Wonderful Weights

There is a real misconception, particularly amongst women, that to lose weight you need to do endless amounts of cardio. This is NOT the case.

I am by no means saying don't do any cardio, although there are plenty of websites which will tell you it is possible to lose weight this way, but rather to mix workouts up with a mixture of cardio and strength training - even combine the two into HIIT workouts.

I love strength training, I love the definition it gives to my muscles and I like that it actually makes me stronger. I've gone from lifting tiny little dumbbells to lifting heavy barbells. I can leg press more than my own weight, I can do assisted pull-ups with lifting over half my body weight (my goal is to get to just pull-ups with no assistance) but at the same time I know my limitations and also have to be careful of an old shoulder injury.

There are also a number of other health benefits to lifting weights, some of which I've listed below:
1. Quality Sleep
2. Improved energy
3. Heart Health
4. Bone Health
5. Stress Relief

Lots of women also worry about bulking up. It is seriously unlikely you will end up looking like a body builder unless you are specifically training to look like that because it involves extremely specific training and a super strict diet!

Look at some of the famous fit women out there, people like the Michelle Bridges and Jillian Michaels, they are toned but they are not bulky.

If you're not sure where to start ask at your gym or go online, there are so many forums and websites with useful tips and information and even workouts. I'd even suggest giving a body pump class ago to get a flavour for weights - although remember this class is high repetition so is a bit different to a weights training program.