Strength Training for Women Increases Muscle, Metabolism, and Bone Density

By Jackie Kolgraf 

Lifting weights isn’t just for men anymore. 

After decades of women’s workouts only focusing on cardio, new research continuously shows myriad benefits of strength training for women, including building muscle, decreasing body fat, increasing bone density, and aiding in overall mobility.  

The best part? It’s never too late to start. Grab some dumbbells and let’s find out how strength training helps women live longer, healthier lives. 

What Is Strength Training? 

First and foremost, strength training consists of any exercise that causes your muscles to work against a force. That force can come from your own body weight, resistance bands, free weights (like dumbbells, kettlebells, and barbells), or those found on commercial weight machines. 

The Benefits of Increased Muscle Mass 

The most obvious benefit of strength training is improving strength by building muscle. But building muscle also sets off a chain of other health benefits. 

When you do strength training exercises, you cause micro-tears in your muscle fibers, which your body then repairs with thicker muscle fibers to adapt to the new demand you put on it. With age comes a decline in muscle mass, so challenging your body to build stronger muscles through strength training is critical for longevity. 

>> Decreased Body Fat 

Strength training creates a temporary increase in testosterone in women to help the body grow muscle. This hormone spike tells your body to tap into its energy stores – mainly body fat.  

As you decrease body fat and replace it with stronger muscles, you boost your body’s overall metabolism and daily number of calories burned, because muscle burns more calories than any other body tissue.  

>> Weight Management 

The higher metabolic rate achieved through strength training can help you lose or manage weight, not to mention the calories you burn from the strength training workout itself. The American Council on Exercise estimates that a moderate intensity one-hour strength training session burns 231 calories in a 172-pound person and 163 calories in a 120-pound person. 

>> EPOC 

Unlike cardio workouts (think running, cycling, or rowing), strength training causes a temporary spike in your metabolism and a higher level of caloric burn that lasts long after your workout ends. 

This process is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), where your body continues to use oxygen and calories at a higher rate while it returns to a resting state by lowering your core temperature, removing lactic acid buildup, replenishing cells, and, of course, repairing that muscle tissue. 

Strength Training for Stronger Bones 

Women’s hormones change more drastically than men’s as they age, and the drop in estrogen can result in loss of bone density and even osteoporosis. 

Although it may feel like your skeleton is a permanent, unchangeable structural system in your body, “we have an ‘in and out’ system in our bones as we are constantly breaking down material and building new material, while older calcium is flushed out as waste,” Sania Killion, a physical therapist at the UCHealth Sports Therapy Clinic – Colorado Center, told UCHealth Today. 

Studies have even shown that women aged 60+ can improve bone density through eight months of strength training for just 45 minutes twice a week. Just like our muscles, when we put stress on our bones, that sends a signal (aided by estrogen) to our bodies that we need to strengthen the bones to avoid injury. Lifting weights helps transmit this signal when estrogen levels are low. 

As an added benefit, building muscle through strength training can also protect weakened bones from fracturing in postmenopausal women and women with osteoporosis. Additionally, strength training improves balance, which can help prevent falls and injuries overall. 

Lifting Weights to Lower Bad Cholesterol 

Another way strength training aids in longevity is by lowering cholesterol and protecting us against heart attacks and strokes.  

Although cardio workouts are the gold standard for lowering “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and increasing “good” cholesterol (HDL), research shows that high-intensity strength training can have the same effect. Consider combining both cardio workouts and strength training through interval training or circuit training for maximum impact on cholesterol. 

Pump Up Your Immune System 

Incorporating strength training workouts into your life could help you ward off illnesses by: 

>> Reducing chronic inflammation and stress, both of which suppress your immune system 

>> Increasing blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which helps mobilize immune cells like white blood cells, T-cells, and natural killer cells 

>> Helping you sleep better at night, which is when your body most effectively repairs itself 

Overtraining and not giving the body adequate time to rest between strength training workouts can have the opposite effect on your immune system, however, so finding the appropriate training level is key. 

How to Get Started 

Because strength training was geared toward men for so long, many women don’t know how to begin adding weight lifting to their exercise routine. To avoid injury, it’s important to start slow and learn proper form, either from a professional trainer or by practicing in front of a mirror. 

>> Lower Weights and Reps 

Ease into a strength training regimen with lighter dumbbells and fewer reps. Pay attention to how your body feels during and after the workout to find a good middle ground between too easy and too hard. Lighter weight with more reps might be easier for beginners while still providing valuable fitness benefits. 

WHAT ARE SETS AND REPS? When a workout says, for example, to do three sets of 10 reps, that means you are doing 10 repetitions of the same movement (like a bicep curl), then taking a brief rest. Those 10 repetitions constitute a set. In other words, It would look like 10 curls, a brief rest, 10 curls, a brief rest, 10 curls, finish. 

>> Track Everything 

Whether you’re strength training at home or in a gym, use your phone or a notebook to write down what exercises you’re doing, the number of pounds you’re lifting, and how many sets and reps you’re doing. That will help you not only safely increase the weight, sets, and reps as you get stronger, but also visualize your progress along the way. 

>> Target Different Body Areas 

Because strength training can cause muscle soreness, it’s important to focus on different muscle groups throughout the week.  

For instance, if you do a full-body workout on Monday, it’ll be challenging to then do an arm workout on Wednesday when you’re still sore from Monday. Instead, you could try focusing on your arms on Monday, your core on Wednesday, and your legs on Friday. That way, you give the muscles in one body area the time they need to recover while working on strengthening another. 

>> Equipment 

If you don’t have access to a gym or would rather complete your strength training workouts at home, a pair of sneakers, a yoga mat, a set of resistance bands, and a set of dumbbells ranging in weight from three to 15 pounds is a good place to start for most women.  

>> Bodyweight Strength Exercises 

Bodyweight strength workouts, where you use your own weight instead of dumbbells or gym machines to create resistance (think pushups and squats), require no equipment and can be completed almost anywhere. 

>> Videos 

A great and affordable way to learn about different exercises and proper strength training form is to follow along with a video from a trainer. Try FunFitnessVideos.com for endless options of easy-to-follow video workouts broken down into arms, abs, chest, legs, shoulders, and more. 

Basic Strength Training Exercises 

While learning a new type of exercise can feel overwhelming, strength training can be broken down into a few simple movements: pushing, pulling, hinging, squatting, and carrying.  

Mastering these five movement types in a workout setting will help you move better in your daily life. For instance, bending down to pick up a heavy bag of groceries is hinging, lifting up that bag is pulling, and bringing that bag inside the house is carrying. 

>> Pushing 

Muscle Groups Used: Chest, Shoulders, and Arms 

Exercises to Try: Pushups, planks, and presses 

>> Pulling 

Muscle Groups Used: Back and Arms 

Exercises to Try: Pullups and rows 

>> Hinging 

Muscle Groups Used: Hips, Glutes, and Legs 

Exercises to Try: Glute bridges, deadlifts, kettlebell swings 

>> Squatting 

Muscle Groups Used: Hips, Glutes, and Legs 

Exercises to Try: Squats, lunges, step-ups, jumps 

>> Carrying 

Muscle Groups Used: Arms and Shoulders 

Exercises to Try: Farmer’s Carry 

Why All Women Should Strength Train 

When a few weight-bearing workouts a week could help you increase muscle mass, speed up your metabolism, strengthen your bones, lower your bad cholesterol, boost your immune system, and more, it’s an easy pathway to a healthier, longer life. 

In fact, a 2021 study published in the British Journal of Medicine found that muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a 10–17% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, total cancer, diabetes, and lung cancer. 

Strength training can also help you do the things you already do better as you replace body fat with muscle and grow stronger bones. Lift babies or children more easily with a stronger core. Dig holes in the garden more easily with stronger arms. Climb flights of stairs more easily with stronger legs. As the saying goes, “motion is lotion” for mobility. 

The barrier to beginning a strength training regimen for women is low: you just need a few items to get started at home. Your body will thank you!