What Women Need to Know About Weight Training and Weight Gain

You’ve probably heard the myth that weight training makes women gain weight and look bulky. Unfortunately, this falsehood prevents too many women from lifting weights and they miss out on the benefits of strength training. The truth is, lifting weights won’t make women bulk up.  Instead, it helps you burn fat and lose weight. Keep reading for everything you need to know about women’s weight training and weight gain.  

Weight Lifting for Women

Testosterone is a hormone that helps you build muscle. It turns on growth hormone and synthesizes proteins that build muscle tissue. In general, women have 10-20 times less testosterone than men do. By the time a woman reaches her 40’s, she may even have much less. Because of this, it’s difficult for women to build muscle from lifting weights the same way men do.

 As a woman, to get bulky from lifting weights, you’d have to try very hard! Not only would you have to lift heavy weights as if it were your full time job, you’d have to consume more calories than you burn, and possibly increase your testosterone via hormone therapy.

The reality is, as a woman who lifts weights, you’re far more likely to get leaner than to bulk up. 

Weight Training for Weight Loss

Any form of exercise can help you lose weight as long as you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming. Weight training is particularly helpful for weight loss, because the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn, even when you’re at rest.

Your resting metabolic rate, also known as your metabolism, is a measure of how many calories your body uses just for basic functions. Breathing, digesting, thinking, and maintaining a heartbeat all burn calories. So do muscles.

When your body composition is mostly fat, you burn fewer calories. This is true whether you’re active or just sitting around. When your body composition is less fat and more muscle, your metabolism, or your resting metabolic rate, speeds up. You burn more calories just by being in better shape. 

Lifting weights is the fastest and best way to shift your body composition from fat to muscle. You can speed up the process even more by lifting heavy weights, and keeping your workouts intense.

Lift Heavy Weights

There’s no reason for women not to lift heavy weights. In fact, if you want to build muscle tissue, lifting heavy (which is relative) is necessary. Lifting heavy weights and working outside of your comfort zone causes very small micro-tears in your muscle fibers. When the body repairs this muscle tissue, it grows back stronger than before. 

Because women don’t have the hormones needed for bulk, muscle gained tends to look leaner.

Keep Your Workouts Intense

You could spend hours on the treadmill trying to burn calories, or you could burn the same amount of calories with 20 minutes of intense, heavy weight lifting. Each time you push your body to do what you never thought you could do, your body responds by getting stronger.

The stronger you are, the more calories you’ll burn, and the more weight you’ll lose.

I Just Started Weight Training: Why Am I Gaining Weight?

Muscle is far more dense than fat. So while 1 kilogram of muscle obviously weighs the same as 1 kilogram as fat, it takes up less space. If you’re noticing weight gain, but you look much slimmer when you see yourself in the mirror, that’s good news! Your body composition is changing. If you see weight gain when you look in the mirror, or if you can measure it around your waist, consider the following: 

Are You Hydrated? 

Working out causes you to lose water due to sweating. When this water isn’t replaced, the body holds onto everything it can, which leads to bloating. Keep yourself hydrated to prevent water retention. Drinking more water helps your body let it go. 

Is it Inflammation?

Starting a new exercise program puts your body under stress. This can cause inflammation, especially if you’re working very hard and damaging your muscles. As your muscles recover and heal, the temporary weight gain from inflammation will subside.

Are You Stressed?

Exercise is a healthy kind of stress, but if you overdo it, it might cause weight gain. So can the stress of family or work life. Stress releases the hormone cortisol, which leads to fluid retention and insulin resistance. Insulin imbalance leads to hunger and weight gain. Include plenty of rest and self-care in your wellness program, to balance the stress of exercise.

Are You Sleeping? 

Stress can also lead to lack of sleep. While you sleep, the body regulates your hunger hormones, helps you recover from your workouts, and balances your mental wellbeing. Lack of sleep makes you hungrier, keeps you stressed, and slows down your metabolism. Make sleep a priority to get the most from your workout plan.

How’s Your Diet?

Weight lifting will only help you lose weight if you’re burning more calories than you take in. If the extra activity is making you hungry, you may be eating too much. What you eat is as important as how much you eat. A diet high in protein and healthy fats, and low in carbohydrates, will help you build lean muscle faster and will keep you feeling satiated longer. 

Weight loss requires good sleep, good nutrition, and a stress-free state of mind. Lifting weights just speeds up the process when all these other things are in place. There’s no reason women should avoid heavy, intense weight training sessions. It will help you feel stronger, get leaner, and be all-around healthier.