Why Women Also Need Strength Training? Know the 8 Important Benefits

Illustration (Magnific/@fxquadro)

YOGYAKARTA - Strength training is a physical exercise to increase muscle strength by providing a load or resistance. This exercise is often associated with male fitness, so it's no wonder many women prefer cardio exercises such as running, cycling, or aerobics, without doing strength training.

In fact, strength training has health benefits that are no less important for women, both physically and mentally. Experts suggest, in a week, 5 days for cardio and 2 days after for strength training. To be more enthusiastic, find out the various benefits of strength training for women.

8 Benefits of Strength Training for Women

Quoted from GoodRx, here are 8 benefits of strength training for women that you can feel if you do it regularly:

Helps burn fat

Strength training can increase the body's metabolism, so it helps burn fat more optimally. A 2018 study on middle-aged women found that they lost body fat every day of the week as long as they did strengt training.

Muscles also burn more calories even when the body is resting. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn every day. In addition, the metabolism remains increased for several days after exercise, so the body continues to burn calories even after you have finished exercising.

Increase bone density

As women age, they have a higher risk of osteoporosis. In fact, after menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in a few years. This condition can certainly have a serious impact on health.

Strength training helps stimulate the formation of new bone tissue. With regular exercise, bones become stronger and denser. The risk of osteoporosis can also be significantly suppressed.

Protecting and strengthening the joints

Joint problems such as osteoarthritis are more common in women. In addition, some autoimmune diseases that attack the joints are also more common in women. Therefore, it is important to maintain joint health.

In this case, strength training can protect and strengthen your joints in several ways:

Helps strengthen the muscles around the joints, providing better protection from injury. Improves blood flow and synovial fluid that helps keep your joints lubricated. Strength training also Keeps joints flexible and mobile. This helps prevent injury.Improve sleep quality

Poor sleep quality can have a major impact on physical and mental health. Women who experience sleep disorders also have a higher risk of depression and chronic diseases.

Strength training has been shown to help improve the quality and duration of sleep. With better sleep, the body becomes fresher and ready to carry out daily activities.

Maintaining mental health

Exercise is known to be able to improve mood through the release of endorphin hormones. Research shows that strength training can also reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression.

This is important because women tend to be more prone to anxiety and depression than men. By regularly doing strength training, your mental state can become more stable.

Increase self-confidence

Stronger and fitter physical changes will have an impact on confidence. Knowing that your hard work has paid off with a better and stronger body image can improve your mood. The release of endorphins from exercise will also help increase feelings of happiness and calm.

Potentially prolongs life

Strength training is also related to longevity. Research shows that women who regularly do strength training 2-3 times a week have a longer life expectancy. The risk of dying from heart disease is 30 percent lower. This benefit is greater in women than in men who do the same activity.

Maintaining heart health

Heart disease has caused many deaths in women. Strength training has good benefits for the heart. Research shows that this exercise helps reduce the risk of heart disease in women of all ages.

Those are the 8 benefits of strength training for women. By doing this exercise at least twice a week, you can get the above benefits. Now, there is no reason to hesitate to try strength training as part of your healthy lifestyle.

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