure.

Ward Off Type 2 Diabetes.

Research has shown that regular weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way the body processes sugar) in the body by 23 percent in just four months.  This may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Age Is Irrelevant.

Older women who take up weight training can prevent some of the muscle tissue loss that normally accompanies aging and even regain some functional strength.  Weight-bearing exercise also helps to prevent osteoporosis.  The benefits of weight training have been confirmed by studies of people who began engaging in it even in their 80’s and 90’s.

Keeps You Smiling.

Working out with weights has been shown to improve a woman’s self-confidence.  One great side-effect of exercise is increased levels of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, which can help to improve mood and counter feelings of depression.