Many women are hesitant to the idea of weightlifting, especially when they think about what it could do to their body. Women might think that weightlifting will give them the bulky bodybuilder look, or that weightlifting will make them gain weight. The real truth? Weightlifting has multiple benefits – helping everything from your overall health to transforming the way you look.

Given the fact that many women believe common misconceptions about weightlifting, they opt for cardio training instead. Instead of simply scratching lifting off of your “to-do list”, consider what additional benefits you could be getting during your normal workout time.

Lose More Fat – And Have Your Clothes Fit Better

Yes, we’ve all been there. Thinking about getting into your “skinny jeans” and setting diet/weight loss goals because the idea of going dress shopping for that wedding where you’ll see a bunch of college buddies seems overwhelming. One of the benefits of weightlifting is that you lose more fat than if you just stick with cardio exercises. Focusing only on cardio could mean that when you do lose weight, you lose both fat and muscle. Weightlifting helps you trim your waistline, among other important areas of the body. Your clothes will fit better and you’ll be happier.

Burn More Calories

That’s right – you can burn more calories lifting for an hour than just doing cardio or other exercises alone.  Lifting can also help you boost your metabolism for a longer period of time after working out – longer than you would if you just ran on a treadmill or went on an elliptical. Additionally, muscle burns calories at a higher rate than fat does. With added muscle your body becomes a more efficient calorie burning machine – even when you aren’t working out!

Lower Your Risk for Osteoporosis, Heart Disease and Injuries

Did you know that lifting can help you increase bone density, and decrease your risk for osteoporosis? Lifting can be a total body workout – also helping decrease risk for heart disease and diabetes. It also helps prevent injuries.

Feel Healthier AND Accomplish Goals

Doing stagnant workouts can be difficult in the sense that you can feel like you do the same thing, over and over again. When you lift, you can set specific goals and work toward accomplishing them. What should your goals be? Set them with your trainer or someone who helps you with your workouts. Goals do not always have to be big, but attainable.

After knowing the benefits to weightlifting, are you willing to consider adding it into your workout? You can see, feel and live the difference.