1. More Effective Fat Loss
Lifting weights results in developing more muscle mass. Don’t worry about getting ripped- women lack the anabolic hormones it takes to get that bodybuilder look. For women, the purpose of gaining muscle mass is to replace fat with muscle.
The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn, even when you’re sitting down! Most women think that cardiovascular exercises are the best way to burn calories, but they are sorely mistaken.
When compared against cardiovascular workouts, resistance training is far more effective in the fight to burn calories. Weight training is more than just a means to build muscle size.
It’s the most efficient way to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Make your workouts more powerful by lifting adjustable dumbbells.
2. Get Those Washboard Abs
Every spring before swimsuit season, thousands of women take to the gym promising themselves “This is the year I’ll get washboard abs!”. You may have noticed that you can sweat yourself silly on the treadmill or elliptical, burning as much fat as you can.
What you didn’t know was that you cannot get washboard abs without building your abdomen. You can do simple tried and true ab exercises like the crunch or sit up with a medium weight (5-10lb) dumbbells to take your workout from good to great.
Perform these every 2-3 days (depending on soreness) for results.
3. Never Worry About Arm Flab Again
As women age, the skin where fat is stored beneath our triceps loosen, resulting in less than lovely flabby arms. Control the flab by picking up adjustable dumbbells, setting them at a challenging (but not too heavy!) weight and exercising them every two days.
Try the tricep extension to build arm muscle and blast fat. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold one dumbbell (try a challenging weight but one that you can control) with both hands, bending the elbows behind your head.
Straighten your arms to lift the dumbbell into the air, and then slowly bend the arms to lower. This counts as one rep. Do two sets of 15 reps.
4. Improve Posture with Back Exercises
Building back muscle results in better posture. Having better posture is better for your spine, alleviating back pain, and helps you look slimmer. Hold a dumbbell in each hand resting on your thighs. Start with a light weight so as not to strain anything, maybe 3-5lbs.
Keeping a slight bend in your arms, raise the weights up and out to your sides, keeping them in your peripheral vision throughout. At the top, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and then slowly lower back to the starting position under complete control.
5. Build That Booty
If you weren’t born with a head-turning rear, you’re in luck. This is one of the few curves you can actually build with muscle. Start by trying the super effective exercise, the weighted bridge.
Lie on your back, face up, with feet hip-width apart and heels near your glutes. Place one moderately heavy dumbbell weight on hips. Drive through your heels to raise hips off the floor.
Pause at the top and slowly lower your bum back to the mat. Do 20 reps or until you can’t do anymore.
6. Increased Confidence & Energy
Many women believe that they need to spend all their exercise time burning calories on the treadmill to feel and look good. A study published by the National Institute of Health suggests that the increase in energy expenditure after weight training may favorably affect energy balance.
Most women report that by seeing their strength increase as they use heavier weights they feel more confident. When you weight train you prove to yourself that you are strong, mentally and physically.
Reach for that adjustable dumbbell instead of that coffee because it will make you feel great!
7. Stress Relief
Researchers consistently find that people who regularly strength train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations as people who do not exercise.
Additionally, resistance-training studies show that weightlifting with moderate intensity improves cognitive function and memory!
8. Create Curves
Even though there is no proof that you can target fat loss in one particular place, you can focus on building muscle in particular areas by using adjustable dumbbells.
Not everyone can control how fast or slim we are, but we can be pro-active by resistance training to create more muscle mass. You can build glute muscles, slim that stomach with cardio and weighted ab workouts, and create sleek lean arms to create a more desirable shape overall.
9. Improve Sleep
Strength training greatly improves sleep quality, helping you fall asleep faster, sleep deeper, and wake up less often throughout the night.
A study published in the International SportMed Journal proposes that high intensity training greatly affects the quality of sleep and lengthens the time of sleep the night after training.
10. Long Term Health Benefits
As women age, we become more at risk of bone loss and loss of muscle. Women who have gone through menopause are at an even greater risk of osteoporosis because the body stops producing estrogen.
Resistance training can combat both of these common health problems by sustaining muscle mass and decreasing the risk of bone loss. Using adjustable dumbbells to weight train can also improve heart health.
Pumping iron has been approved by the American Heart Association as a healthy form of exercise for those at risk of heart disease.
The Journal of Strength and Conditioning conducted a study that found that people who lift weights are less likely to have heart disease risk factors such as elevated blood pressure, large waist circumference, high triglycerides, and elevated glucose levels.
Adjustable dumbbells have many benefits. The best benefit is that you can easily incorporate the variety of weights and challenge every muscle group of the body.
In case you’re looking for a set of adjustable dumbbells for a home use, make sure you read this buying guide that reviews the best adjustable dumbbells for home use.
