Why should women embrace strength training exercises as a part of their lifestyle? The reasons are many but one main reason is that muscular tissues are intended to be used to maintain physical fitness and longevity. We all want to live a long and healthy life, strong and full of vigor! For those who have been avoiding these irons like a plague, let me list down 6 benefits of strength training.

1. It makes you strong

Do you feel frustrated for not being able to move things or carry grocery bags for long distances because you lack strength? Strong muscles develop when there is a constant overload.. When you strength train correctly and overload your muscles consistently, they will reconstruct themselves to be a little more substantial each time in anticipation of the next training session. When you are strong, the universe is your oyster!

2. It gives you balance

Balance and stability allows you to protect yourself from injury. When you injure your back as you try to carry that heavy load, this happens because of weak core muscles. Your abdominal and lower back make up the core of your body. When there is an imbalance in the muscles of either muscle group, the risk of injury increases. It is important to develop these muscles evenly for that very reason.

3. It builds and strengthens bone mass

We all fear osteoporosis and brittle bones that plague many senior citizens today. Bones physiologically stop being produced in our bodies after the age of 30. The deposit stops and the withdrawals begin. It's our own personal bank! While it is important that we supplement our diet with calcium in our diets in the form of milk, soy and calcium-rich vegetables like broccoli and kale, there is another more direct way to maintain and even build our bone density that most women are not aware of. Training our whole body with weights and challenging our muscles to lift heavier over time is one of the best ways to avoid bone loss and muscles.

I have personally tested my bone mass reading about one and a half months before a challenging routine and measured it again after. There was a significant increase, even for me, at 40 years of age! Research has proven that the elderly will benefit tremendously with strength training no matter what age they are. Other forms of exercise will also strengthen the bones such as running, racket games, dancing and other weight bearing activities.

4. It gives your body a desirable shape

Fat hides the curves and muscles define them. Many women still hang on to the myth that lifting weights will give you big muscles. If you are referring to some of the out-of-the-ordinary female bodybuilders that you see in the magazines, chances are that they are genetically endowed and some may even take steroid hormones (which are predominantly testosterone). All of these women have dedicated their lives to strict and monotonous dieting and perform heavy training to be at the level that they have achieved.

We should not attempt to be at that level, not that we can anyway! If you look at a marathon runner, they have basically a lean stringy physique, suitable for the sport of their choice. Some competitive runners don't like to train with weights because the additional body weight may slow them down.

Women who spend most of their time on the treadmill, cross trainers, steppers and aerobic classes will achieve fat loss if they are consistent but they will also lose muscle in the process, resulting in flabby skin on their skinny frames and unhealthy looking physiques. The curves just don't appear on their bodies but bone protrusion and bits of hanging skin do! A healthy sexy body has well-rounded shoulders, lean and defined arms, gorgeous six pack abs, a shapely back and fantastic curvy legs & glutes.

5. It keeps your internal organs, well, internal

The muscles that we call six packs, which is the front part of the abdominals and the side muscles, which are called external and internal oblique muscles are crucial in protecting and keeping our organs tucked in. If some one punches us and we don't have strong muscles to cushion the blow, can you imagine the harm that it will do to our internal organs?

6. It keeps your metabolism high

Another benefit of having muscles is that this wonderful tissue requires energy just to maintain itself. What this means is that it will burn calories, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated even as you sleep just to keep itself pumped. This is the obvious advantage it has over doing cardiovascular exercise. However, it is important that you include both in your routine as your heart is a muscle too and it needs to exercise just like the rest of the body.

Learn to love your body and treat it with respect and you can expect to live a rewardingly long and happier life to enjoy with your family.